New Bedroom Storage

Following on from my post yesterday, I've done a bit of work on our bedroom, making up the new bed and organising some of the new storage spaces. Here's what the bed looks like, made up with our new bedding from Habitat.

I added my patchwork hexie cushion to provide a bit of interest, but we don't really like lots of extra cushions on the bed, as they just end up on the floor.  I don't mind just one though.

The vintage turquoise wool blanket is essential, due to the dog having formed the habit of coming up to play on our bed before we settle her down for the night.  It's become a nightly ritual of late, so I need to take precautions to protect the bedding from muddy paws, dog hairs, etc.

The ottoman at the end of the bed now contains all of our bed linen (save for those items that are being washed), which is very easy to access. From left to right is bedding for our bed, the spare room and LB's room, each set packed inside a pillowcase from the set.

I mentioned in a previous post that I'd emptied the small ottoman that I use as a bedside table and couldn't think of anything to put in it. Needless to say, I've found something now.  I transferred the fabric from the other small fabric covered ottoman into here and am now using this one to store our bath mats, as there was no longer room for them in the linen cupboard.

They fit perfectly, and although it is an extra place to go to, when changing bathroom linen, it was the best solution available.  It's not exactly a hardship anyway.

The under bed storage is a work in progress.  I managed to relocate some items into here, but there is still a big pile of things to sort in the spare room, as you can see from the photograph below.

It's mostly the things on the left side of the room in this photograph, as most of the rest is the current donation pile. With the double bed now in here, there's not much room to move around, so I'm looking forward to taking all of this for donation and clearing some space. I've added more to the pile since this photo was taken.

The current under bed storage situation is this.

I want to keep my winter clothes in here too, but as I'm still using some of them and need to wash my winter coat, it will be a little while before this happens. I'll just have to remember to leave enough room.  I've tried to avoid putting very heavy things in here, as the wooden base isn't that thick and I don't want to put too much stress on it.  

Overall, the bed is making quite a difference, as now there aren't lots of bits and pieces stuffed here and there in every crevice, the bedroom and the linen cupboard on the landing both feel a lot more streamlined now.  I need one of these beds in every bedroom. (although I realise that this is not the solution, getting rid of stuff is!)

However, it is a good example of useful storage if you are short on space. Most affordable houses in London (well anywhere really) are often quite small, so space saving ideas are vital to keep everything under control, especially if you have children.  (I have just the one, but it can still be a problem)

I'll do another post when I've put my winter clothes away and sorted/cleared the boxes in spare bedroom. You'll then get a much better idea of the overall difference it has made.  It feels like I'm making progress anyway, which is the main thing.