Revamp Restyle Reveal - Season 2: What's It All About?
Last August, we launched Season 1 of Revamp Restyle Reveal following the inkling of an idea that fast became a reality. The idea was to take ten interior bloggers and ask them to update one room in their home over the course of four weeks. They had to be inspiring, DIY focused and above all, fearless. To help them out, we recruited five top notch product sponsors to help them in their task with everything from paint to accessories to electrical equipment. It was like an extreme version of the iconic Changing Rooms without Lawrence and Linda and it worked BRILLIANTLY. We launched a website and social media feeds across Instagram and Twitter. We set up a YouTube channel and did weekly video updates from each blogger documenting their progress. And when the four weeks was up, we blog hopped our way through the transformation reveal posts, each of which had been completed with panache through sheer hard work and a whole lot of creativity.
In fact, it was SO successful, that Bianca Hall of French For Pineapple and I decided that we would do it all again and host Season 2. Yes, we're gluttons for punishment but it was so much fun and was so well received that it just had to be done. So tomorrow, Monday 16 April, the starting pistol will be fired and the countdown to 17 May will commence. New logo, updated website and new team who are raring to go.
So who are the bloggers? Alongside Bianca and myself, we decided to bring back two of the most popular bloggers from last year, namely Melanie Lissack and Kerry Lockwood whose previous revamps received a record breaking reception. Emma Jane Palin, winner of two (yes, two in one year) Amara IBA's is bringing in the colour, together with the Rainbow Queen that is Kat Williams, founder of Rock N Roll Bride magazine. Olivia Silk of Lust Living is bringing some contemporary glam to the proceedings and Malcolm Begg of Design Sixty Nine (another IBA winner - we like to pick the good ones) will be showcasing his renowned DIY skills. Katty Patterson of One Four Six, is representing the huge interior community from Northern Ireland by revamping a room in her cool, boho chic home and last but not least, Jade Wilce of Number Five Interiors will be updating her living room using her well known creative talents. We don't do things by halves on Revamp Restyle Reveal. Oh, and we also don't do delegating so all the changes the bloggers make will be done by them and them alone which makes them not just inspirational revamps, but achievable revamps.
Helping them achieve the rooms of their dreams are our perfect group of sponsors. Our headline sponsor is once again ao.com who will be making sure that the electrical equipment is top of the range. On the furniture and homewares side, Maisons Du Monde, The Cotswold Company and Sainsbury's Home have it covered. There's a huge range of beautiful paint colours to choose from at Earthborn Paints and Harlequin are providing their extensive collection of wallpapers and fabrics. David Hunt will be lighting up the rooms with their beautiful range of stylish products and soak.com have bathrooms and heating in hand. Finally, Christy will be providing their gorgeous textiles to give the rooms the edge.
Season 1: Living room pre revamp (photography Colin Poole)
Season 1: Entertainment Room post revamp
So this is all well and good, but how do YOU get involved? We love a revamp and we know damn well that you do too. So we want to see yours. It doesn't have to be a full room revamp, btw. We want to see ANY type of revamp. A shelf that needs a shuffle? A transformative cushion swap on your sofa? A mini upcycling project? It's all about making the changes yourself. As a massively transient decorator, I'm the worst when it comes to a room change and am always swapping things about. For me, it refreshes the room and makes me feel happy - it's how I express my creative side and we want to see how you do the same.
There's a hashtag and we want you to use it. A lot. It's #revamprestylereveal and as of Monday, it's going LIVE. Post your revamps on this hashtag using the Instagram carousel swipe function (when you post your photos, it's the two little boxes symbol). This means that we can see your before and after pics. Make your revamped room the front one so that we can swipe across to see the original picture. Or use the same hashtag on Twitter with a double photo, we'll see that too. Every week there'll be a fantastic prize from one of our sponsors for our favourite and you don't want to miss out. This hashtag will be relevant all the way up to the final Reveal which is Thursday 17 May so put that date in your diary and get posting!
There'll be weekly updates on the website and on the YouTube channel with blogger videos showing what they've been doing. We'll be updating the Instagram feed and stories every single day during the four week project with our favourite swipe posts from the hashtag, so there's an excellent chance of being regrammed.
My Revamp Restyle Reveal Master Bedroom mood board.
So back to the challenge. Which room will I be doing? This time it's the Master Bedroom. This sounds like it could be fairly easy choice, but no. When we moved into our home three years ago, it was the Master Bedroom that really sold us the house. In the 17 years we had been together, we'd never had a really nice bedroom. Previous clothes storage solutions had included open hanging rails and most recently, plastic boxes under the bed which used to drive Joe to distraction. There's nothing worse than having to forage for your pants in the morning when you're half asleep.
Anyway, this house ticked every single storage box (ha). With two - yes, two - dressing rooms, it was a wardrobe dream come true. It even had an en suite bathroom with jacuzzi, built in TV and - wait for it - blue under bath LED tube lighting. Yes, I know, I had you at LED tube lighting. Seventies porn bathroom aside, it was a Master Suite dream.
The entire suite is decorated in a pale browny grey colour and it's the only room in the house that has so far not seen the flashing of my many paintbrushes. This is mostly because it's such a large space and with tall ceilings and super high shelving, the dressing areas have 'I'm going to be a bastard to reach and therefore decorate' written all over them. So what am I going to do?
The dressing area before I get the paintbrush out (photography Colin Poole)
Paint It White
Yep, this will come as a surprise to you all. There's a dark grey carpet so I'm going to keep the basics neutral and build on them with colour and pattern.
Use Statement Wallpaper
With IKEA pale wood fitted wardrobes, my dressing area is crying out for impact and I'm not only going to wallpaper the walls in something suitably amazing, I'm also going to paper the doors.
Create Focal Points
The alcoves on either side of the fireplace have original built in cupboards, so shallow you can barely fit a shoe in them. I'm going to make these stand out by painting them a different colour to the rest of the room.
Realise Joe's Dreams
Joe currently has a bamboo plant stand next to the bed, which is a constant source of distress to him and his huge amount of chargers. I'll be reutilising the plant stand and replacing it with an actual bedside table, something never before seen in our bedroom.
The current Seventies porn ensuite minus blue lights (photography Colin Poole).
Bring In Art
Another surprise. It wouldn't be a revamp of mine without some extreme art involvement. I'm going for both statement art and a focal gallery wall area with seating beneath.
Update The Seventies Stylie Bathroom
The bathroom is ceiling to floor grey tiles which is a good neutral base, but the sink and mirror are inexplicably a walnut finish. I'm going to be updating these to make it a little more complimentary to the rest of the bathroom furnishings.
So that's how it will all work. We're all looking forward to starting our revamps, but even more important, we're looking forward to seeing what you come up with! We can't wait to see your posts so make sure you are using the hashtag #revamprestylereveal to join in and be in with a chance of a prize. It's also a great opportunity to find new accounts that inspire you and to pick up some ideas for your own future decorating projects.
Make sure you're following all our social media accounts and if you haven't visited our website yet, then pop over to Revamp Restyle Reveal and take a look. There's loads of information on there about our team of bloggers, plus mood boards detailing all of their plans. And you can find out more about our lovely sponsors too, with links to all of their websites and social channels.
And if you'd like to take part as a blogger next time, there's details on the website as to how to apply. We're not looking for huge followings or massive social media presence, but we ARE looking for well written, consistent, regular content and an eye for DIY.
Now the only thing left to do is to get out my paintbrush! And pray for the survival of the grey carpet once the paint pot is open. GET REVAMPING!