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From drab to magical: box room makeover

box room makeover house of hackney co founder, frieda gormley, trematon castle, 2020
From drab to magical: box room transformationHouse of Hackney/Mark Cocksedge

A box room, often used for storage or as a bedroom, is the tiniest and often most unloved space in the home. It's usually bland, lifeless and undecorated, filled with nothing more than suitcases, old toys or other bits and bobs that can't fit elsewhere.

A box room typically lacks personality and colour, but House of Hackney co-founder, Frieda Gormley, has transformed this compact space in her family's Cornwall home, Castle of Trematon, creating a 'bolthole of escapism' that is filled with hues of blues and pinks.

Frieda says her box room had the least amount of character in the home she shares with her husband, House of Hackney co-founder Javvy M Royle, and their children. 'It served as a bit of a dumping ground until I spent a week convalescing in it – I then found the size to be very cocooning,' she explains. 'So, I took it on as a personal challenge to transform the room from drab to magical!'

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Wallpapering all four walls (technically five if we're including the ceiling), Frieda used ARTEMIS in two different colours (blush and petrol) to create depth and interest. As for the flooring, she chose the intricately detailed ARTEMIS carpet from House of Hackney's Axminster collection.

'If all four walls feels like being immersed in a fairy tale woodland, then the carpet is like stepping out of bed into a garden of flowers,' describes Frieda.

box room makeover house of hackney co founder, frieda gormley
House of Hackney/Mark Cocksedge

Aside from the whimsical designs, another highlight includes the gorgeous half-tester Art Nouveau-style bed.

Frieda reupholstered the headboard from its traditional indienne fabric to the ARTEMIS in blush velvet, and for the curtains she chose the alluring ANACONDA, a tactile cut-velvet adorned with raised snakes, evoking the Garden of Eden, which frames the pretty Georgian window.

box room makeover house of hackney co founder, frieda gormley
House of Hackney/Mark Cocksedge

To make it warm and personal, the box room is finished with a layering of objects, memories and textiles. Compact yet cosy, this formerly unused room is now the perfect retreat.

'The overall effect is bold yet harmonious, cosy yet cool. It’s a dreamy, otherworldly sanctuary of a room – the perfect place to curl up in and feel held during these uncertain times,' says Frieda.

See more photos below:

box room makeover house of hackney co founder, frieda gormley
House of Hackney/Mark Cocksedge
box room makeover house of hackney co founder, frieda gormley
House of Hackney/Mark Cocksedge
house of hackney, trematon castle, 2020
House of Hackney/Mark Cocksedge

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