our music room
It took us a while to figure out what to do with this room, we’ve never had a “spare” reception before and it wasn’t something we’d set out to have when we were looking for a house. The previous owners had used it as a playroom, and the ones before that used it as a sitting room (and the living room as a formal dining room). As neither of those options are immediate needs for us it meant this room became a place we just put stuff for the first few months . Including our piano which couldn’t fit into the studio on the other side of the house, so wound up here.
Please note this post contains brand gifts (marked with an asterisk) and affiliate links.
wall paint, Lick Blue 01* / woodwork, Craig and Rose Craftsman’s White* / fireplace, Farrow and Ball London Stone / ceiling paint, Lick White 03*
I’ve always wanted a “book wall” and loved the idea of a snug-like space. But at 4.5m square this room was anything but cozy (especially given the state of the windows meant it was freezing the moment the weather turned). So, after I found this image as inspiration I tasked our joiner with putting in shelves and cupboards across one wall, including over the door. It really helped bring in the space - we also put in an identical cabinet to our living room in the corner.
The existing fireplace left a lot to be desired (including as it turned out, an open gas pipe - bit of a shock) so we took it out and replaced it with a much bigger one I found on eBay. I’d say this was my best eBay purchase yet - £100 for the entire thing included the slate slab, and our builder fitted it really quickly. With the bigger fireplace, new windows and arguably imposing cabinetry, the room was starting to take shape as a space we could see ourselves using.
We did wonder about putting a picture rail back in the room, but we’re advised that if you want a tall room to feel snug you should let the wall colour run right to the ceiling so that it doesn’t feel lofty. I was dubious as I love period features, but now the room is done I think we made the right decision.
Picking a colour took us a really long time, we nearly went very dark but having worked hard to get rid of every trace of dark grey from the house it seemed daft to go back to where we’d come from. We set about trying to find a “moody blue” and having tested about thirty, I finally picked out Lick Blue 01* for the walls and large bookcases/cupboards, continued using Craig and Rose’s Craftsman’s White* for the rest of the woodwork and then the same Farrow and Ball London Stone for the fireplace.
My husband had the idea of blowing up a record cover we had and putting it above the fireplace. It’s a David Bowie record with a drawing by Keith Haring. Once that was in place we realised we were going to have to work to make the blue walls and orange picture not clash.
The floor helps, it was already done and although I don’t love the orange-is stain in other rooms in the house it does work in here. I hunted for a rug for ages, nearly went with a jute one but ended up going with a John Lewis option, here. We’ve bought a few from their ANYDAY range now, and been really pleased every time.
Sofas wise, we already had the snuggler armchair (M&S a few years ago here) from my old flat in London - it wasn’t planned to live in here and we’d like to get a brown leather armchair at a later date for the space. It works for now. The sofa is from Swoon, their Evesham range. We wanted something really comfy which people could just spread out and relax on, and picked their “easy velvet” which so far has survived a number of spills and accidents - just wipes clean.
I wanted loads of cushions on the sofas in here to make it super cozy. Most of them are H&M Home (the taupe coloured linen ones, and the rust coloured ones) and the blue oranges were a wedding present from my friend who runs Elizabeth Scarlett. I’d always loved her orange print, so was really touched that she made cushions for our space.
I added some throws in we already had from around the house, the best addition being the Oliver Bonas bed quilt here - it’s so comfortable and warm. The grey throw over the armchair was a gift from a brand a few years ago.
Elsewhere in the room we’ve got lots of candles, our candlesticks are from Anna + Nina (find them here) and various bits and pieces were picked up in antiques markets or was stuff one of us already had. We’ve got a few family pictures and treasured bits from our grandparents’ homes too.
For Christmas last year I was bought the piano music to Billy Joel’s Piano Man which hangs over the piano. It’s one of my favourite songs and I absolutely love it The big gold tea light holder is from Graham and Greene here, I often move it into the kitchen as a centrepiece for the table when we have nice dinners at home.
We haven’t sorted lighting out properly yet, so the room has a combination of lights from IKEA and Homesense. Much like the rest of the house, a previous owner had ripped out all the central lights and put in lots of spotlights instead. We’d love to change this eventually but for now rely on side lamps so that we don’t feel like we’re being interrogated when we put the main lights on!
For the book shelves, we both already had quite a lot of books (and still have a whole garage’s worth to go through) and we asked for coffee table books as wedding presents as we both love them. For the white shelving thats got more of a display feel, I picked up some vintage Penguin books on eBay here very cheaply.
I hadn’t intended on laying them out this way, but some of the books were too tall for the shelves and others were too heavy, so it just ended up going that way. I deliberately haven’t colour ordered the books as I didn’t want any of the room to feel too “done” - it’s supposed to be laid back and somewhere people can just crash out. If the books were neat and ordered I think it’d give off a completely different vibe.
The knobs for the cupboard doors were an Etsy find again, here. I’ve used them elsewhere in the house and was really impressed - they were much cheaper than other options I came across.
I’m really happy with how this room has come together, it’s very moody and comes alive in the evenings (best served with a big glass of red), but its a nice space during the day to get stuff done when I’m working from home.
So thats all, folks! This interiors stuff is all very new for me, so thank you for reading. If you like my interiors posts please do follow my interior’s Instagram account here.