We’ve been so excited to share this very clever kids’ bedroom renovation with you. Got a small-house situation? Short on storage? Dreaming of an extra bedroom but absolutely not keen on moving? Then settle in, you’re going to want to keep reading.
Meet Jemma Bell and her two little darlings, Nelly and Pip. Their soulful mid-century home is nestled among the treetops of the Dandenong Ranges, brimming with character and the most beautiful leafy views. Jem and her husband, Macca, had been deep in brainstorming mode - trying to crack the code on better storage and how to create a spare bedroom for guests but every idea seemed to hit a dead end. That was until one night, wide awake and scrolling realestate.com.au (as you do), Jem spotted something familiar: homes with the same layout doing something clever. Cue the lightbulb moment. There it was, an entire bedroom hiding in their roof cavity. By the next day, renovation plans were officially underway.
For those who don’t know Jem (the twin sister of our founder + creative director, Phoebe), she’s our Project Specialist at Sage x Clare and quite honestly one of the best humans you’ll ever meet. She’s worked alongside her sister through every era of the brand and brings a calm, modest, gentle magic to everything she touches. So when she asked, “Do you think this is good enough to share?” the answer from the office was an immediate and very loud, YES.
From six hours of taping to achieve those perfect hand-painted stripes, to a $30 Marketplace ladder makeover, DIY paint jobs, clever IKEA hacks, hidden storage and the dreamiest floral wallpaper - this renovation is packed with smart ideas and was a labour of love for Nelly and Pip. We hope it inspires you as much as it inspired us. Take it away Jem!
Shop the kids + baby collection here.
Over to you, Jem!
The project took us about 3 months, but we weren’t the quickest. We had a builder mate create the space and a plasterer plaster the walls, but Macca, my husband, and I did the rest - all the painting and wallpaper. We worked in the evenings once the kids were in bed, so it took us a while! We live up in the Dandenong Ranges and our house is tiny… It’s a lovely split level place, but the rooms are small and storage is almost non-existent.
This means our house is a constant jigsaw and we have to be really clever with how we use the space. As the kids grow, their needs change and they accumulate so many things, so we were really feeling the pinch. Plus, we knew we wanted Nelly and Pip to share a room, but with how small the rooms were, it was near impossible.
From then to now… completely transformed!
Macca and I were sitting on the couch one evening and I was scrolling real estate listings, snooping houses in our area - we’ve seen our same floor plan come up quite a bit in the hills and I like seeing if people were doing anything creative. I noticed one home that had used the roof cavity and that got us thinking… Our house has beautiful high ceilings in the main living space, but the bedrooms have false, lower ceilings. We realised that the roof cavity above the lower master bedroom was completely empty - it had space we were desperate for! And so our builder mate came out, had a look around and said there was enough space to create a 3 x 2.5 meter loft area - this more or less allowed us to double the size of the room. We were also able to build in some hidden cupboards, giving us extra storage. It was a win-win!
We then had to decide on the fun stuff - paint, wallpaper, a ladder for access, furniture for the lower part of the room, and my absolute favourite, the amazing triangle window! The window gets the most amazing sunset views and casts the best glow into the room.
-The trim and stripe paint is by Taubmans and is called Tree Tops - perfectly named for the bush setting. And yes, those stripes are hand painted - it took two of us 6 hours just to measure and tape them, ready for paint. A labour of love, but worth it.
-The ladder paint is by Dulux and is called Olive Fizz. And the walls are Whisper White by Dulux.
-The wallpaper is called Quatrefoil in Chelsea Green II, sourced from Wallpaper Direct. I had my heart absolutely set on a different wallpaper but when the sample got delivered it just wasn’t right, but this design fit the space to well. Side note, wallpapering is a truly awful job!
Shop the kids + baby collection here, shop kids apparel here and shop rugs here.
-All the furniture is from IKEA Australia - we painted the side tables, which are actually stools, but store books so well. And we sourced timber handles that we painted in the same bright colour as the ladder and fitted on to the doors and drawers.
-The carpet is from Carpet Court and is called Blairgowrie Offshore.
Shop the kids + baby collection here, shop kids apparel here and shop rugs here.
-Window furnishings in the lower part of the room are from Tuiss Blinds Online - just a measure and order arrangement - we went thermal honeycomb blinds as this room gets all the afternoon sun in summer, but is chilly in winter. The upstairs window was a tricky one, so we’ve actually just cut acoustic felt panels (from Bunnings Warehouse) to the shape of the window and sat them in place - works wonders and one day I’ll cover them in some amazing Sage x Clare fabric.
Shop our kids + baby collection here.
With a whole lotta love xx