'The wallpaper was my starting point': Leah's country-inspired apartment bedroom

Leah talks us through her DIY makeover on a shoestring budget.

EACH WEEK, WE ask someone based in Ireland with a passion for interiors to share one photo of their favourite spot in their home.

Leah Burke lives in a two-bed apartment with her husband in Dublin.

“We’ve been renting this apartment since October 2019,” says Leah. “We are renting from a family member, so we’re lucky to have quite a bit of flexibility when it comes to styling and decorating the space.”

This week, Leah (@nest_of_notions) chatted us through her favourite spot: her bedroom.

unnamed Leah Burke Leah Burke

What do you love about this part of your home?

I love the fact that I redecorated it myself on a fairly tiny budget. It was my first shot at wallpapering (I won’t be doing it again anytime soon) and I sanded and repainted the bed frame and bedside table, so I feel particularly proud of this room.

What’s your favourite object in here and why?

Does the wallpaper count as an object? I love the pattern and colours. There are so many lovely wallpaper options out there at the moment and there’s something very nostalgic about this one to me.

What was your inspiration when you were putting this room together?

I love staying in old country houses. The bedrooms always have the most beautiful patterned wallpaper, so that probably inspired me to paper the bedroom. The wallpaper ended up being my inspiration for the rest of the space. I drew from the colours in it when it came to picking colours for the bedside table and the bed frame. It also inspired the items I used for styling the rest of the space.

Be honest: how much tidying did you do before taking this photo?

I did no tidying as this part of the room is always tidy. I’m just glad you can’t see the rest of the room!

Is there anything in here you’d like to change?

The part of the room that is not in the photo still needs a little work. I had the background colour of the wallpaper colour matched and used that colour for the other walls. I’d like to find some nice artwork to put on the blank walls in the room.