Robyn, 27

“I love the colours in here as well, I like things darker in general with pops of colour and art that’s a bit odd. I think it very me but I recognise that I’m also a work-in-progress.”

[Robyn with her cat, Tinkerbell, in her old bedroom, 2017]

Firstly, how have you been?

“This has become a bit of a loaded question in 2020/21 with all the lockdowns. In honesty, not bad which I feel quite guilty saying as I know it’s been really rough for some people. I’ve managed to stay safe, solvent and relatively sane since it all started.”

Are you still in the same bedroom?

“Haha, no! I’ve moved 6 times since then, 6 times in 4 years is a bit mad when I think about it. So I try not to think about it. I’m much happier in this house then in other places, I feel like it’s more relaxed but I do miss that old house and that old room and those old housemates.”

Looking back at your bedroom in 2017, what has changed?

“I’ve grown up partially against my will but I’ve also embraced more of myself as well.

I think I’ve developed more of a sense of a style that I’ve always wanted in regards to looks and what makes sense in my room rather than it being a place for all the stuff I’d accumulated.”

Can you paint us a picture of what life was like for you back then?

“A bit messy, a bit blurry, a bit hazy but the anxiety-riddled carelessness that can only exist for a uni student.”

What do you love about your bedroom?

“I love that I have free-reign on painting, design but I’m annoyed I haven’t done as much as I’d want with that.”

What does your bedroom mean to you?

“I work for a corporate company but completely remotely and I’ll keep doing that for the next few years so this is a bedroom, my office and (in a shared house) my private escape as well. I’ve tried to make it equal parts comfy, professional (from very specific angles) and also to reflect my personality but it’s a work-in-process which I’m enjoying!”

How much time do you spend in your bedroom?

“A lot, 80% of my time at home.”

What's the most recent addition to your bedroom?

“A few shelves that I made myself, cut & treated the wood, painted the brackets and put them up myself. I am incredibly proud of these, I love being crafty and designing things and happen to be blessed with a tool shed in the house as well. Also the mirrored chest of drawers which are thrifted and will be revamped in the next phase of my DIY attack.”

What inspired you to decorate your room this way?

“In a lot of ways I’ve had to work with what I have and what I can make or find pretty cheaply (which is very much my style anyways). The huge window, huge amounts of clothes I have and huge desk make the positioning kind of limited but the items in here I’ve hand-picked as I want to move away from a dumping ground for stuff that I have been guilty of living in before…

I have 6 mirrors in the room all pointed towards the centre of the room but you actually can’t see yourself when your sitting in the hotspots, I’m sure that says something about me but I’m not sure what… I love the colours in here as well, I like things darker in general with pops of colour and art that’s a bit odd. I think it very me but I recognise that I’m also a work-in-progress.”

If you could change anything about your bedroom, what would it be?

“There’s 3 different type of textured wall-paper that’s been painted white over. I hate it as it’s so painfully 70s Grandma-house but I haven’t had the energy or inspiration to rip it off and do something about it… YET.

I’d like to take the wall-paper off the ceiling and paint it grey but that’s SUCH a chore so I might have to live with it.”

In 4 years time, where do you want to be?

“I’d like to be out of London and the UK, I’ve been here for a while now and I’m getting ready for a big change. I’m becoming more career-focused now so in 4 years time I want to have built something with my company so I can get to just living where ever that would be.”