Harry Potter Bedroom Haul

Trust me when I say, I’ve been waiting for SO long to Potterfy my room.

Honestly, months of trawling through Insta, looking at all the wonderfully magical posts and new adverts from Pottery Barn Teen (whhyyy don’t you ship to the UK?) has left me quaking to get every last bit of HP merch that I can. As you can see, I spared no expense.

Now, if you can’t tell by the abundance of green within the room in the pictures below, yes I am a Slytherin. A proud one indeed. And what I wanted to do with this look was to create a bedroom that represented my house, but in a cozy and chic fashion. Cause see, a lot of Slytherin decor I’ve seen in the past has always been modeled on the dungeons. Ornate furniture, no windows, blackblackblack…

Snape, I'm looking at you buddy. *swishes robes dramatically*

I wanted to bring another side to my decor, by incorporating a mix of official Potter wares, and others that I feel fit the theme incredibly well. On that note, let’s start with the main items that dominate the room.

The Bed and Feature Wall

My favourite item on here (and possibly in the entire room) is the wonderful Slytherin check throw that sits at the end of the bed. When I first saw this in Primark, I immediately fell in love. The colours and texture screamed warm nights in with a cuppa, and THAT helped form the basis of the rest of the piece. Primark has throws in four different designs - one for each house. I actually loved Hufflepuff’s, but couldn’t desert my own snake family. Brotherhood for life.

To compliment the blanket, I went with a duvet with the two Slytherin colours intertwined. Now yes, this is not actually even Harry Potter merch. It is in fact Ikea. And if you need any excuse to visit (besides eating the meatballs), then go take a look at their range of bedding. The colours are so subtly Slytherin and super cute. Plus, it’s amazingly good quality, which I admit I struggle to find at the moment with other Harry Potter duvets.

Finally, the cushions. Oh yes. Two more are Primark specials, as the shop is literally filled with so many designs. I just picked these two as they fit with my theme the best. These being the black soft Hogwarts crest one, and the smaller cream Slytherin printed one. They vary in firmness, and look lovely and plush on top of my pillows (alongside my fake Hedwig, lol).

Those eagle-eyed readers out there (Ravenclaws?) may spot a third green velvet cushion as well. Interestingly enough, this is actually an item I’ve customised myself. The cushion is from H&M home, which again, has sections in all kinds of colours, you’ll be sure to find something for any house. I chose it because it looked rich and luxurious, some of the qualities I associate with Slytherin.

To nerd it up, I purchased a Slytherin iron-on badge from the Platform 9 ¾ shop, and bunged it straight in the centre. BAM, homemade house cushion, And I guarantee nobody else has one like it… well until someone steals the idea after reading this post. Damnit.

To the left of the bed, you will see my feature wall. Centred around three items only, it’s a simple but effective method. Item number one are the Potions fairy-lights from (you guessed it) Primark, which is a special offer I grabbed for a fiver! These are so characterised and really give that classroom-esque feel to your room.

Below that is my new obsession, my wall decal. I love these because it’s almost like having bespoke artwork for your walls, and they look big and bold against the light paint. Wall decals come in a number of forms: quotes, pictures and symbols. In the end, this glasses and scar logo from Sticky Licky Studios won me over due to it being so iconic and recognisable. Best of all? It’s removable, so no damage should come to my room at the end of my tenancy.

Above my pillows is my first Camden Market purchase. Now then, obviously we all know our high street brands and online shops, but street markets are honestly one of the best places to find little gems that literally do not exist anywhere else. I spotted this one in the Stables area of the market and I managed to nab this one for £12. It’s handmade, authentic and really unusual. I really do love it to pieces.

You may also spot a little touch that I’ve added to my (coincidentally green) curtains. I’ve turned a tie into a tie-back! I brought my Slytherin tie from the Platform 9 and ¾ shop (on September the 1st in fact!) and used that to bring a little quirkiness to my window. Thank you Pintrest for that idea.

The Desk

My desk is compact, but I love it nonetheless. In terms of accessorising, I’m bringing in my love for owls here (I was literally obsessed with them several years ago, and it’s never left). So my owl money box - I call him Johnny Cash - lives here, as well as the coolest little light in existence…

Manufactured by the guys over at Paladone, this Quidditch-inspired item is super cool. It seemingly floats by itself, and is a real novelty lamp. Of course, you can’t use this as a full bedside lamp by itself as it’s not bright enough, but it’s a great mood light nonetheless. You can buy this from sites like Argos, Menkind and Asos.

There are other really cool mood lights out there made by Paladone, including a Hogwarts crest, a Patronus 3D light and more. So if you're looking for something a little alternative for your den, then these are a great shout. They also look ultra cozy during those cold nights!

Underneath my desk sits my modest book collection, including my collectors edition of the Harry Potter series. I actually got this around seven years ago as a gift, so I’m not even sure it’s easily obtainable anymore (ask Waterstones, I think that's where they were from). But the design of the books are really classic and simple, with white covers and a magical sketch on the covers.

There’s also an abundance of other geeky books down there, but we’ll save THAT post for another day.

The Artwork

Now let me clear, of all the areas in my room, this one is a work in progress. I plan on collating more artwork over the year/however long I plan to stay in this lovely house.

My biggest statement piece is 'Harry's Alphabet' poster from House of Minalima. If you haven’t heard of these guys, they’re the graphic designers behind most of the artwork in all the HP films, and have a bunch of unique artsy pieces that are subtly potterish and still look super suave in a bedroom. To give the poster a bit more ‘oomfft’, I popped in a basic black-lined Ikea frame.

Next to it is a metal Platform 9 ¾ piece from Camden Markets. Again, it’s a very one-of-a-kind piece of art, so I definitely recommend popping down to your local market and seeing what unique items you can pick up.

If you’re a potterhead on Instagram, you’ll have no doubt seen the house flags from Primark appearing across everyone’s feeds, and now a lovely Slytherin one sits proudly on my wall. If you adore the college aesthetic, then these flags are just for you. They’re in more muted tones in terms of the colour, and can be arranged in whatever way you see fit.

The last two pieces of art are my A5 Harry Potter official pieces. These are available from a number of sellers online, including the official Harry Potter merchants, and there are a number of ones to choose from. From the classic ‘Azkaban mugshot’ of Sirius Black, to a Gryffindor common room piece, there’s something for everyone.

The Vanity Area

As I use this for getting ready, I’ve used some of my favourite items on this piece of furniture so I can see them every morning and admire them (I’m so sad sometimes). So you will see that my two most aesthetically-pleasing HP books (The Philospher’s Stone house edition and the A History of Magic companion book) sit proudly on there.

I also have my chosen wand on here. This is Sirius Black’s wand, which I’ve had for well over seven years at this point. I picked this wand because I adore the runes and engravings on it, as it makes it so unusual compared to some of the others. I hope to expand on my wand collection eventually - if my bank balance will allow for it, of course.

Finally there’s just a few extra touches to finish the whole look off. The shabby chic mirror came with the house, and I though fitted well with the whole ‘vintage-magic’ theme I was going for. I’ve also include my owl ornament hanging on one of the drawers, as well as a hanging ivy plant to give a splash of green on this area of the room.

Gotta keep that Slytherin theme going.

And for now that’s really it! I’m looking to expand on my Harry Potter-themed storage, and I have a few ideas in the pipeline for that, but for now I’m really pleased with what I’ve managed to do with what I’ve got. It’s true that you DON’T actually need a huge statement piece to show your fandom pride. Make small touches all around, and you’ll have a room that’s nerdy AND Instsgrammable.

But I want to know: do you think there’s anything major I’m missing? Or anything else I can do to give it that extra ‘Lumos’? Let me know in the comments below! Even better, send me some links.

I do live geeky interior design. Maybe I’ve just founded a new career path...