Category: DIY
The Cellar x
Sigh. This is part of the inspiration for our cellar renovation..a warm, inviting room from epic the Hotel Provinence in Paris.
But before we get to the fun bits (we’re still shovelling soil), the room layout has to be nailed (literally). It’s not the easiest room – there’s got to be lots of multi-functionality but I’ve found a brilliant site – The Make Room – which is the easiest, most practical room planner I’ve ever played with.
You can pull in furniture..and alter their sizes to represent yours..or what’s on the dream list.
Save different layouts.
Add in measurements to ensure there’s enough walk space..(Top tip: As a base line the site uses feet and inches, to change – look to the right and click on ‘add all buttons’ then, look to the left, find ‘view’ click and change to centimetres)
You can choose plugs..lights..even slippers.
At the end – oh the joy! – it gives you a list of the sizes of all the furniture you’ve used..is that not heaven on a page?
Then just print off..and hand to nearest Bank Manager…
Laters, Kate x
Best Christmas Craft EVER!
Bella and I had a festive Saturday afternoon covered in glue ‘n’ glitter, making our own Christmas cloche dioramas…they were so simple…yet so satisfying!
In amongst our renovation/building chaos we gathered all our bits together: A glue gun, uhu glue, foam plates, plastic wine glasses, glitter and all the little Christmas ornaments we could find.
We carefully, using a sharp knife, cut the end of the plastic wine glasses off, and cut out oversized circles from the foam plates.
Then we arranged and glued on our festive scenes.
The upturned glasses were glued down and had glitter added through the still open stems.
Finally they were topped and glued with the hanging part of an unwanted bauble and the bottoms trimmed off.
So effective.
Such fun!
Making them together and seeing them all…just made us smile.. and want to make more and more!
If you can..just do it!
Laters, Kate x
Turning to the Dark side..
Now to decide on the colourways for the hall. This isn’t my hall, just a picture for inspiration, but I know I want the woodwork to be dark, virtually black, except how far do you go? The newel post in this picture is epic, but I can’t help feel they missed a trick not painting everything that dramatic thundercloud grey up to and including the dado. Does that mean below the dado has to be dark as well? The radiator cabinet? It’s a dilemma..
Although having it dark certainly makes wallpaper pop.
And wallpaper is a cert. William Morris if I have my way, but not this one, though the black wood looks magnificent against it.
A dark top half which directs the eye beautifully to the bamboo paper at the back. But it’s not what I want.
Dark all the way..tempting, except it’s leading into a dark room..
This is the closest picture to reality…and it’s got to be black all the way, up to and including the dado.
Decision made. Now to choose the wallpaper..
Laters, Kate x
Skirts and Trims x
The latest obsessions on our renovation are skirting and architrave…and the difference it can make to the personality of a room.
Particularly if it’s picked out in a darker colour.
Oh! The height! The scale!
And ours is going on! Only the top layer mind, as the floor has yet to go down..but it’s a bright, burning light at the end of a long dark tunnel.
Laters, Kate x
Hell-oween!
I did my bit for Halloween this year, complete with extra eyeballs and hairy, eyelash lips..
The house is still a building site..which could’ve made the ideal location for a spooky party, except the potential scenarios for genuine disaster and really putting the hell in halloween..so we all dressed up, my niece included and relied on others to provide the fun..
Although we did make some eyeball ice cubes..grapes with blueberries and a bit of raisen.
Or the savoury option..radish and olive.
Is it OK to say the kids looked lovely??!
Friend Jenny’s fab pumpkin..
It’s an evening the kids love..maybe because it rebels against every parental rule in the book..
Mwhaha-haaaaaaa!
Laters, Kate x
Light up my Life x
Ah! The potent joys of a holiday to Kent, where each time we visit I think I’ve cracked the lack of internet, only to fail miserably again and again..until the only option is to (with natural great regret) down tools entirely and embrace the holiday spirit and a world without computers. Needless to say, it was a walk along the path to bliss! But more on Kent another day..both pre and post trip I’ve been obsessed with the light for our new dining room. Much to my own surprise, having looked at various 1950’s and 70’s lights with their cool drama, I went for this classic flemish brass number. It was the cost shape that made it stand out..over a metre tall and two tiered, like a Christmas tree (imagine decorating with ivy, fir and baubles. Sigh) but it was in a pretty sorry state and covered in a dark varnish much loved in the 1940’s that now just detracted, like a bad fitting nun’s habit from it’s simple lines and austerity appeal.
But how to clean it? Pinterest proved to be a wealth of info and basically there were two options – making a paste with vinegar and baking powder or soaking it in nail varnish remover. Not being sure how much nail varnish remover would be required to fill the bath and dubious about the effect of remover on electric wiring, I opted for the first choice.
The vinegar and baking soda bubbled up beautifully when mixed together and had the additional benefit of the evocative scent of a down town chippie.
It was slathered on and left to simmer gently.
The result? A huge, stinking, smelly mess…and no noticeable change.
Undeterred, Plan B went into action: Cotton wool pads soaked in nail varnish remover and wrapped around the light like a mummy.
It definitely made a difference, but didn’t shift the deeper stains which even elbow grease couldn’t budge.
Returned to instructions…and to give them their due, they did say to use very fine steel wool with the nail varnish remover.
And when I finally got hold of some (slack..always make sure you have required tools before you start) it was like magic..the black literally evaporated away. From this..
To this.
Like Cinders from the ashes, she’s turned into a real beaut! Now I just need to source some of those vintage, edison-like-filament bulbs that have been popping up everywhere..pray they do them in this size…but knowing my luck…they’ll cost more than the light!
Laters, Kate x
Stockwell Green No.203
The building works are coming on, although there’s still a great deal to go (she says as she looses electricity and internet again), but we’re far enough down the line I’ve started to allow myself the infinite pleasure of looking at paint charts and buying sample pots, because paint has that magical ability to turn an ordinary room into the stuff of dreams.
And there are some interesting brands to choose from – take Mylands – the oldest British paint manufacturers still owned (four generations and counting) and managed by it’s founding family who remain the only paint manufacturer still producing paint in London.
The joy of their colours comes from their attached history, and the fact that unlike many other manufacturers, they still use earth pigments in their paints.
Recognise this place? It’s the kitchen from Downton Abbey..with a paint colour I’ve lusted over many a Sunday night.
Empire grey and Amber grey by Mylands no less.
Well, if it’s good enough for Mrs Patmore…
Laters, Kate x
Art Open Evening x
So this is the thing…my lovely weekly Art Class are having two Open Evening studio nights this week on Friday 9th October and Saturday 10th October from 6.00 pm till 8.00 pm at the hut on Wandsworth Common next to the Sky Lark cafe.
And all are welcome! You can come for a wander and a gander at all the work on display..there’s lots.
Or you can even get stuck in and do some drawing like Bella, Charlie and Lily did at our first open evening last week..
(If the ganets let you, there might even be the odd cheesy puff..)
So if you’re in the area and you’ve been meaning to brush up your artistic skills, but keep putting it off…
Come on down..you can even join our weekly class on a Monday from 9.30 am to 11.00 or 11.00 to 12.30..or if the inclination takes you, do the double. It’s seriously one of life’s great joys.
Amanda, our tutor and mentor is amazing and believes anyone can draw.
And despite taking on arts waifs and strays, the quality of the work she inspires is exceptional.
So come in for a browse..or some fancy pencil work..the choice is yours!
Laters, Kate x
Creative Coffee x
Despite the official Creative Coffee classes finishing, the joy it created has continued – I’m now (for my sins) a class rep for Charlie’s class with my awesome rep partner, Jenny. Last Friday was our first coffee morning of the year. So we thought, why not add more ingredients to the coffee beans and milk? Borrowing extra equipment from my lovely art teacher, Amanda we set up simple lino cut card station using just pencils and foam plates (the rollers make all the difference for a professional finish).
Yay!
We had another station to make nail varnish marbled luggage labels.
Fun, different and brain calming but the brucie bonus? We raised £160 for Macmillan in donations!
Laters, Kate x
Bling and Bottle tops x
There’s just over two weeks left of the summer hols and surprisingly this is our first full weekday at home just to be and make. I’ve been itching for it – doing crafts in the garden with the kids is the summer dress I look forward to all winter. This year the bar has been raised (with the Husband’s help) by transforming the shed into a mini-studio with a lean-to on the side for all the real sheddy bits (priorities, priorities..) It’s been lovingly painted, bunting hung, baskets gathered and projects planned..
Not that crafting with kids is straightforward…the main ingredient of creativity is not spontaneity but planning..having the right ingredients to hand to let things flow, which then includes ignoring the adult need for perfection – it’s when everything’s been mixed together – the splashes, the bits over the line, the gusto and exuberance that the magic really happens.
Today the sun is shining and we’re finally turning our felt pictures into cushions avec pom-poms, (then we might tackle some of the projects above) (all from Pinterest)..but before anything happens, I need to write this post..so I’ve set Bella and Charlie up with some painting in the shed. How cool?
It lasted all of five minutes before they came running out shouting ‘Spider, spider!’
I can see it’s going to be a longgggggggg summer.
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 