Category: interiors

May 31, 2016

The Sitting Room x

Charlie, The Husband and I went to Twickenham on Sunday to see England v Wales (cr*p kicking but a great match). Before we left there was a huge discussion about the weather..hot? Cold? Rain? Snow? The general consensus was if the sun was shining it would be hot…but it wasn’t…so we dressed for winter. We got there…the sun came out…and we all fried like sirloin steaks on a barbie. Today, in contrast the heavens have opened and we’re probably getting the months rain in one day which means we’re all stuck inside as it’s half term. I’ve declared it a creative day, with my creative project being to paint the sitting room.

(I’ve been desperate to paint these velux windows white since they first went in)

The walls also need a lot of work where we had a leak (all fixed by the builders) and general 10 years of wear and tear.

I’ve surprised myself by sticking to brilliant white but it works on multiple levels: The ceiling with all it’s variation in height is blended together with the eye drawn to the highest point, the skirting board radiator that runs round the edge of the room disappears, and finally..there’s a fairly eclectic mix of furniture in this room that the white pulls together (spot the latest edition..my seventies table light..probably deserves a separate post).

I did all the prep work for half the room yesterday..I’m hoping I can get it all finished by tomorrow.

Not easy when the kids are off school for half term..for instance, I couldn’t find my phone yesterday – not a huge hardship as we’re not biologically linked. But it eventually turned up in Bella’s room, tuned to You Tube and a video about ‘Women making graffitti for the first time’ …if you’re mentally away..the mice play..

Laters, Kate x

May 27, 2016

Thank you Dievca x

In response to my post about Mark Champkin’s flower lights, the lovely Dievca sent me a link to Studio Drift’s Shylights at the Rijks Museum in Holland. I’m so grateful because they are a wonder to behold…

I thoroughly recommend watching the film they made during the making process: The attention to detail, the care…the joy.

Laters, Kate x

May 26, 2016

I think..

Green…..

….Because it’s mean.

Laters, Kate x

May 25, 2016

Innovation x

How about this for a super cool design: A light that opens up like a flower..and closes again.

It’s the work of the Science Museums Inventor-in-residence, Mark Champkins. Inside the petals are bi-metallic strips – a sandwich of copper and steel. The copper responds to the heat of the bulb by expanding, the steel doesn’t, resulting in the realistic bend.

Whilst I love it, It’s small and I’m not convinced it’s working to it’s true potential..Just imagine it as collection together designed as a blossomed branch huge chandelier..

Or inside a large eye-filling glass pendant: Three in a row over a kitchen island unit…heaven.

Laters, Kate x

May 23, 2016

Staircarpet and Cellar x

I finally grasped my courage with both hands and, bored of lifting boxes, fitted the stair carpet down to the new cellar.

Taking things seriously, I invested £40 in a heavy duty staple and nail gun (I’m hoping there will be options for more uses…like the main stairs). It worked really well – you have to use two hands which just means reduced chance of accidents. The only downside was I initially bought the wrong staples – even if the packaging/name looks the same, read the small numbers on the staple box carefully, otherwise it’s a return journey to the DIY shop to buy the right ones. I used 12 mm staples.

I also ordered some carpet grip from Ebay (the sort of stuff you lay under rugs to stop them from slipping). The thought process was that I wasn’t worried about slippage from laying the pile in the wrong way, as there was no pile, but I was aware that kilim is a thinner type of rug and wanted to give it some support regarding pulling from the staples and feet.

Then it was the simple matter of laying a piece of underlay with carpet grip and stapling it into place.

For the carpet, I pencilled off on each stair where the carpet should run centrally (7 cm on each side for me). Then the lines in the design were a big bonus, helping to keep everything straight and on track.

Finally it was the simple matter of stapling under the nose of the riser, in the middle and at either end. And again where the step meets the riser and working down. The last bit of kilim was folded up, tucked under and stapled away. Job done.

The cellar itself has changed considerably as boxes have been unpacked.

It’s now probably one of the most relaxing places in the house..time takes on a new dimension here..if only I could hide it away from the kids…

Laters, Kate x

May 19, 2016

The reality x

Whilst downstairs might be looking all shiny and new. It’s a different story upstairs. This is the spare room – more commonly known as the promise-it’s-only-temporary storage facility.

I’ve spent the last week clearing it..which resulted in a huge strop at the weekend, because it seriously feels like attacking an iceberg with a bent teaspoon.

With tackling it comes the horrible realisation of the inevitable insidious creep of crap into every other room of the house, because it has to get worse before it gets better.

This is the ensuite. The idea is that anything bound for charity or car boot can reside in here..but just the thought of more multi-layered jobs still to do is doing my head in. I just want it out. I don’t want stuff, I don’t want bits..I want a clean floor…and no boxes..

I’ve got it to this now..a little glimmer of light at the end of a long tunnel. And yes, that is a bed..and yes, the rocking chair will move..one day.

Laters, Kate x

May 18, 2016

Crittall..

Well..the Crittall glass is finally in..and has completely changed the room. Hard to describe how – it feels very, very grown up.

Of course it wasn’t all plain sailing, because unless I’m secretly Harry Potter I shouldn’t be able to do this. They need another trip to replace a section of glass that got broken..and another that was defective. Third time lucky hey…

Laters, Kate x

May 13, 2016

Spoonflower x

One of the truly great things about living in the IT revolution is how it has brought down the cost of printing, whether it be on paper or fabric.

There are now companies out there that for a small sum are ready to take your designs and turn them into usable art – we’re talking fabric, wallpaper and wrapping paper..and you don’t even need a large print run…one roll or 1 metre will do it. What’s more, if it’s good, you can earn money from other people buying your design…win, win.

It’s something I’m keen to explore and play with. I’ve found this website that gives a clear, basic tutorial. about pattern repeating.

And Spoonflower seem to be the biggest/best website for printing…and they also have lots of ‘how to’ videos.

Now to pin down the design…

Laters, Kate x

May 11, 2016

Little Things x

We finally have coat hooks! These are midcentury Ukrainian curtesy of Etsy…cost £14, postage £15..but I love them..they’re the perfect size to avoid coat overload – what can’t hang here has to go down in the cellar to the dedicated coat cupboard (and yes, it’s full already..)

And Mr Fish, who used to be above our cooker has found a new lair.

Most importantly, the children have hooks for their endless school bits. That daily hurricane has finally been contained! The mess was driving me mad and our drill is still lurking in the spare room..

Which currently looks like this…it’s going to be some time before we were reunited, so a big thank you to Al for helping us…come pick up your child from a playdate and bring your drill with you! but it was appreciated..now…if you’re free next weekend..

Must start unpacking..

Laters, Kate x

May 5, 2016

O.M.G.

So the sissal carpet was successfully laid in the cellar, meaning the big rug currently residing in our bedroom and all the furniture scattered around the house could go down. Except I couldn’t do the manual work by myself which meant waiting till late last night when the husband got in (poor husband)..and the big rug had 6 months of builders dust ingrained into it (attractive)(it was sitting on the floorboards where the wall was taken down)…so the only sensible option was to man-handle it down to the kitchen, move everything out of the way there and steam clean it..