Category: Renovations
Through the Looking glass..
Sometimes you walk into a room and you know exactly what it needs to up the anti. Other times, the space has to settle before it can speak. I’m in that dilemma with one of my rooms, hence a bit of visual inspiration.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm….
Laters, Kate x
The sitting Room x
The advantage of doing all the decorating from our building works myself is there’s been something in the pot to buy a few treats like this Hans Wegner wishbone chair.
A pair of them now sit in pride of places at either end of our dining room table. What love.
The extra bonus were the large boxes the chairs arrived in which were quickly commandeered by the children. Who needs toys?
But it hasn’t all been treats and joy. This was the sitting room on Sunday..
A much needed bookcase went up meaning the final boxes could be unpacked. These are original midcentury tomado shelves – the choice surprised me as well.
Probably a good thing as we have guests for the next two weeks and at last the spare room is liveable in.
The sitting room isn’t finished (check out the plastic storage tub by the yellow chair, part of our sad tv storage) – it still has some organic growth to go – but it’s a huge improvement.
And lots of pictures have finally gone up.
The footstool still doesn’t have it’s cover on – it’s meant to be white, but I’ve got some lavender coloured dye waiting in the wings…
Slowly. But surely.
Laters, Kate x
Exteriors..
As the internal painting on the house starts coming to an end (just the downstairs toilet and some radiator cabinets to go) all thoughts are turning to the outside. It’s a big decision and needs time to mull.
There’s so many options..dramatic and black?
I like it..but I think it might be better on the back of the house…(I just love the way it contrasts with green..)
So at the front..I’m thinking putty coloured windows and woodwork..but the front door? A darker putty shade? or that classic pale blue…
Or even a mallow pink?
Hmmmmmm. There’s no rush – we like the front looking crap as a burglar deterrent over the summer…but the picture needs to come into focus..
Laters, Kate x
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
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
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
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
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
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..
Then it went down into the cellar…I love big rugs..but they are buggers to manoeuvre..
Next the sofas were dismantled.
And reassembled..with new covers.
Which was great..
Except my house now looked like a bomb had hit it.
(Molly saying piss off and let me sleep)
(Even our bedroom at midnight last night looked like a scrap yard)
Tomorrow is Charlie’s seventh birthday and I’m hosting 13 children for a Harry Potter party. Why??
Laters, Kate x
Bank holiday x
What a difference a day makes..from snow to sun burn. Righting the wrongs of too many Bank Holiday weekends the weather was glorious and a siren call for the outdoors. We headed to Morden Hall Park, a National Trust property at the end of the Northern line which provides a beautiful link between urban and wild. Look closely..and you can see a heron…(really closely – he was bigger in real life..honest)
Or bee keepers tending their hives.
We were there for the May Fayre, a wonderful mash of mystique and rural from terrier racing to sheep sheering to duck herding and tie dye t-shirts. It’s a bit of a favourite.
(Charlie running off to race against the terriers. The terriers won..)
A bit of fence wattling?
Or just watch from the shade..
Charlie holding his wallet. Yes, that be a sock with a knot..
There were also some great stalls, from food to alpaca blankets. I fell for these Chinese shoes..
They have that folksy vibe but with a cool cut: The wedge heel with the ankle tie just make them. The red ones had a slight heel but come much further up the ankle. Super cool and super comfy..win win.
Meanwhile today is the day the flooring goes down in the cellar..and then it gets transformed. At the mo all the shelves are still filled with the residue from all the decorating..this will go…very soon..Of course I’m still waiting for the fitter to arrive. I do my friend Pauline’s shopping for her on a Tuesday as she’s house bound..and I have a friend coming round for lunch that I would love to buy supplies for…. but why would a workman ever be prompt?? Except my wonderful Polish builders who proved that it’s possible…
Not that we haven’t been using the cinema room – we couldn’t miss Game of Thrones – all hail John Snow! But camping chairs really don’t cut it..
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 