Category: Renovations
House update..
It’s becoming like Christmas here with something new every day…another major part of the build – the floor – is going down…
It’s ticking all the boxes…the choice had again been a step away from the norm as I’d asked them for as many knots/character/colour variations as possible..basically a posh design that feels rustic.
The transformation is taking a bit of getting used to – after staring at it (for what was probably hours) I gingerly tried to balance my way round the unfinished edge to get to the stairs. ‘It’s a floor!’ The builders said, ‘Walk on it!’
Except I can’t!..
(Don’t think it will stop the kids though…)
Laters, Kate x
Backsplash Recap..
From hero to zero: After the joy of last week, all that’s now left of the kitchen is an empty room with a few pipes in the floor as it’s all been shipped to the spray painters. I committed to the final colour yesterday…nerve wracking! Particularly when you’ve had your heart set on one shade since the start…and then you’re told it’s not possible. Thank God I’m a great believer in fate..but it hasn’t stopped my heart from pounding.
But more decisions await: There was this post on splashbacks a while back and the final look still needs to be pinned down. Loving all things metallic at the moment so I’m thinking why not?
So much to choose from!
But budget does come into it..so I took myself off to bog standard B and Q to see what I could find that could be man-handled into something different…and was surprisingly successful. There’s this woven brass sheet, reminiscent of French Bergere sofas and chairs..
Laid over a stainless steel sheet it would compliment and pull in the stainless steel from the fridge/freezer..
Then there was this design..if the design itself had been bigger I would’ve snaffled it up there and then..
And then they had this..hammered copper rather than brass..again, not sure as it was only in the smaller size..and all the accents are brass..would pink work??
(All pics Pinterest)
I was sensible..there’s no rush – yet. So I walked away and will let it all cogitate and stew down…
Laters, Kate x
Kitchen Update x
Oh Joy aboundeth! I got home yesterday to see the antique French bookcase sitting in it’s new home for the first time! The builders have done a sublime job incorporating it into the new kitchen..one day it will hold all our crockery and glassware..one day..to say I love it is an understatement. It’s always a dodgy time when you imagine a concept – and you’re pretty sure it’s going to work..but you never know until it’s actually in place. The relief!
The plan is now for all the big units to disappear off to be spray painted whilst the room is decorated and the floor is laid…which has bought on a major paint crisis.
I thought I was blissfully sailing along, all paint decisions for the kitchen made.
Except the spray painters want an RAL number for the colour so they can mix up their own paint with additional hardeners. And I’ve chosen a boutique paint that no-one knows – Madison Grey by Abigail Ahern.
I’m running off now to the paint shop to see if they can help me – the last thing I want to do is to start looking at tester pots again…and of course it’s the big fascinator poker night piss-up party tonight. Always the way…
Laters, Kate x
The Underworld x
The hunt for the perfect wallpaper goes on. One group of designs that would’ve be way off the radar a few years ago but are ticking the boxes now are the tie-dye patterns.
There’s something about the way they repeat that looks so natural and realistic..as if they’re not repeating at all. Which, let’s face it, has to be a good thing…
Or maybe it’s the memories of a happy summer’s day in the garden.
.
(All pics Pinterest)
They’re probably more suited to a bathroom or bedroom than a cellar…but there’s just something about them..
Laters, Kate x
Le Weekend..
The plan was to get out of the urban bubble and see the sea..so we leapt on a train and headed for a grey, blustery Brighton.
Charlie and his gloves: Is this style, laziness..or a deep understanding of recycling??
Not that the kids cared about the weather..the sea is the sea after all..
It was bracing enough to freeze cheeks and brighten eyes.
Then the boys went to see Arsenal play..Charlie’s first proper match..seventh heaven for him.
So the girls got out the power tools…and played..
The table is our reproduction mahogany dining table that has got damaged over the years. Rather than replace it, I wanted to know if we could sand off the varnish and paint the pedestal leg to transform it into a classic but more rustic/practical piece of furniture. Can mahogany be more like a farmhouse table, happy to take dings and knocks? Not be so ‘precious’ and permanently hidden under a tablecloth? The only way to know was to experiment…
I had my helper with me for a while..but then she got bored and went to clean out her hamsters.
Oh joy! Lesson for mummy: Never assume you’re child’s intelligence. Lesson for Bella…we all have to make mistakes..but please don’t repeat this one again!
(Particularly when due to the building works, this sink represents our kitchen sink. Arggghhhh!)
By the end we looked like 2 orange oompa lumpa’s, but thankfully the table looked fab – I already prefer it…though I have no idea what to do as the next stage….oil? Wax? I know I don’t want the shiny red again..I want to knock back the red if at all possible, but not entirely sure what to do?….any suggestions very gratefully received…
Laters, Kate x
Marbled Marvels..
It’s that time of year: sick children…one coughing her way through the night which is the natural equivalent of chinese water torture, the other with a weeping ear and suspected perforated eardrum. Winter – don’t you love it? At least there’s beautiful wallpaper to keep the blues at bay. The final choice for the cellar (can I really keep calling it that? (but cinema room sounds so pretentious..)(such a first world dilemma)) has yet to be made: There’s three choices and this post represents the first group…a marbled/malachite paper with the hint of unusual mixed with traditional, timeless beauty..
I’m going to trawl the internet to see what I can find that’s UK based…but first we’re off to the quacks…
Laters, Kate x
An Update: House etc..
Yesterdays fascinator experiment went well..I was thinking of you Julie (hattitude) as we marshalled in the sinamay into shape! Could’ve done with your skill!!
No real finished ones to reveal yet..(the first official creative coffee is on Wednesday) but I think we’re a bit more prepared..
(It’s great stuff just to let loose and play with..I recommend it.)
On the house front, there’s no longer a broken neck risk checking out the cellar…we now have stairs!..
Upstairs…could that actually be a sink in the kitchen??!
To the unknowing eye, this all just looks like mismatched piles of wood..
To me, it’s the light at the end of the tunnel..(even knowing, once it’s made it’s coming out (sob!) to be painted (and so the floor can go down))..but this is pure progress. We may even have a working bin soon – the excitement, the luxury!
Laters, Kate x
The Sitting Room x
In the normal run of things, you look at a room, decide it needs a spruce and decorate it knowing the context surrounding it. A renovation is slightly different – you tend to think of each room as individuals and forget how they link together. It’s what’s concerning me about our sitting room.
The original choice was for it to be a green as it leads into the garden, merging them together.
And there are some gorgeous greens out there.
But vaguely rational part of brain said ‘it’s leading from dark grey..’
And then I was drawn to blues, deep, dark, inky blues…resist, I thought – stick to leaves and plants. But the pull was there. And kept coming back. So compromise stepped in – use the midnight blue in the cellar where light doesn’t matter. Which seemed like good thinking.
Except I can’t resist the bluey teals that are dominating my Pinterest page.
I laugh that our home might be a cave. But I’m starting to think it really might be…
Laters, Kate x
The Hall x
Time to decide which wallpaper makes the cut for the hall which is a bit like going into Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory and just choosing one ickle bickle flavour. How do you pick?
It will be William Morris because he is my interior design hero and God. But that hardly narrows the field down.
I’ve discarded some of the darker patterns, just because I’m going darker…on the dado and skirting boards..and in the kitchen..and sitting room..and cinema room..hey ho – just call my home a cave..
I’m thinking this one – Arbutus – could be it…There’s something about the 3D effect of the leaves and their blue/grey colour..
Decisions, decisions…
Laters, Kate x
Shine & Shade x
Wallpapers: Can you spot the rubies in the dust, the cheerful from the chips, the diamonds in the rough? Scroll through, remember your favourites….then see at the end. So this is number one..
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
Eleven.
Twelve.
Thirteen.
Fourteen.
Fifteen.
Sixteen.
Seventeen.
Eighteen.
Nineteen.
Twenty.
Now for the reveal…..all the wallpapers were from Graham and Brown – not a company featured much in the interior design world glossies. But many of the concepts here are visually similar to their posher counterparts: Honolulu palm versus Palm by Cole and Son, Capulet teal versus Hermes jardin d’osier, tudor houses versus Fornasetti. But their price point? Nothing here was over £20..and some of them were as low as £7.50 per roll…check it out:
One = Honolulu palm green for £20 per roll.
Two = Desire gold for £8.50 (in the sale) or £17 per roll
Three = Marvel action hero for £10 per roll
Four = Juan white for £7.50 per roll
Five = Jiao pruple for £7.50 per roll
Six = Tranquil purple for £7.50 per roll
Seven = Bao white for £7.50 per roll
Eight = Desire damson for £7.50 per roll
Nine = Fresco Mai for £10 per roll
Ten = Olympus black/white for £10 per roll
Eleven = Majestic black for £15 per roll
Twelve = Petit papillon black for £20 per roll
Thirteen = Do the stretch mustard for £20 per roll
Fourteen = Capulet teal for £20 per roll
Fifteen = Botanic charcoal for £20 per roll
Sixteen = Kelly’s Ikat for £20 per roll
Seventeen = Enigma white/prussian blue for £20 per roll
Eighteen = world heritage black/white for £20 per roll
Nineteen = Honolulu black for £20 per roll
Twenty = tudor house for £20 per roll
Makes you think: Where does the beauty lie?
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 