Author Archives: 19th century modern squared N

Happy New Year B!  One of my numerous New Years resolutions this year is to blog more, so fresh from seeing the new year in at Edinburghs Hogmanay here’s my first post of 2013!

We’ve just finished converting one of our spare bedrooms to a bathroom and here’s the end result, I’m over the moon with it.  This is a picture of the room that used to be the bathroom, this room will now be converted to a single bedroom.And here’s the new bathroom, this used to be a small double bedroom.  This free standing roll top bath was high on my priority list (although not so important to my husband J), this one’s from Bathstore as was the sink and toilet.

Bath mat is from Zara Home and nets from Ikea.

Vintage mirror, plant pot and glass jar for cotton wool.

Light is a temporary loan from my brother. Patterned towels are from Anthropologie, I’ve been eyeing them up for ages and the plain ones are from Zara Home. Cut glass decanter is second hand and I’ve filled it with lavender bubble bath.

Rain shower!

We had a shelf built in to the shower area to put all our lotions and potions on.

The floor’s not finished yet and as you can see Sophie our cat has contributed her little mark!

We retained the original built in cupboard doors but had the shell of the cupboard completely rebuilt and it now contains slatted shelves and a mini radiator meaning we can us it as an airing cupboard.

Door knobs are from Anthropolgie.

Pillar candles in the fire to add warmth and mini mirror ball on the mantle.

Nx

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OK so I probably haven’t exposed myself as the true shopaholic I really am as yet but here’s the truth (B, I’m sure you are already aware!),  I LOVE SHOPPING!!!!  In whatever form, books, clothes, house stuff, either online or on foot!  Charity shops, designer boutiques or Ikea.  J, my husband, thinks I’m bonkers and can’t understand my endless appetite for looking at pictures of different rugs or searching eBay for the perfect bedside tables or the right dress for that christening in 2 months time, whatever the project I can while away hours browsing the net or trawling the shops, I love it!

Having done plenty of scouring to find the perfect mirror for over the fireplace in our bedroom, I thought I’d share a few of my favourites and the one we finally chose. I love mirrors, they make everywhere look lighter, brighter and bigger which is why they are one of my favourite ways to accessorize a room.

Brissi Josephine Mirror, John Lewis

Brissi New England Mirror, John Lewis

Over Mantel Mirror, Graham and Green

And some of my favourite looks with vintage ones:

Design Sponge: Sneak Peek Paula Mills and Family

Petits Papiers

As you can see we went with the Lattice Window Mirror from Graham and Green which I’m over the moon with.

My bedroom fireplace with the Window Lattice Mirror from Graham and Green

Nx

At last all of the DIYing is finished in our bedroom and i can get started making it beautiful with pictures, fabric and furniture.

The only major thing that we haven’t done yet is replace the radiator for a chunkier and shorter one giving us more wall space for me to clutter up with furniture.  We are planning to do this but not until we tackle the bathroom (next project) so we don’t have to drain the system down twice.

We’ve already chosen the curtain poles, we’re having those made by an iron monger in Worcestershire http://www.genuineforgery.com/  that we found on eBay and i chose the curtain material in December.  To be honest, the fabric was a major impulse purchase but i loved it and it was discounted so i couldn’t resist.  I always buy fabric for curtains in end of line shops and there are 2 excellent ones near my mums house so i’ve never paid more than £7 or £8 per metre (and often less).  I wasn’t brave enough to take on making the curtains myself so they’re being made by a local lady who does them for £10 per drop and i’m collecting them this week!

Nx

So finally a few before photos……..

As you can see the hideous wallpaper was put on with real care and attention!

The stone fireplace was painted white and the cast iron insert had been painted with black gloss paint I think.

And under the radiator there was evidence of wallpaper from a long time ago!

There is the remnants of a pull switch to control the big light which I am definitely going to restore to its former glory, there’s one in the spare room that we’ve been sleeping in since we moved in and it’s really useful and a bit retro i think!

So we’ve done most of the work in this room now and I’ll be taking a few pics this week to post soon and once the floor, walls and fireplace are all sorted then the real fun can begin, making it beautiful with fabrics and furniture!  I’ve been scowering the internet for months now looking for inspiration for this room and collecting it all on my beloved Pinterest board – Night Night Sleep Tight – http://pinterest.com/mrsnsw/night-night-sleep-tight/ .  Here’s a few of my favourite pics

House and Garden via Dahlias, Dreams and Damask.
I love the colours, in particular the rug, the white walls, the baskets either side of the fire (i might get some to keep my scarves in).

Via Marlow 35
Lush floorboards and floor length curtain and mustn’t forget the lovely white walls!

Via Desiretoinspire.net
Really like the neutral aged walls, old suitcases (I’ve already started a collection for on top of my wardrobes), gilt mirror and beautiful chandelier.

Looking forward to the completion of the blank canvas, not long to go now!

Nx

We moved in around 5 months ago and tangible renovation progress has been slow.  We’ve spent time and money on lots of unseen things on the roof that, amongst other things, has made the house water tight again and allowed us to use one of the fireplaces having had the chimney stack rebuilt and a reclaimed pot put back on.    The first of 3 that need doing to enable us to use all of the fireplaces in the downstairs of the house and our bedroom.  We also did a rush paint job on one of our reception rooms to cover up the mysetrious yellow staining on the lower walls (possibly dog wee – yuk!) so we could have Christmas dinner for the family in there.  Overall our new home is livable but very tired having been rented out for a number of years and after rushed DIY efforts in the past, and regrets over not having done things properly the first time, we have decided a one at a time approach to each room is the way to go to get things right and stay sane whilst living amongst all the mess.  The first room we’re working on is our bedroom, before photo’s in next post………….

Nx