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J’s sisters birthday took us on a trip to the big smoke recently to celebrate. I’ve always thought i’d like to live there but being the family gal I am it’s always been a step too far from my lot up north! It really is a wonderful city with so much to offer but with a 2 hour fast train to Euston who needs to live there these days, love the train connection, we’d arrived by 10am with a whole day of on foot city exploration ahead of us – love it!

Just think of the size of giant sparkly present you could fit in there!

Nx

I have a friend and colleague in Berlin with the most amazing apartment.  I was lucky enough to visit her recently and whilst we sipped cups of Darjeeling tea to warm us up whilst it snowed outside, she allowed me to take a few pics of her home to share on here, thank you Yvonne!

You can see Yvonne’s reflection in this picture

I love the mannequins, the mix of old and new and the neutral palette!  She also has an amazing mirror ball and light combo which didn’t photograph well but produced an amazing light display in the hallway, it’s left me wondering where I can fit one in to my own house but J is yet to be convinced!

Nx

Here’s a before shot reminder!

Here it is now!

Nx

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

Edited with BlogPad Pro

Beautiful hand-blown baubles at the Jinney Ring this morning

I am still living in a house of half finished rooms, hence no new posts.  However, I have been doing some Christmas decorating and have a few pics to share.  This morning we visited a local craft centre, the Jinney Ring (oo er missus) where there are little individual workshops where artists are making stained glass windows (including restoring our front door), chocolates, violins and other beautiful things.  We have started a new tradition, buying a bauble from the glass blower.  I could spend a fortune in there, but we’ll have to limit it to one per year for the time being!  We’re on a bit of an economy drive this year.  The tree came from a local farm (much more fun than picking one up from Homebase in the middle of the city) but we chose a ‘dropper’ and I’m slightly concerned that there will not be any needles left for Christmas.  Our only new decorations came from TK Maxx (I love that place) and I managed to get 20 little blue glass gems for 6 pounds, which looked far more impressive with the addition of Hobbycraft ribbon.  And I couldn’t resist the peacocks.  Neither can my daughter, who keeps stroking them.  I’ve attacked the enormous conifer in the back garden and wired the trimmings to the banister, making our curtainless, artexed hallway look a little more festive.  My old Woolworth’s neon Christmas light is bathing everything in a ruby glow.  I haven’t finished Cillit Banging the minton floor tiles in Downton Abbey scrubber style yet so the floor is looking a bit patchy.  And finally I’ve tied glittery deer to the lampshade in the dining room and added some sparkly baubles to the Cable and Cotton string lights that are a year-round feature on the mantelpiece.

The tree: losing needles fast!

TK Maxx peacock

More TK Maxx treasure!

Some festive glueing

Conifer garland and neon merry Christmas (ignore the half restored floor tiles!)

New Cable and Cotton lights and twinkly Hobbycraft deer suspended over the table

Okay, so life keeps getting in the way of blogging.  And decorating.  But here is one room that is on its way; the spare room.  It started life as a (20 year old, ripped and cartoon stickered) wallpapered room with a falling down curtain, and a carpet that had seen better days.

Remember this?

What’s been done:

• Painted white (on top of the wallpaper as we couldn’t afford to strip it properly)
• Carpeted in grey
• Window dressed with another bargain IKEA roller blind until we can afford more
• Fireplace board removed
• Grate blackened
• Dressing table found in an alleyway before we left the city painted and given new handles
• Ercol armchair ‘covered’ (i.e. wrapped) in fabric
• Canvas covered in same fabric

It needs more personality – some photos, and a bit more nature and art.  But it means that we have a nice place for guests to stay for the first time in two years.  Kinda vital when you have moved away from all of your friends (phew!)

Can you see the edges on that dodgy wallpaper?  And the minton floor (all the minton floors) still needs a good scrub with white spirit and wire wool.

This is part of a 3 piece Ercol suite picked up on eBay. The rest is yet to be titivated…

I can’t compete with N but hopefully the hydrangea stem from the garden will dry nicely (I can’t take any credit: it just grew). Bedside table also found in an alleyway in the city and needs a repaint!  And if I was a stylist it would be full of vintage fabrics amassed on my travels.  Oh well.

The bed is too big and my photography skills too poor to do it justice. I need some lessons, N!

The dressing table started out like this…

Before…the formica was just too nicotine stained and the handles wouldn’t polish up (they weren’t good quality anyway)

After a few coats of craft enamel and some new IKEA handles

Bed IKEA from old house (wouldn’t fit in our new room).  Bed linen Homebase (the glamour!)  Silk peonies TK Maxx.  Green pots (on mantel) and ceramic pin pot (at bedside – with the Queen’s seal) charity shops.  Green vases IKEA buys over the years.  Lamp IKEA.  Silk bird (stuffed with lavender) a lovely handmade present.  Fabric IKEA (for teenagers’ rooms, so they reckon).

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

I’ve been on a management bollocks course this week, although I use the term affectionately and I’m not as cynical as I sound.  And who would have thought revisiting my Myers-Briggs personality preferences would shed light on my blogging and interiors habits: specifically why I never see anything as ‘finished’ and ready for sharing?  Apparently, for me, finishing something means that the creative process is over, and endpoints aren’t where my satisfaction is found.  I need things to be ‘works in progress’ to keep the energy flowing.   So, while I continue plugging away at a houseful of unfinished tasks (yes, kitchen cupboards still in progress), here are some photos of the most together room, the sitting room…

The view from the (very unfinished) hall

G Plan fan club

They don’t make architraves like this any more

I suspect these tiles aren’t original but I love them anyway

Note my unromantic anniversary card on the mantelpiece: N we need some lessons from you and J!

Big sideboard, little stool. I must confess that although it was a perfect home for the decks and vinyl in our twenties, I’m glad they have been relegated to the IKEA Expedit next door!

Beads

What’s what

Furniture:

Rocking chair (covered in IKEA blanket) and tiny stool hand me downs from Granny (the stool was made for Granny and her sister Edna by her father for sitting by the fire to dry their hair).  Coffee table G Plan (£70) and sideboard (£60) Ebay steals six years ago.  Sofa a trusty IKEA Ektorp.

Details:

Print tray from Mum, tat from my travels.  Lamp base Habitat Spindle, shade John Lewis (thanks Mum).  Wall lights IKEA separate bases and shades.  Origami pendant my £6 sale find at Next Home.  Steel candelabra old Habitat, glass candlesticks wedding prezzie from the girls.  Bowl (on table) wedding present from Tom from Morocco (note the excellent taste of mes amis).  Cushions: pink quilted an old Muji buy, blue striped IKEA outdoor cushion, floral TKMaxx.  Pictures: Danish chairs an Ebay find in IKEA frame, mini canvas a tenner from a tourist tat shop on Mykonos.  Paperweight TKMaxx, mirrorball from the Christmas tree, beads (on light) from Topshop years ago, blanket from Tweedmill (thanks to sister in law).

Total new purchases = striped IKEA cushion.  Am rather chuffed with that :).