FEELING BREEZY: A FAN OF FANS

Several people have asked me about the bowl-like lighting fixtures hanging from the ceiling, in the bedroom photographs. 

These are actually ceiling fan lights with their blades temporarily removed.  Nobody likes a hot, muggy bedroom at the height of the summer (not that we have too many of those!) when they are trying to sleep.  During the winter you can use the reversable blade action to circulate warm air around the room.

These fans come with a remote control which allows you to select one of  three speeds, as well as allowing you to dim the lights to a comfortable level when relaxing and watching TV in bed.

Bedroom Two

Bedroom One

For the ultimate in ceiling fan lights, Litecraft have launched the innovative and supremely stylish 'Fanaway' featuring the unique design feature of retractable blades which tidily tuck away leaving you with an Art Deco style lamp.  But you might need more than a fan to cool off after looking at the £400 price tag - sadly way out of my budget.

Fanaway available from:-
http://www.litecraft.co.uk/p/7923/fanaway-chrome-retractable-blade-fan-light/

BEDROOM TWO: A BLANK CANVAS

Bedroom Two has been plastered and painted with a white base coat (Flat Matt Emulsion).  It's exciting to see it start taking shape although it still has a long way to go... but it also has come a long way from the previous owner's decor and tastes.

Original chimney breast & alcoves after dado rail ripped out

Building out the TV recess and alcove wardrobes.

Plastered and white washed.

A blank canvas

Paint and wallpaper swatches

Bamboo wood floors

Design ideas: The room will probably have one feature wall in wallpaper as this provides texture and contrast and breaks up the space.  The second complimentary shade of wallpaper will be used to line the wardrobe interiors, while the walls will be painted in a neutral tone (still undecided).

Of course the real fun will start with furnishing the room and the finishing touches!

Due to lack of space and logistical problems, Bedroom One is only half white washed as it is currently occupied but I should have some pictures soon when it becomes empty and the painting is finished.

One of the joys of home renovation is kissing goodbye to woodchip wallpaper and ugly artex ceilings.  With a bit of hard work, dedication and perseverance, it can be done!

A COMPLAINT!

Yesterday, I received an email complaint from a 'Pepper Kitty' about the lack of kitty photographs on this blog namely featuring herself.  She needs to work on her typing skills, spelling & punctuation as it was really bad and hard to decipher.  She's much better at posing for the camera. 

So here she is, trying to kill you with her cuteness:-

Me! Me! Me! Meow!

Don't mess with the paw

Incidentally what she is reclining on is my dressing gown.  The black and grey stripes have confused her into thinking that when I wear it, we are somehow related and she becomes especially clingy and follows me around:  I wonder if she sees me as a larger version prowling around the house?

SPRINGTIME IN THE GARDEN OF ANXIETY

It's amazing how much everything has grown in just 10 months, especially the box hedging around the patio which will be pruned next month.  There have been some more additions to the garden which is beginning to look fuller.  I'm also trying to introduce more varied foliage colour and shape - although there is still a long way to go...

July 2011

May 2012

Phormium tricolor, Escallonia Iveyi & Choisya Ternata

Clematis Cardinal Rouge & Weigela

Rose Trellis

Dicentra & corner of Rose Trellis

Sambucus Nigra

BEDROOM ONE: WARDROBE WALLPAPER

For some weeks now I've been thinking about wallpaper to line the insides of the two wardrobes I have in bedroom one.  Since the newly plasterered, smooth walls will be painted in a neutral colour, I think it's quite interesting to slide back a door and find a different surface /colour /contrast behind it.

Not wanting to spend a great deal of money on wallpaper that would be rarely seen, I couldn't believe my luck when 4 rolls were found in a B&Q clearance bin by my favourite interior designer, Kelly Hoppen, reduced from £19.99 to £5 per roll.  Naturally, I bagged the lot while practically howling with glee! 

This gorgeous wallpaper has very subtle textured lines in contrasting colours. Washable and with a slight lustre to the texture.  The colour is more of a cream / ivory than in the detailing below.   

Bargain!

Kelly Hoppen Wallpaper at Graham & Brown
http://www.grahambrown.com/uk/product/30-160/Linear



KELLY HOPPEN INTERIORS
One of the things I love most about Kelly Hoppen's interior designs is her palette of neutrals and the calm, relaxing and understated elegance that they create - almost Japanese and Zen-like.

THE FOXY FAMILY NEXT DOOR

BEDROOM TWO: CURRENTLY BEING PLASTERED

The second bedroom is currently being plastered and should be finished by the end of the week.  All the prep-work has been done as shown in the photos below. I can't wait to see the transformation, although it doesn't really emerge until you start painting a couple of white 'mist' coats: 

I've found that a 10-20% Emulsion paint to water mist coat works really well as it get absorbed into the dry plaster and stops the paint just forming a skin on top that can easily be scratched off. 

Ceiling after Artex removal

Alcove wardrobes with TV recess

Door cavities filled

View with window

BEDROOM ONE: GETTING READY TO GET PLASTERED

The last couple of weekends have been intense non-stop work, so much so that I’ve had little time to blog or to do anything else.  The end result is as you see below: It doesn’t look like much but the alcove closet frame was ripped out and completely rebuilt for sliding doors, and all the major holes and cracks around the room have now been filled.  You really don’t want to be wasting your plasterers’ time & skill with crack filling when they could be obsessively focussing on getting surfaces level with the best finish that they can possibly achieve - well that's my thought.

New Frame

Old floor to ceiling closet doors

 

 

Built-in Wardrobe

Chris, the plasterer who did such an excellent job on the bathroom ceiling is back this weekend to work his magic on the walls and ceiling.   Actually as I post this, he's already made a start.

The Pepper (kitty) has developed a fixation with water and it’s been hard keeping her away from sink, bath and basin.  Despite having a bowl of fresh water daily, the moment you run a tap, she is there!   I know when she’s been playing in the kitchen sink by the tell-tale trail of wet paw prints that she leaves behind.  She is currently obsessed with watching me washing up and has now taken to sitting at the sink and occasionally dipping her paw in the suds.  I’m hoping that she’ll master the technique and wash the dishes for me…  Look and learn little cat.  She's also become much more vocal.

As we enter Spring, I’ve now resumed having my morning coffee in the Garden of Anxiety.  Despite the erratic winter, all the plants seemed to have survived and are showing the beginnings of new growth.  Due to the success of the two existing ones, I’ve gone Clematis crazy and bought three more, including the evergreen Winter flowering, Cirrhosa Freckles (which sounds like an unfortunate liver disease).   The roses seem relentless and have bounced back nicely.  I think I’m getting the hang of them now and will subject them to a harder prune next winter.  There is still a bit of hard landscaping to be finished but I’m looking forward to sunny days working outdoors.

UGH! FEBRUARY'S SNOW

I guess the Winter wouldn't be complete without it making an appearance.  Some say it is beautiful.  Some say it renders everything into a Winter Wonderland, but I'd sooner this unwanted guest made a speedy exit so I could continue working in the garden.  I miss being outdoors.

WEIRD DAGUERREOTYPES