NURSERY RHYMES: photo showcase

This is really more of a "story so far" kind of post. Its significantly nicer than the original room with its plain magnolia walls and beige carpet, but its not quite there yet. I have many things I plan on implementing over the coming months, for instance:

• Tissue Paper Pom Poms are a must - the ceiling height looks vast at the moment and for a box room, it needs bringing down a little bit visually, so pom pom clouds should do the trick.
• Silver Birch stump Table - currently, i have an old bedside unit with a wicker drawer in which solves some minor storage issues and gives me a place for the baby monitor to sit, but I'd love a little tree stump instead to complete the woodland theme. Fortunately, I have a friend who is a Tree Surgeon so he's keeping his beady eyes peeled for me.
• Wardrobe - we got this bargain from Argos. the reason its a bargain is because its unfinished. As the cot is second hand and a varnished pine, it would make sense to varnish this too - but i don't like that idea. So i do plan on painting it white, when my daughter has outgrown her cot. So, in about 3 years.

There are also a few pieces just to dress the room I'm looking for, and I'm sure these will pop into my peripheral vision at some point. Anyway, hope you like the photos!

Mx

HOME IMPROVEMENT: Master Bedroom

We’ve been in our new abode for a little over a month now, and I’m disappointed with myself that it hasn’t all been completely converted to reflect my tastes. But, as keen as I am to transform this place into my dream home, there have been a few things hindering the process: Christmas for one thing, and my daughter for another. Before motherhood, I saw my maternity leave as a wonderful, restful place where I could finally focus on completing my dream of writing a childrens book, improve my sewing ability and explore new and exciting recipes in the kitchen, and of course redecorate our new house. But as it turns out, children need nurturing. They need entertaining and you really need to keep your attention focused on them. Hmmm. So I’m now just three weeks away from returning to work (albeit part time) and have achieved none of the above. Hmpf.

But it hasn’t all been dirty nappies and bottle feeds this past month. I did manage to make chutneys and pickled onions for Christmas gifts, as well as mince pies and Christmas cake. And in the very miniscule amount of spare time I had, I painted our new Master Bedroom. Hurrah! And what wonderful scheme have I gone with, I hear you ask? Well, it’s all very exciting. The room was painted BRILLIANT WHITE (gasp) which in my opinion, really should only be used in rooms with immaculately plastered walls and excellent light. Our room does not have these things – it has textured wallpaper (double gasp) which I despise. I could have stripped the walls, or have applied Polycell filler everywhere but I didn’t. I’ve just painted on top, but I’ve managed to achieve a much better finish by opting for matt paint as this doesn’t highlight the texture as a silk paint would. And the colour of the newly painted walls is (drumroll please)….. CONTEMPORARY. Oh, that’s not a colour? Well, it’s what it says on the tin. It’s actually the colour of Double Cream. Yes, that’s right – its off-white. Haha! A whole month and I’ve transformed the room from BRILLIANT WHITE to OFF WHITE. But it looks much better, I swear! I’ve also covered up the feature wallpaper which was had a floral vine design on in black and blue-grey.

Now the canvas is restored to a more aesthetically pleasing neutral tone, the room is looking much bigger and lighter. The textured wallpaper, though still present, is not nearly as noticeable. I’ve recycled the curtains from our old house’s living room (as curtains can be a costly affair for good quality and we simply can’t afford that at the moment) and have been hunting for an appropriate light fitting. The new bed has arrived (hurrah) and the wardrobe is on its way. When the main furniture is all in situ, I’ve got to start looking at dressing the room which I’m in two minds over. For the moment, I’ve just used bits we already had and I’m not very happy with the overall look at all.

The curtains are a green/yellow leafy design on an ivory shimmer background, They aren’t my first choice for bedroom curtains really – like I said they were in our living room. And with duel aspect windows, they affect the feel of the room quite a lot. And unfortunately, they don’t fit in with either of the schemes I had in mind. I had been toying very indecisively between a Kelly Hoppen inspired room of very sophisticated taupe and grey and a desperate housewives Susan Mayer style room of a more country, homey feel. I’m not decided yet. But then I came across an article on vintage bedrooms with reconditioned antique finds and REALLY liked the look. So I’m going to sit on it until the robe arrives and decide then. At the moment, vintage is winning out, but it depends on how I feel tomorrow. Hmmm.

So, here for your viewing pleasure are some snapshots of the room at the moment. I will of course post a Completed Room post at a later date, so bets are being taken on which design route we decide to go down.

Moving House: a New Beginning

Finally, the reason I started a blog is almost upon us: the contracts have been exchanged and we’re now awaiting confirmation of the moving-in date. AND I’M SO EXCITED! Partly because its bigger than our current abode, partly because it’ll be our very own home rather than a rented house, but mostly because I can finally get my teeth into refurbishing the damn place to my liking (something very frustrating about renting).

So, is it a complete fixer upper I hear you ask? Erm, no, not exactly. In fact, we’ve been very lucky in finding a place which is good enough to move straight into (high priority with a little baby in tow) but it’s not going to feature in any home-design magazines anytime soon. The current owners are in their late 60’s, so that should give you a good idea of the décor. And guess what? I’ve already drawn up the whole house in sketchup and have gone through at least 5 different designs and layouts for each room already. Did I mention I’m fickle? Yup, I get fed up of styles/colours/patterns very quickly, so really need to be happy with something before I make the plunge and decorate.

So here you are, as I’m sure you’re desperate to take a peek, a few teasers of the house. To preserve the current occupiers privacy, I am just showing the fixed decoration elements which I will be replacing on a rolling programme.

Living room

A nice size with extension at the back, solid wood floor in Oak and currently a feature wallpaper around the chimney breast. A basic electric fire and mantle will be remaining.

Kitchen

Not my favourite space: It’s long and thin and the unit doors are a Beech vinyl, with a red granite-effect laminate worktop. Tiles are beige and carcasses are white so a facelift will be the cheapest solution in here. The oven is staying but all other appliances must be acquired.

Master Bedroom

I quite like this space: it’s got duel aspect windows so the room will bet both the morning and evening sunlight. A floral wallpaper currently dominates the space but all other walls remain white. No quirky features apart from the new ensuite which has pebble flooring (!)

Other rooms…                                                                                          

My main concern is the Hallway which is the first impression people will get when they enter the house, so this really needs to represent the style running throughout: All rooms lead off from this so it needs to compliment without appearing cluttered or themed. It’s ultimately going to set the trend for all the rooms so I want it to be fairly neutral and tasteful.  Also, the Nursery is a must do. The little’un will be staying in our room for a few more months until she sleeps right through the night, so it would be best to tackle this first. Also, I’ve not even thought about the gardens – as we’re looking at and Autumn/Winter move, its not really a concern until Spring but there are a few things which we’ll need to do as general maintenance eg. Protecting the Decking.

Stay tuned for the Refurbishment posts. I intend to keep a record of the improvements and will be including useful hints and tips alongside a few tutorials on home-made elements. Oooh, can't wait!