Bookcase

I can't remember not having this bookcase - not too sure if a bit of orange paint on the back of it was from my bedroom in Leamington, 40+ years ago, or from our living room in Edward Avenue!  I've always been a bookworm - so my bookcase has gone everywhere with me - but it has languished in the conservatory, empty, for a couple of years whilst we tried to work out where it should live.

It now fits in the dining room - but not the colour so it's been painted.  The tiles on top were the only thing we liked in the kitchen here - guessing early 80s - that I'd kept aside for reuse.
Tiles turned out to be annoyingly delicate, but Phil managed to get enough to work.
It now fits visually - and I'm so pleased we found a home for both the bookcase and the tiles.
Finished off with our travel books - and 2 vases acquired from Jacki & Paul's wedding.

Conservatory

We had a short window to home-ify our unloved conservatory - waiting until after the heat of summer made it possible to spend any time working in it, but needing to complete it before the first frosts when our tender perennials need to come inside.

We changed the flooring from cork tiles (damaged from too much UV and heat) for a bathroom quality laminate.  Made the lighting safe to use.  Looked into proper blinds & shading, but resorted to a lower cost tenting solution using ready made IKEA curtains and velcro.  Jute rugs & beanbags courtesy of sample sales.

No longer a conservatory to be embarrassed by according to Husband!  

We're both just hoping we've made it resistant enough to the harsh conditions of extreme heat & sunlight - and its peculiar attractiveness to insects.  The fabric's going to fade, but I hope it will look OK faded - and we've designed it so it can be easily cleared of dead flies & washed properly.

The only problem now is that Husband now wants a greenhouse as he's reluctant to subject it to the plants every winter....

Lounge bit - downstairs is done part 3

Wooden floor, Irish bluestone hearth, log burner, a table that's the right height for TV dinners.  And storage/charging space.  The hearth & log burner were sagas - many thanks to all of you who put up with the regular updates!

I'm pleased that the stove came from the Isle of Wight.  Even more pleased that it works - although Phil is convinced that he is better at getting it working than I am.  Warm & pretty.  And very pleased with the grey cushion - a B&Q sample sale acquisition.


You can just make out the fish tank's new orange door in the second picture.  The original frosted glass one didn't survive the move - so is now orange perspex.  Pleased to report that all the fish have survived.

New corner sofa, new storage unit, old chevron cushions.  Old & much loved sofa has been exchanged for a case of cider.

All good.

Dining bit - downstairs is done

These pics are already out of date as the fish
tank has been relocated back from the garage (it's where the little coffee table is).

The stairs are just about visible - painted white with anti slip stickers.

3 puffin photos - taken on last year's trip to Ireland - we were thinking on the lines of 3 ducks on the wall, 3 pendant lights...

Paintings are by Nick Andrews - the one on the right is our wedding painting.

Must get some seat pads though - the chairs are a bit too hard for an evening of Cthulu Munchkins!

Hall - downstairs is done

Very pleased with Phil's suggestion of adding some bright orange doors to the hall storage thingy.  My colleagues were surprised to see the filing cabinet inside it - given the state of my desk....

Rug is one we had in the bunk bed ("monk bed" according to nephews) room in the old house.  Floor is PEFC french oak - we are now a shoes off household I'm afraid.

Guess what this is!

The Garage has a new but temporary feature.  There is also now a pile of French oak planks in the lounge.

No pictures of the room though as I think I need to hold back for an "after" photo now as Phil has done a serious amount of decorating this week.

Only one disaster so far - one wall in the cloakroom rejected emulsion, blistering as Phil rollered it on - really weird so who knows what had been painted on it before? He's trying a smoothing thick paint/filler product - see if that fixes it....

Farewell to mustard - and to gold coloured scrolls

3 days of getting up to greet the plasterers, 3 packets of biscuits and the lovely mustard walls are no more.  They were impressively tidy too.
The only downsides are that we've realised that fitting the wall lights is going to be a bit more complicated than we anticipated (short cables) & the switch for the lobby light isn't working so are resorting to getting an electrician back in.
We made a start on the decorating this weekend.  Phil used some interesting concrete-mix-in-a-bag stuff to tidy up the floor of the fireplace ready for tiling, stripped & re-varnished one of the handrails (and the light pull in the cloakroom).  I started on de-golding the railings, painting all of them black - pleased that we got that job finished on Saturday.
Looking better already I think....