My Own Home - Guest Bedroom

This room really had no redeeming features and was long overdue.  Fortunately, I couldn't find a photo of this room before we started, so there's no before and after!   

As with all the other rooms, we had the ceiling plastered to banish the Artex, put up coving and replaced all the skirting boards.  Our house was built in the early 80's and it had glass panels above all the upstairs doors.  I understand why, but it's not something we had ever liked and we'd often talked about removing the glass and filling in the sections of wall above the doors.   Because we knew that we would be tackling the hall, stairs and landing after this room, it made sense to remove the glass and have the walls plastered over - it's almost the best thing we ever did, and much easier than we thought it would be (I can say that, because I didn't actually do it!).

Maybe it was to do with the time of year that I was planning this room (spring), but I wanted it to look much fresher and I was drawn to shades of green.



As usual, I got more than a few samples!

Final Choices

So, my final choices were Zoffany Vervine (Flat Emulsion) for 3 of the walls and Threads Raindrops Champagne wallpaper for the wall behind the bed.  The ceiling was Zoffany Quarter Linen (Flat Emulsion) and the woodwork was Quarter Linen Acrylic Emulsion.  Quarter Linen looks white when it's on the ceiling but is just a bit softer.  A similar Farrow & Ball colour would be Pointing.

Zoffany Vervine

Threads Raindrops Champagne by GP&J Baker

Zoffany Quarter Linen

For the Roman blind I chose Threads Meander in Celery, bordered on 3 sides (and piped along the top) in Zoffany Linens in Olive:

Here's a close up of the Roman Blind ......

As we've done with all the other rooms, we replaced the ceiling rose with a chrome one and silk braided flex rather than plastic.  The pendant lampshade is from an online lampshade shop called "Shady Lady Lampshades" run by a lady called Jo.  I sent her the fabric and she laminated it - adding a diffuser gives a softer light and hides the bulb!  The fabric on the lampshade was Threads Circles Celery / Dove (now discontinued unfortunately but may be available on eBay).  

Shady Lady Lampshades can be found at http://www.shadyladylampshades.co.uk/

Our upholsterer at work made the headboard.  I chose Travers Arden Chevron in Fawn which has an irregular chevron design with an ombre colour effect. The bed valance was also Zoffany Linens in Olive.  Putting a tailored bed valance on a bed makes it look really smart and much nicer than one made of sheeting! 

The bedside tables are Tuvan Bedsides from The Dormy House and I had these painted in Stone. 

I bought the lamp bases from The White Company but the shades which came with them were too white so I changed them for cream oval shades from OKA and gave the white ones to the local charity shop.

I'm well aware that I'm too old for soft toys, but I can't part with a well-loved, somewhat faded, rabbit from my childhood called Pancho.  Taking the orange of his trousers as inspiration,  I found a gorgeously soft faux mohair throw in OKA which adds warmth in a lovely burnt orange colour, together with this simple vase .......

I'd been looking for ages for a mirror to go on a narrow piece of wall next to the wardrobe and finally found this one at Cox & Cox:

Colette Mirror from Cox and Cox

Anyway, here's a (not very good) picture of it all put together ...........

One last thing, the current cushions (which are trimmed with Kate Forman Pom Pom Trim in Charcoal) are just all looking a bit green so I'm looking at alternatives in orange at the moment (favouring the Kravet which is the darker one) - watch this space!

"A good house is never finished!"

My Own Home - Conservatory

Quick one this time!  I don't have any before photos, but this is what it looks like now ......

We had Karndean put down on the floor (replacing the old sheet vinyl which had seen better days).  

The dhurrie was from OKA (now discontinued but they have a similar one here (although only in extra large!):  http://www.okadirect.com/masai-dhurrie-cotton-rug-large.aspx?vid=tfu003bld-0

I wanted some cushions for the new sofa and chair - Romo Dune had the perfect colours!  See the full range here:  http://www.romo.com/collections/plains/dune

This was finished about 2 and a half years ago and the cushions are a bit faded now (might just have to replace them with new ones!).  The furniture is the New Hampshire range, also from OKA and is still available.  

Further details are available here:

http://www.okadirect.com/new-hampshire-2-seater-outdoor-sofa-rattan.aspx?vid=xoc016gyl-0 

It's now a much more sociable space and many weekend mornings are spent drinking coffee in here before the weather's good enough to venture out into the garden for coffee!

The next project was the guest bedroom which had been crying out to be done for about 10 years ..... 

Thanks for stopping by!

My Own Home - Kitchen

As promised, here is the first of a few updates!  The first room we tackled was the kitchen, and that was prompted by a new (and relocated) boiler which left a hole in the wall - how convenient!

So, as a reminder, this is what it looked like .....

A new kitchen wasn't on the agenda at all but when we returned from Kefalonia, we were greeted with what we thought was a leaking boiler (and a drawer full of water!).  It turned out to be the hot water tank which was leaking in the airing cupboard above but as the boiler was almost 30 years old we decided to replace it and had it moved into the airing cupboard, freeing up that corner of the kitchen.

Conveniently (!) we couldn't find any cupboards to match the old ones so had to have a new kitchen!

We had to remove all the wall tiles and flooring but the rest came out in less than a day - perfect excuse to eat out!

Within a week we had a new kitchen and once it was in I could start thinking about the best bit - choosing the fabric for the blinds and the paint colour .......... 

I chose Romo Tulipa for the blinds - on seeing the pattern book with this fabric, one of our clients said "it makes your heart sing doesn't it!"

I then had to choose the colour - red or blue??

I loved the blue but just felt that the red worked better with the French Grey units. I contrast lined the blinds with Ian Sanderson Pippi Stripe in Lime (now discontinued but there will be an alternative). We do this quite often - lining curtains and blinds with a contrasting fabric rather than plain lining means you have something nice to look at from the outside too!

For the walls I chose Zoffany Mist and the wall tiles are Retro Metro which have a lovely crackle glaze (by Fired Earth). 

Zoffany Mist 

And here's the finished result ........

Of course, as we all know, a room is never really finished, 

so now I'm changing the fabric on the chairs .......

I whittled it down to 2 - Jane Churchill Gable (the zig zag fabric above) in either the red or leaf colour and Romo Kahlo in redcurrant.  In the end, I went for the Romo Kahlo - it was just slightly better with the Tulipa,  The fabric has arrived and I'm just waiting for the upholsterer to have a slot to schedule them in - watch this space!

That's all for now - the next room to benefit from a bit of love and attention was the conservatory, so that will be the subject of the next update.

The Best Bits of This Month's Mags (April 2016)

Yes, I realise it's still only February but April's magazines have just arrived.  I used to subscribe to about 5 magazines (our poor postman!) but I've cut this down to 3........ though I still buy the odd extra one - I just can't help myself!

Of course, I don't actually read them all (who has time to do that?!) - I just look at the pictures. However, my plan is to make this post a regular feature which means I might actually pay a bit more attention to the magazines which drop onto the doormat every month.

Rather helpfully, Homes & Gardens this month included a supplement entitled "Spring/Summer 2016 Trends"

Homes & Gardens
Spring/Summer 2016 Trends 

In this edition, they speak about the "growing focus on the materials that offer us a sense of place in the world".  They feature a number of products made from natural materials - wood, woven, stone, wool and glass.  In the Designer's Mind Section a number of designers were asked (amongst other things) "What part do you believe craft plays in the modern world?"  The answers were many and varied.  New York-based designer Stephen Burks said "Craft is the expression of culture by hand. It's neither antiquated nor modern.  It's timeless.  As such, it plays an important role in using materials in constantly unique ways."  An example of this timeless use of materials is given in a feature on woven materials on page 26 "The new requisite for furniture and textiles is that they bring texture to a scheme, sparking a revival in woven forms, from simple, sculptural baskets to Seventies-inspired rattan seating and macrame wall hangings."

Homes & Gardens supplement -
article on page 26 featuring woven products

In the Homes & Gardens magazine itself I spotted these fun "Porcini" outside tables by Dedon.  I love the contrast in the woven base with the smooth ceramic tops.  Nice colours too!  

Homes & Gardens, April 2016 (page 37)

Porcini Tables from £630 each
Available from Leisureplan.co.uk

In keeping with their theme of natural materials, Homes & Gardens also has an interesting interview with textile artist Pippa Caley who says she is always "inspired by organic structures" and goes on to say she "gathers ideas from landscapes, leaves and flowers.  The natural world has always informed my fabrics, which are often quite painterly in style."  This article is on pages 54 - 56 of Homes & Gardens April 2016.

Homes & Gardens, April 2016 (pages 54-56)

I love this scheme they've put together on page 34 inspired by morning mist over Tuscany.......

Above - Homes & Gardens, April 2016 (pages 33 - 34)

To coincide with London Design Week 2016, most fabric houses bring out new collections and Homes & Gardens has a feature on the latest collections starting on page 61. This article features abstract and geometric patterns from companies such as Osborne & Little, Larsen, and Designers Guild, big leafy botanicals from Pierre Frey, Christopher Farr and (my personal favourite) Kerala from Mark Alexander - see below:

Kerala in Grey, Mark Alexander

They also review the latest in the continuing trend for monochrome fabrics as well as deeply quilted fabrics which add a wonderful texture to schemes.  My favourites are Cocoon by Boussac at Pierre Frey and Cloud in Teal from Kirkby House (though I couldn't find that one when I looked on the Kirkby website).

Cocoon by Boussac

My favourites of all the fabrics they have featured are the blues which they have displayed on umbrellas.  They include fabrics from Vila Nova, Zinc, Kravet, Abbot & Boyd and Thibaut.  

Homes & Gardens, April 2016 (page 74)

I'd quite like one of those umbrellas!

25 Beautiful Homes have chosen to feature the latest floral designs in fabrics, furniture and accessories - I particularly like the floral retro radio from Emma Bridgewater:

Above: 25 Beautiful Homes, April 2016 and Emma Bridgewater Retro Floral DAB / FM Radio (available from Emma Bridgewater.co.uk and many retailers).

In their section entitled The Source, where they pick an item from each of the homes they've featured, there were a couple of things which caught my eye:

The Coniston Bath from CP Hart:

And the Loco Floor Lamp from Loaf:

Ideal Home have also chosen to highlight the nature revival as their "Mood of the moment" in their "Shopping Ideas" pages and have picked out floral prints, wood furniture and an artisan style dish and pitcher.  They also have a page devoted to fun "Mid Century Retro" featuring crockery, lighting and furniture inspired by the fifties to the seventies and a double-spread on graphic monochrome finds, most of which are readily available on the high street.

In the "Decorating Ideas" pages there's an interesting article about tiles - vinyl as well as ceramic.  I'm not sure I like all their suggestions but they've shown some fun tiles by Neisha Crosland - Parquet Vinyl £42.95 per square metre, shown below as featured in the magazine.......

They're available in lots of colours, shown in turquoise below.......

They also mention ceramic tiles which look like wood.  They've been around for a while now (I remember considering them in my final project when I did my course).  I think they're really practical, look great and you can use them with underfloor heating.  Fired Earth have a great selection.

Of course, they also have the usual readers' houses as well as the 'before and after' kitchens and bathrooms.

That's it for this month!  

PS - London Design Week takes place at Chelsea Harbour from Sunday 13th to Friday 18th March. 

My Own Home - Second Bedroom

The last time I posted anything about my own home was in June 2012 and at that time our plans were to do our son's bedroom and the guest bedroom - both before Christmas - I can tell you that didn't happen! We did just about manage to get our son's room done in time for Christmas but it would be another 18 months or so before the guest room was tackled!

So, here goes with the update on our son's bedroom ......

This is what it looked like just after he left to go and do a Masters at Nottingham Uni - it looks like he left in a hurry!

It was a bit of a mission to clear the room and it took a while, but it was all worth it ......

The wall colour is Zoffany Half Harbour Grey.  I painted the furniture in Zoffany Quarter Harbour Grey and replaced the knobs.  The floor was fine - I just added a rug either side of the bed.  The picture above the bed was a photo we took on a skiing holiday and I had it put onto 3 canvases.

Zoffany Half Harbour Grey

Zoffany Quarter Harbour Grey

For the rugs I used Alternative Flooring Rock 'n' Roll 1979 London Calling, bound in Dewberry Linen border.  The Alternative Flooring website allows you to create an image of the rug before you buy (as does Crucial Trading) and you can order samples direct from their with website - always recommended!

Alternative Flooring Rock 'n' Roll (available in lots of colours).

For the curtains I used Wemyss Denver which is a really heavy linen.  Unfortunately it's discontinued now but there are plenty of linen alternatives.  The border is Travers Ikat Tape.

The cushions are Mark Alexander Tunis Cinnabar Red trimmed in Houles Fleurs De Lin Beaded Fringe.

We also fitted the replacement wardrobe doors which we'd had propped up in the guest room for 7 years!  At the same time as doing this room in the run up to Christmas, we were also planning a new kitchen (the subject of my next post!)

Thanks for stopping by!