Staircase to hell #loft

It’s been a while since updating this blog. I’ve been busy you see.

I’ve moved out of the amazing home…

And after a prolonged pause which saw us staying at Grandma’s place, we’re now settled into the new pad. Somewhere further South of the river.

The main downside with the new pad is a lack of a third bedroom. And a garden. But the bedroom thing really isn’t all that great. Happily there is a loft above us, ripe for converting and so, I thought, I will do something magnificent – because, well, when life gives me lemons – I squeeze them on my tagliatelle.

However, despite dreams of something like this

Planners (and budget) are shoving me down the road to this:

Or if you prefer naked, this:

Suddenly stairs don’t conjure up a magical journey to another kingdom or floor. They spell out a sad building-regulated, planning-approved, boxy face-punch of conformity.

Boo Hoo. Any good ideas on how to make a pretty stair out of a load of old twallop?

Let me know.

 

Does Green Smoke make you Wicked?

I came across this bedroom on the brilliant blog myscandinavianhome.com 

The site is a super-time-sapper extraordinaire so don’t go there. Or do “Goodbye…” *wipes tear.*

Simply the best, smoky, deep, chalky soft green I’ve seen. It’s called Green Smoke. I know – great name too! And of course, it’s not that you would ever wake up and think ‘Oh, my life would be infinitely better if I could only wake up enveloped in a foresty dark green room’.

Melody Farrow and Be-jyma Ball – I salute you as ever and your continued stirring of wit and intelligence into those excellently posh tins of paint.

How to kill a floral feature wall

So we’ve moved out of our old house and thanks to the rather painful process of being in a property chain (OF HELL)…we had to pack everything up into storage and move in with Grandma. But, it’s fine, now, we’re nearly at the finish line. Our new home beckons but it does come with it’s own special challenges.

1. We’ve moved out of a three bed house and we’re going into a two bed flat.
2. Pretty much every wall in the flat is beige.
3. Except the bathroom which is covered floor to ceiling in tiny dark blue tiles. From floor to ceiling.
4. There are two feature walls covered in shiny floral wallpaper. Not pretty floral wallpaper like this glorious Little Greene Paint Co. example above.
   

   This…

5. THIS will not do.
6. Our entrance hall is tiny and shared with our neighbour downstairs.
7. The door to our flat opens straight onto the stairs.
8. The stairs in question are narrow.
9. There is nowhere for coats
10. There is nowhere for shoes
11. Nowhere for school bags/shopping/footballs/bicycles/skateboards/scooters/big fluffy elephants and other random STUFF that children bring home every day.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s a lovely time full of promise. A new place to call home, and a totally blank (and slightly floral) canvas for me to bring to life.

So far I’ve not come across the perfect solution for our non-existent hallway conundrum so if anyone has any brilliant suggestions for where to stash an unexpected elephant (or muddy football boots) please do share!

The one where I am on the cover of a magazine

Well who knew…

At the age of 40 –  (recalculates…seriously?!?)

…I have made my first (and probably last) magazine cover!

Obviously it’s not Vogue, or Rolling Stone, or The Oldie. And clearly it’s far more about my almost famous kitchen, but, there’s no denying the fact that it is actually me on the cover.

It’s actually on sale in Smiths. Fame at last. I’m holding a flower and a jug. In case it’s not obvious.

Money for old coke

All I want is a room somewhere…

This is possibly my favourite corner of the house. A old soft chair, a hot print and an almost clashing splash of colour.  So I thought I would share the sum of parts for those who might be interested. Proof that it’s really not expensive to make an unassuming, but in my eyes, quite lovely corner…

Chair – £20 Scouts jumble sale (free delivery!)

Cushion £7 charity shop

Throw on back of chair Boot sale bargain

Glass topped Deco table (thank you Grandma & Grandpa)

Judy print (Ilovedesign)

Silver lamp (G & G again – I am so lucky to have had such tasteful & thrifty ancestors)

Lamp shade from Portobello Road market

 

Share this:

So last week our house tour on Apartment Therapy went Live.

By far my favourite blog about house stuff, Apartment Therapy gets a whopping 11 million users a month all obsessed (like me) with reading their inspired features on new design. Plus a whole load of perfectly normal folk who enjoy whiling away the hours snooping around cool home interiors across the US and UK.

And now, shining like a bag of jelly babies in Heals is our little ex-council house. And seeing it up there is the nicest feeling in the world. It’s also some kind of vindication I suppose for the many hours I stalked pinterest collecting and discarding ideas for each and every corner of our newly rennovated home.

When the piece went Live last week I braced myself for trolls. Or, at the very least pixie-minded munchkins accusing me of clowning about with colour, or cluttering the life out of what was obviously the size of an extended 1920s rabbit hutch.

But they liked it, they really liked it (as you can see this also brought out all manner of my inner Sally Fields!)

So if you want to snoop around our pastel-hued home, made almost entirely of second hand junk….have a click on the picture. It cannot possibly be to everyone’s tastes but the important thing is – we don’t just like it, we love living here.

Now, with the house complete (pretty much)… I want to do it all over again – so if anyone has a house in need of a ‘me’. Just let me know!

A few of my favourite things this time of year…

Biscuits cut in the shape of Christmas stars.

Turkey recipes in all the Sunday papers. Mind-bogglingly scrumptious.

Viral videos that make me cry. In a good way,

Our Elf on the Shelf.

Hot mulled wine. Because it’s Christmas, nearly.

A brisk walk along the seaside, preferably Whitstable.

.

Looking forward to the Doctor Who Christmas Special.

Giveaways (like the one on Sticky Fingers for a snazzy john Lewis Xmas Hamper).

Nativity plays at school. Even though, we’re not Christian and I do not believe in Jesus (don’t hate me), it still makes me love this time of year with an irrationality equal only to my fervor at Easter.

My friends posting happy stuff or remembering loved ones past and present on facebook.

A guide to finding your elf name. Essential this time of year.

The phrase ‘Good Will to all Women’ (okay, I paraphrased, but I do think it has an awfully nice ring to it).

My daughter’s ability to photo bomb.

My son’s ability to be creative with accessories.

Good samaritans, kindness, joy, health, warmth, a good soup and….if I may add (in a totally non-sponsored way) –

A totally LUSH Giant bean bag from MADE.COM which we have just had delivered…

…which will make today’s after-school viewing of elf perfect.

 

A good day for knobs

I love Anthropologie. We were always meant to be together, the patterns, embroidery, mismatched magic that happens there makes me feel like it’s us against the world (and about a gazillion other women just like me).

Happily for me I had a meeting ‘in town’ today which means I got to pop in to my crush-haven and browse the sale room. And what joy it was to chance upon a matching pair of desirable knobs.

Beetle mania has clearly subsided for the masses, but I still love a bit of natural history in my deco.

 

However, let me state for the record that they are no match for my best knob to date….

Ta Daaaaaaaa!

But, for a Tuesday, everything taken into consideration… it’s a good day for knobs.

Share this:

After months of searching on eBay, gumtree and in cold unfriendly boot sales I have found the perfect piece for my sofa gap. This rather unloved little sideboard is actually the bottom of a 1960 dressing table. All veneer and screw in legs. Nothing I like more than seeing more of the floor.

The added bonus of this week’s addition to the house is that it’s last job was being a prop in a play set in the Sixties. I expect it was rather too racy being a bedroom piece (I’ve donated the mirror to a local charity shop). Stil at least Albert (for that is his name now) can look forward to a serene retirement here.

Oh and for those of you that want to know I paid £15!

Share this:

I am lucky enough to know the genius behind the arty cool brand that is I Love Design. Caroline is a fellow parent at my son’s school who every now and then treats her friends all to a private sale of prints at her fabulous home.

After getting there early I managed to snap up this beautiful bird lady for my big white wall. For anyone who read the tale of the scarf you’ll see I am becoming obsessed with women and birds. Not really sure what that means other than my walls are heaving under colourful pretty things at the moment.

I’m not convinced my newest lady can compete with the vintage Coca Cola sign. But for now I’ll gaze adoringly at her until I figure out where she might want to reside longer term.

You can view more of Caroline’s brilliant designs at her shop click through the picture to get there.