Beginning The Living Room

Well...........I recently realized that two months have slipped quietly by since I last posted here - I haven't been idle since finishing the bathroom (..........and HOW much am I enjoying it?) I've simply been busy doing other things, mainly getting my online business back on track after some serious neglect.

I needed a break after the bathroom effort, but I have been surreptitiously sneaking up on the living room renovation. The biggest job in this room will be stripping back, repairing and repainting the huge window. I've already prepared the corner one - its now ready for painting. The rest of the room just basically needs a clean and a re-paint and I'm going to tackle making a set of roman blinds for said huge window.

The room has a fireplace with a built-in Saxon wood-heater in excellent working condition, but some previous owner had slathered a thick, textured coat of white emulsion over the bricks and mantelpiece. A combination of stripper and chipping and scraping got most of it off the bricks, but it was looking like a much harder job on the mantel itself, so I opted for a trompe l'oeil stone look, which I think looks pretty good! 

 

 

Here's the fireplace before and during the process of cleaning it up.

 

..........and a couple of close-ups of the finished mantel.

                                                             Here's how it looks now

 

I bought this 70 year old two-seater couch recently. I'm planning to refurbish it in the summer, along with a few other pieces of vintage furniture I have. This couch is still as solid as a rock - I love it!

 

 

The cats approve of the new couch.......separately! They still only just rub along together.

Now I'm just waiting for that painting urge to hit again so I can finish this room completely........I can feel it coming! 

 

 

 

 

 

Up with the birds!

I was awake at 5:00am this morning…….with the birds (and the b****y cats!)
No point lying in bed trying to get back to sleep (it never happens), so I got up, had a quick cup of tea, watched the disaster show on TV (aka the news) and set to giving the kitchen ceiling its final coat of paint. I was on a roll, (or more aptly, on a roller, so to speak) so I prepped the kitchen window (I'd previously filled all the holes, so I only had to sand it back) and gave it the first coat of pristine, white semi-gloss paint. Also the architraves around the door. It fills me with joy to see it looking so much better that I thought it ever could without a major re-fit!

This kitchen, from the sad and neglected room it was, is now a pleasure to be in, with everything functioning and a bright, airy feel. Did I mention that I love cooking and baking? A kitchen that works is important to me.

Now it's 8:30 and I've completed the jobs earmarked for today. I'm having a well-deserved cup of coffee and a second slice of toast with Julia's delicious three fruit marmalade.

I've also made a start stripping off the thick coat of white paint from the fireplace - a more difficult job than anticipated, but I'll get there!

Looking through to the dining room - the next space to be painted. The dresser you can see there in the corner will be painted in the same dove grey as the cupboard doors, when I have time.

Stripping the fireplace……not enjoying this job very much - I might have to settle for a "slightly distressed" look!