Bathroom reveal

At last the bathroom is complete!  Donald has worked really hard on the painting and decorating over the last couple of weeks.  Fitting it all in to evenings and weekends has been a bit of a trial but so worth it now we see the finished result.  I’ve helped where I can, mostly cleaning and providing meals, but at 34 weeks pregnant now what I can do to help is a bit limited.

Today began with a final snagging list – hang the blind, clean the tiles, apply silicone, finish the window sill and hang fittings like toilet roll holder and soap dish.  I’m pleased to say it is all done and now properly clean too for the first time in weeks.

We love the wall colour and the mirror which we’ve had for years finally has a proper home.

New doors

Love the doors not convinced about the varnish though.
Initially we’d planned to paint the two doors (kitchen & living room) white to match the skirtings and window frames but now with the oak flooring the doors look great as they are. The varnish we tried is medium oak and seems to add a yellow tone to the door. I think it might be back to B&Q for something lighter or just clear.

It is great to get more light into all the rooms during the day but also in the evening the light glows through the frosted panels.

What do you think of the colour?

Odd Jobs Day

As soon as the paint was dry in the dining I started making a mental list of all the other things that needed our attention.  I expect this is a worrying sign that the house is taking over!  So on Sunday we started the list hopeful to plough our way through it that day.  At the end of Monday this is where we’ve got to so far.

To do list Things we have put off list:

• Hang up bathroom mirror
• Complete bathroom floor (tricky cutting of the laminate needed to fit around the sink and toilet)
• Fit bedroom blind within window frame to block light
• Make roman blind for dining room
• Paint wardrobe doors
• Paint wooden pelmets above windows (living, bedroom, dining room)

Donald was in charge of the bathroom floor as cutting with a jigsaw is beyond me.  It was a frustrating job but the room looks great now it’s completed.  The floor had never been completed because initially we thought we wanted to replace the bath suite and it would be better to lay the floor around the new sink and toilet.  However as so many people have said before living in a house changes your ideas.  We grew really like having a big old sink and a deep bath and now it will probably be one of the last rooms we change.  So it is important to finish the flooring so the room looks complete.

I tackled all the painting on Sunday and the wardrobe doors look so much better.  We also ordered engineered oak flooring for the living room, dining room and hall plus doors for all rooms.  Wickes had a great offer on flooring so we thought we should go for it and it can wait in the garage until we’re ready to fit it.

Blue Sky Bedroom

Another holiday and another project, continuing the war against woodchip, we have started work on the bedroom. With everything decamped to the spare room last week I started wallpaper stripping and filling.  The ceiling was approached with hesitation at the weekend. We tried two new things which worked quite well. Firstly we scored with a craft knife and stripped the paper in sections working as a team. Then after filling any big cracks we used flexible ceiling paint (from Wickes) which is thick enough to fill small cracks but can still be applied with a roller. Result a much smoother look with a lot less stress than skimming!

We’d nearly forgotten the colour of blue we’d chosen for the bedroom about 9 months ago in a half price offer. It is a lovely, calm blue that changes with the light.

After painting we got the bed back into place and it was crying out for some decoration.  So far I’ve painted the birch photo frame that sat above the bed white to match the bed.  However I’m planning to also add fabric covered panels into the recesses in the headboard to add interest.  Plan is to use this Ikea fabric but I was tempted to use a green to try and match with the carpet.

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/20245978/

Living Room progress (in time for Christmas)!

First things first, the wallpaper is stripped.  Thankfully we are getting quicker at this though the ceilings are still causing a bit of drama.

Then to start the painting.  We went for grey as it would go nicely with the red carpet and curtains.  We’re tackling one thing at a time so the carpet will be updated but not for a while!

Finally, sewing up some new cushion covers brightens up the room.  All ready for Christmas and the tree.