Sometimes you have to compromise...

I know that all I have been posting about lately is the move to the new unit. That is all we have really had time for apart from also getting Miss P's new bedroom ready now that I have vacated it. It has been pretty much work, work and work recently. We have not had a day off for a while!

My choice of colour for the workroom room was a calm off white colour by Farrow & Ball called "Pointing". It is a shade that I have used in other areas in the house.


Miss P had very different ideas on how it should be decorated. The emphasis was on getting rid of the "boring old" vintage look and the floorboards! Miss P knew exactly what she wanted, two walls in electric blue, two walls in pink and a bright green carpet.

Being in to vintage and favouring more subtle colour schemes I was somewhat apprehensive at the thought of such bold and bright colours and having a bright grass green carpet instead of painted floorboards. I'll be honest, I was not too enamoured by the idea.

However, I recognised the importance of children having a room that they can feel is truly theirs and reflects their personality and tastes. It would be all to easy for me to go in there and turn the room into my vision of the child's vintage bedroom but it would not be fair on Miss P. It would be what I liked and not what Miss P liked.

I have seen many dream vintage looking children's bedrooms in magazines, books & websites and wonder how many of those children had a say in it?.... Do those bedrooms reflect the Mother's tastes or the child's?


Miss P adding her personal touch


This is fun!




After a first coat and I have to admit that it is looking better than I imagined.

I will post the final look when the green carpet has been fitted on Wednesday.

It is Alan's birthday tomorrow and we will be having our first day off in ages. I am looking forward to taking him out for a much deserved lunch at a nearby pub.

Have a lovely weekend!

A bientôt!

Isabelle X

What's in your attic?

Just look at those cobwebs... We have bats too!

After a busy week decorating, we are finally getting there in the lounge. Alan took a couple of days off so that we could progress well and we have! Without him, all this would have taken a lot longer. On Thursday, I went in to the loft in search of a carpet to go under the stairs. This is a temporary carpet until I find a vintage rug which I like. As I picked up the carpet which was close to the wall, I noticed a mark on it and then felt that my fingers were wet! As I looked up at the wall this is what I saw...


A wet wall...

Prior to that, I had not noticed it. It is more visible on the photo because of the flash. We had to move several things out of the way. Some things have been damaged by the water...
It is in the hands of the insurance company...still waiting for someone to come out and look at it! I am praying that it won't rain until then. We were told that someone would be out to see us on the 3rd March! I complained saying that it was too long to wait in view of the nature of the problem. We were promised that someone would call back to see if they could fit us in sooner. No call yesterday...




Is your loft looking like that?... We have so many boxes to go through and sort out....

Whilst moving boxes around I opened one and found some childhood books and homework books.

Oh dear....


I was 9 years old when these were marked. Looking through my geography homework book, I was reminded of how much detail was expected. Each week we had to draw and colour maps, name rivers or places. What struck me is how negative the comments were. When you didn't make any mistakes, the teacher wrote Vu (seen) never a "well done" or "good" and she always seemed to find something to pick on as reflected in her comments throughout my homework book. Examples: "badly written, not neat enough", "Horrid", "Start again" along with many other comments of that nature....I don't recall much encouragement. I went to 8 different schools as a child. Although I do have a few good memories, overall I was very glad to leave school.

Another find were these books, "Alice" I was so in to these. As soon as I had my pocket money I would go and choose a new title to read. They are brilliant mystery books. As I got older, I went on to read Agatha Christie's books instead.



I remember wanting to be her when I was 12/13 years old, she was pretty, confident and had such a sense of adventure. She always solved things!


The illustrations are great.

Back to work again...Adding those finishing touches now, my favourite bit! It is so satisfying to see an idea you have in your head come to life.

A bientôt!

Isabelle X

UPDATE 24 Feb : Loss adjuster is finally coming to have a look at it tomorrow!

Painting update & Textile deliveries

I had hoped to post sooner but other things took over. I've had a few deliveries this week. As many of you probably know by now, I love textiles (vintage mostly)


This 1950's Italian Riviera fabric, I really love! I bought it online from Donna. The colours and design are so beautiful. It captures a time when the Italian & French Riviera were so much more glamorous and chic than they are now.


Bought on Ebay

Discontinued Laura Ashley fabric, so pretty and fresh.

Onto the lounge now...
This used to be Alan's office, in that little area under the stairs. However, a few months ago we decided that it would be nice to get rid of the desk & for Alan to share my workroom/office upstairs. This would make the lounge free from work related things and a good place to relax. It was not esthetically pleasing either to be honest... as I'm sure you'll agree... Not very vintage looking....

So we cleared everything out back in August/September


Looking better already!
And this is what we did to it last weekend..

After... much better.
The next job is to make that area look pretty and cosy. This weekend I'll get on to that and will hopefully finish that corner.


Sneak peek at painting in progress... I had to repaint it as the first time around the paint came out darker than I had expected..I am yet to find the backing that I like. Still looking for that perfect wallpaper or fabric... I will post the finished result as soon as it is all finished!

Have a lovely Valentine's day on Sunday!

A bientôt!

Isabelle X

Furniture for the lounge - BEFORE

This is the piece of furniture we have bought for the lounge. Although I do like the colour (Bluey green) and wallpaper inside (discontinued Laura Ashley), unfortunately it doesn't quite go with the rest of the room. . On these photos the paint looks more grey than bright bluey green, I can't seem to capture the colour!

So it will be getting a new makeover. I will be putting a different wallpaper in the background, perhaps slightly less busy looking as I will have a mixture of vintage decorative items in the foreground on the shelves. I need to play around with a few wallpapers before deciding which one will look best. I am still looking around for the perfect one, vintage ideally! I have something in mind in my head but am yet to find it....






Also saw this little shelf as I was leaving
and...

this stool. They just had to come back with me too...

A lot painting to be done on Sunday, the stone wall that you can see behind the stool is going to be painted in an Ivory colour, the work room will also be getting some attention as it is nearing completion...Hooray at last!

Thank you to all of you who keep visiting my blog despite me not having been able to visit many of yours of late. I do read and appreciate all your comments and look forward to catching up with your blogs soon. There has been so much going on of late, one of the reasons I have not yet shared with you..but I will soon. ;-)

I wish you all a really good weekend!

A bientôt!

Isabelle X

Exciting postal delivery!

Yesterday the postman arrived with a parcel for me. Miss P said: Anything for me? I said sorry sweetie it's all for Mummy today.

This is what I found when I unwrapped the parcel:

All these gorgeous goodies come from Mary Poppins. I was lucky enough to win Mary's super giveaway. A lovely 1950's book, a pretty handmade CK fabric heart, coat hanger & a stunning brooch. AND...there was also a little pressie with Miss P's name on it!

Miss P's eyes lit up and said: For me? Inside, there was a pretty Cath Kidston egg cosy. Miss P was over the moon with her gift and really pleased and touched that someone she didn't know had sent her a gift. Mary's daughter had neatly wrapped it up for Miss P. The parcel arrived moments before Miss P left for a holiday with her Father in Cumbria. Miss P said she was looking forward to having a hard boiled egg on her return.

All so pretty!


Some of the illustrations to be found in the book

Thanks Mary, a great giveaway! Miss P's gift much appreciated too!

Meanwhile....

Whilst Miss P is away, we are working hard to get the lounge completely redecorated, we have started on the floorboards. Alan was up until 1.30am today painting them....We are also painting the walls, skirting boards, wood panels etc...plenty to do but already beginning to look fresher and lighter. More to follow....

Thank you to all of you who gave me advice on painting floorboards based on their own experiences. It has helped!

A bientôt!


Isabelle x

LOUNGE - Work in progress!

I have not been to a boot fair or any kind of fair for several weeks and why? Well, because apart from going away on holiday recently, our spare time has been spent working on the house. Yes, it is still ongoing! There is so much to be done (the entire house & garden) and with just Alan and I doing the work it's taking longer than we would like but it is gradually & slowly advancing.

Due to a 'happy' accident in our lounge, the carpet has gone and next week we begin the task of painting the floorboards white. The walls, tongue & groove and all wood work will also be painted. Above the fireplace will be wallpapered.
Miss P has already said: " I hope it's not all going to be white! Can we have purple floorboards?" At that point you can already imagine my face, purple...eeek!

We began some of the work at the weekend. Here is a sneak peek.

Work in progress...

This room (the lounge) was redecorated about 10 or 12 years ago before I moved in. When I moved in, which was about 5 years ago. I didn't make any changes as it was not necessary then. Over the past year we have started making various changes and have begun the process of redecorating the whole house. (I have really enjoyed choosing the colour scheme, fabrics, furniture, finishing touches etc... for each room, don't we all ladies!)

We have just emptied a dresser in the lounge, the contents of which is in the carrier bags which I am in the process of sorting out. At the weekend, we replaced the dresser with a bookcase as we desperately needed storage for our books, most of them being mine...
We have thrown out an armchair & temporarily replaced it with the pine settle shown in the picture, this used to be on the landing. Eventually, we will be getting a new armchair and sofa.


I absolutely love these curtains. Petronella by Liberty


The sofa, with plenty of cushions, you can never have too many!
My first crochet purchase (before I could crochet)


Lamp & bookcase next to the sofa.
Ooh I had fun arranging the books and decorative things in the bookcase!


Close up of one of the shelves in the bookcase.
Painting by Phillipa Stanton (5FT INF). I love the mix of oil paint and 1950's newspaper cuttings used to make this painting.

The evenings are cosy in the lounge

This barrel belonged to my Belgian Grandmother, I use it as a side table.







Will keep you posted on progress. Alan is taking some time off next week so we should get quite a bit done then.

To anyone who has painted their wooden floorboards and has cats & children: Do you have any useful advice & tips on how to get the job done well please?

Thank you

A bientôt!

Isabelle x

Add colour to your life

Over the past few months we have been gradually redecorating the whole house. Choosing a colour scheme, curtains, decorative touches such as cushions and pictures is something that I LOVE doing, as many of you am sure do too.

In planning a colour scheme for each room, I have sometimes found myself torn between having a very plain light & airy look using whites with touches of grey/blue or going for something more colourful all round. Whites would give the room a peaceful and relaxed feel but these colours could also look cold in the winter... Sometimes I feel like having colours to brighten up the feel of the house as it rains quite a lot here. I have been waiting for a while before making a decision since I kept going from one option to another. Do you find that?

Yesterday, it suddenly fell in to place. I knew what I wanted for the kitchen, finally! I have decided that the kitchen needs colour so that it feels like a sunny happy room the minute you walk in to it. I have been inspired by stocks & lupins and 1950's colourful books on gardening, children's & home books. It won't have the look of a modern retro 1950's kitchen, it will just have some 1950's touches mixed in. I am looking forward to getting started! I will be using a mixture of vintage and modern fabrics.

Front cover of a French vintage gardening magazine. I like collecting them, the covers are so beautiful.

I firmly believe that colour affects your mood. I always feel so much better on a sunny day when the sky is blue and colourful flowers are swaying in a gentle breeze. I have more energy and drive to do things. I do the housework with more enthusiasm. Somerset is a beautiful county but in the past couple of years we seem to have had more grey skies than blue so that is why I have decided to bring some sunshine & colour into the house to make up for those grey days...

This afternoon, I popped into Frome and had a look around a really pretty haberdashery boutique called Millie Moon. If you live too far way to visit them, you can browse their website as they have an online shop (Click on Millie Moon link). The colours in the shop are fantastic, so vibrant. I really like the way the buttons are displayed. They look like sweets! I went there last week and had planned on taking some photos but a message on my camera said 'No memory card found' I had left it behind.

This time, I went prepared. I also popped in to Bea & Evie, photos on one of my next posts.

Just like sweets!

I love these patterns

I bought some embroidery thread and some blue pure wool felt

Those colours work so well together!

Tomorrow, I am on my way to the Isle of Wight via a quick stop in Salisbury to visit an antiques centre which sells vintage clothes and accessories . I will be on the IOW for a couple of nights to visit my sister and family. My sister has 3 children and they will all have their 1st communion/confirmation on Sunday.

Wishing you a bright and happy weekend!

Larry has shown signs of improvement! He is regaining his strength and normal walk. The vet is now not so sure if a MRI scan is required after all. We are going to look into it more and get a second opinion to be on safe side. The vets were so sure he would need a scan and now they appear to be backing down on that. I will keep you posted. Thank you all for your good wishes and prayers. Could well be that they are working!!! Fingers crossed... :o)

A bientôt!

Isabelle x