Weeks have gone by....

So much for my resolution about blogging more often but I do have a few excuses.

1: Puppy

2: Painters

3: Puppy

4: Plumbers

5: Puppy

Let me explain....for the past few weeks our house has been invaded by painters and plumbers. We are doing some home decorating and completely redoing our en suite bathroom. I didn't mean to have them all at the same time but that's the way it worked out. My sole job has been keeping the dogs away from the paint and from under the workmen's feet (we have had about 5 at a time). It means I have had to move stuff from room to room to enable the painters to work and trying to keep a bouncy puppy away from slow drying gloss paint is not easy. The painting and decorating should be finished on Monday and the bathroom by the end of next week. 

As you can see, the dogs are not too impressed at being confined to the kitchen.

  

Piles of dolls and toys that had to be taken out of my big cabinet so it could be moved.

80's wallpaper discovered behind the radiators.

Hanging wallpaper above the stairs...quite a precarious job!

I'm thrilled with the finished result.

It is a wide width wallpaper by Lewis & Wood called Royal Oak. It depicts local landmarks such as Tetbury Church, the River Avon and various wildlife and trees.

It's all looking so smart and fresh but it's not finished yet....

This and that....

I have had a fairly busy few weeks so far this month. Last Saturday I attended the Vintage Bazaar in Devizes with Mr C for company. We had a very pleasant day with quite a number of my treasures going off to new homes including the lovely 1950's Mobo 'Prairie King' rocking horse. As you know, I am rather fond of rocking horses and have several dotted around my home. Unfortunately I can't keep them all as they do take up rather a lot of space so Mr C is always pleased when they canter off to pastures new!
Click on the pictures for a closer peek.

I have also been updating my stock at the Gloucester Antique Centre. They always do a great job with their themed window displays & this month it is a nursery window & there I spied my lovely vintage Silver Cross doll's pram which comes complete with cover & a fringed sun canopy. I had one of these as a child which provided hours of fun with my dolls so I am rather partial to them.

A job which I have been meaning to do for a long time is to have our headboard recovered as I fancied a change of colour scheme in our bedroom. Some time ago I bought a roll of this beautiful 'Doves' linen fabric when Lewis & Wood  had a sale. I finally had it done & it was returned this week looking so fresh & pretty. I think the upholsterer did a great job of placing the birds to their best advantage. I have plenty more fabric so curtains are the next project.

I have just realised that this Mother's Day will be the very first in 25 years that I have had without one of my children at home....The Boy is away at university & The Girl has gone off on a jolly to Edinburgh.....the joys of your children growing up!

This week will see me gathering together some vintagey bargains to take along to the next Vintage Jumble in Rangeworthy on Saturday 21st March which runs from 10am to 1pm.

It is held in the village hall (BS37 7LZ), entrance & parking are free & there are always lots of lovely goodies to be found at bargain prices, not to mention the delicious cakes served by the WI in aid of the senior citizen's annual village party.

Why not come along & join in the fun?

Paper, Post & Pretties

Last week I received an email from a representative of Farrow & Ball asking if I was interested in receiving some information on the new range of wallpapers that they are launching soon.
Was I? Of course I was! Farrow & Ball paint colours are always lovely & as Tamzin & I are both interested in anything textile or home decor related we were both keen to see the new range.



A few days later I received a package in the post containing their press release plus a few samples of the "Baroque Papers" & they are lovely! The designs are classic & elegant & the colours are fabulous.



I particularly like the soft chocolatey brown & blue combination - it would be very relaxing to look at in any room.



Also included was a very pretty box containing a set of notecards with examples of the papers on the front - what a lovely treat & one I will enjoy using!

So, thank you F&B for sharing your beautiful new range with me - I'm sure it will be very popular.


Speaking of home decor, Tamzin & I popped into Gloucester yesterday to top up our stock & to refresh our table display before the bank holiday weekend so I took a few photos to show you.

We went for a bit of a travel/shopping/picnic/red theme on our table.
The retro picnic set is fabulous & we have added a few vintage guide books & maps for good measure. The little grocery shop on the right is rather adorable & also from the 50's - it has an advert for Chivers jelly on the front & even a little working light!


There is also this rather wonderful gold wicker chair with it's original 1950's seat fabric.


Hope you all have a lovely Bank Holiday weekend. It looks like we are in for some nice weather which is good as we'll be off to a horse show tomorrow to watch Tamzin & Dylan competing.

Bathroom Makeover

Way back when we bought this house (about 8 years ago now) we had so much to do including the bathrooms. We had all the fittings & tiles replaced in the children's bathroom, but didn't get around to replastering the walls which were uneven - they are rather old & made from woven wood lathes & a horsehair mix filling, so we hurriedly wallpapered over them & decided to "get back to sorting them out later".

We finally got around to employing a plasterer to smooth over the walls & also the horrid artex ceiling.

What a difference it made! While Mr C industriously repainted the walls & ceiling (the walls are in "Dragonfly" by Crown paints) I decided to save myself a few pounds by making a Roman blind from Cath Kidston's "Boats" fabric to put up at the window.

I had one of my lovely 1930's school posters framed for the wall above the bath....


hung a £3.00 car boot mirror above the basin....



and a few shell shaped wall pockets too.....I wonder how many colours they made these in?

I'm still looking for a nice corner cupboard to display some other vintage goodies but will wait patiently until I find the right one.

It's like having a brand new bathroom & we are very pleased with it now!

PS: A few people have asked for a tutorial on how to make the blind. Without making another one I can't really show you how but I did find quite good instructions on "Kirstie's Homemade Home" site here.

If you have any questions please do ask!

You can buy all the bits & pieces (tape, rings, cord, rods, toggle etc) that you need to make the blind from John Lewis in their curtaining department if you have one near you, or similar shops should have them too.