Humble Designs

Shhh... I'm sneaking up on some of my first guests to get a shot of the finished house before it's really ready. Rough around the edges is probably the best way to describe where we are now. There's still a fair bit of raw skirting boards and taped up edges around, not to mention the two major jobs that need to be done on the roof terrace and the downstairs garden. 

Despite still being in some disarray, the first 12 days in the house have been and gone, we've painted some more, hung some things, talked endlessly about the sofa layout and had an antique wardrobe arrive in an old palette that stank of fish which then nearly broke both Robbie and our lovely new neighbours' backs when we tried to get it up the stairs.

I will do a post on buying antique real wood furniture for far cheaper than MDF later on - the downside is that it's some heavy sh*t.

The little house has come alive from being lived in and to embrace a cliché  it feels like home in a way that nowhere has before. As I keep telling family and friends; our sweat and blood has literally sunk into these floorboards. 

The bedroom is slowly being assembled. The new wardrobe compliments an old chest of drawers and the floor perfectly. I got it from Ebay for £110 (similar here) to replace an MDF piece of rubbish that I panic-bought last year for £250 that died in the move. Antique wood pieces are always cheaper than new MDF and if you look after them, will look after you forever. Ebay can be a hassle but is worth it for things like this. 

God I love these floors. Robbie did such a good job on filling the gaps that the upstairs retains all of its heat and they are smooth to walk on. So nice to have kept some of the original parts of the house and have them used anew. I wonder when these were last trodden on by human feet. It could have been back in 1890 when the house is dated to - it certainly looked like it when we uncovered them.

Each morning, we wake up and open the terrace door to the South which lets in the breeze and sprinkles a little extra sun down our stairs. A cup of coffee on the roof is such a lovely way to start the day. 

We are using the spare room as a study and general work space. The view onto the terrace is gorgeous and the grape vine keeps it private too.

Merlin, our house owl and a gift from my grandmother 'to watch over' us is fiercely guarding the stairs.

So nice to have the space to keep well stocked up on the everyday essentials.

Our living and dining room is fast becoming my favourite place in the house. The table - also bought from Ebay - is a sturdy piece of pine which extends to seat 8 people when necessary - though I'm sure I'll manage to get more around it. Our two John Lewis ex- showroom sofas (Ebay again, and 2/3rds of the original price) compliment eachother perfectly and also divide the space up in just the right way. Once the pictures are properly hung, this space will be so peaceful.  For my living room Pinterest board and other inspiration, take a look over here. For now, I'm off to finish bits and pieces.

#Happy

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One sleep to go...

There is little proper house progress to report on other than some serious (and seriously boring) architrave and skirting painting but there are some things in there now. It's back to chaos of a different kind as we smashed up the wardrobe in transit and therefore have nothing to unpack clothes in to (oops).

Anyway, couldn't resist a little share so I ran round the house snapping the mess on my camera's auto mode - well there's no point in dressing up the situation eh. One sleep to go before we sleep there! Hopefully there will be a bed to sleep in by then.

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Late Night Update

Zzzzzzzz... I've lost track of the countdown, because I barely even know what day it is. 

I really need to start getting some more sleep. Last night my wonderful mum and grandmother came to help 'final preparations' for the move. It does not look like it's ready, but I guess it is because it has to be. My stuff is going in on Sunday no matter what state the house is in. Excuse the phone snaps.

The positive news is that the kitchen worktops have been oiled, the tiles are in the fireplace and the bathroom has even been cleaned! :-)

Dinner was a tray bake eaten off the old garden furniture and my stepladder in amongst paint chaos. Eep! I'm looking forward to getting back into cooking in my new kitchen very soon!

Wish me luck!

High Tiling Stylin'

So, we're 100% moving by next Tuesday. There is 6 sleeps to sleeping in le maison - It isn't sinking in yet but that's probably in part due to the fact that it still looks totally like a tip. (Skip arriving today - wish us luck). 

Monochrome and green making a lovely contrast.

With that in mind, I'm distracting myself with tiles. Mostly our tiles are in now. The bathroom, which you are probably bored by already has a grey slate effect floor (slate effect is easier to clean than slate and far cheaper). I bought mine here at 50% off which is an incredible price for porcelain rather than ceramic - buy porcelain for floors if you can as it's far harder wearing than ceramic. Our walls are black and white victorian brick effect. White walls with a dividing line to break up the room visually and to use as skirting against our 'Avon' blue wall. 

The kitchen was a little more spenny because I'm ashamed to say that I used Topps Tiles. Ashamed because they are undoubtedly overpriced and wherever I can, I've bought trade. 

In any case, I fell in love with these Mexican Talavera tiles on Ebay and then decided that the importation charge was simply too high and the different sizes would make grouting them a nightmare. Instead I found these which are a happy alternative and far easier to get hold of. 

Something that you should always think about with tiles is what's going to offset them. When you're choosing everything seems like an extreme design decision, but too often tiles just fade into the background and you end up not noticing them. For me, the metal accents in the room was the important factor in decision making. I was happy with a monochrome bathroom because I chose gold accessories to create the more unusual Victorian effect that I was after. In the kitchen, I have my chrome range cooker and chrome accents throughout which looks lovely with the cold blue tiles and warm wood tops and floors.

Victorian stlye  inspiration - I would have loved to have exposed copper pipes too but it wasn't practical.

My kitchen sink tap - sink is taped up for painting.

Gold accents in the bathroom - walls shown before they were painted.

Finally, having gotten the chimney swept by a lovely company in Green Lanes, I was ready to sort out the fireplace. We have the original cast iron insert still but no surround. It didn't take long to find a nice simple carved pine on again from Ebay and only in Archway (just up the road). I spent a grand total of £25 on this which was pleasing. 

I had already had some Victorian traditional quarry stone tiles laid which contrast beautifully with the wooden floors. I had quite a bit left over at the end of this and during the renovation process the terracotta front step tiles had been smashed, so I used the rest of them up like this - a nice motif for the ground floor. 

When the pine surround arrived, I felt that it needed some colour and was inspired by the green tiles that you seen in old English pubs. Again, all very Victorian. These are being put in today so watch this space. For now - the thing

Inspiration - Victorian green fireplace.

The tube underpass in Kensington.

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From the windows to the walls

So we're kind of on track... the 10 day countdown takes us to Saturday but things will only go into the house from Sunday and then we will be half camping until Tuesday. The end is in sight.

Since this moment two weeks ago, sat outside Chris Stevens on the Holloway Road, I have had paint somewhere on my whether it has been my clothes, my hair or my eyelashes. Paint now seems like part of how things should look - white speckled faces are having a moment right now. 

 So mum came to help us pick up paint in her car. I wore my sisters old jeans from when we were teenagers which conveniently mirror 'boyfriend' jeans and look great with paint on them. I also wore these lovely new kicks so that I could feel like a human before and after the painting. It worked, kind of... mainly they are still paint free unlike the rest of me.

We bought A LOT of paint. In actual fact we bought a fair bit we didn't need but don't underestimate how much you'll use. Things that we learnt:

1. When you paint straight on to plaster, you have to use a 'mist coat' - emulsion mixed with water, which you whisk using a paint whisk and a drill. 
2. Undercoats should be done in white emulsion too for walls because it's cheap.
3. Wood work needs undercoats in either a water or oil based undercoat or primer depending on whether they're interior or exterior. 
4. Coloured paint is expensive. 
5. Eggshell is expensive.
6. Gloss is a nightmare to paint with. Only use it if you really need to.
7. Emulsion comes off. 
8. Oil based stuff doesn't. 
9. If you need any advice on where to buy, I would really recommend Chris Stevens because they're good guys and it's cheap all year round. 
10. We have some amazing friends - a big thank you to Georgie, OJ, Anna S, Anna B, Kate, Pete, Drew and of course Mum and Granny for helping us out. 

You need suitable covers for the whole floor and more masking tape than you'd think. 

The satisfaction of finishing a room is indescribable. Especially when you're lucky enough for it to look exactly the way you had imagined it. Remember, I had to choose everything all at once before bits were in so it took a lot of bad drawings and leaps of faith to get here. 

You can make any old bashed up wooden door look 'shabby chic' with an undercoat and a lick of eggshell. 

My first new piece of furniture arrived because I needed a stepladder so I got to buy my first vintage piece. It's a 1950s wood and metal step ladder and it has been a good friend over the last few days. The little steps fold over underneath too for when it's just used as a seat. Sooo sweet.

More tomorrow... 

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