Transformation Thursday - Living Room Progress

When we viewed this house, I initially thought this room would be a great playroom. However, on a follow up viewing, it was clear that having the playroom at the back of the house was a much better plan! Our last living room was on the first floor of our town house, it was very long but didn't feel wide enough and wasn't very cosy.

This room is an unusual shape, which works nicely and creates a welcoming space. Our sofas are not ideal (husband's purchase for his first flat many years ago), and I cannot stand them, but for now they will have to stay. In time we will be investing in some lovely grey fabric sofas from Habitat. Until then, I add cushions to the leather ones hoping to hide them a bit!We purchased new furniture, rug, and curtains for this room as we wanted a completely new feel to our old house. I love grey and pink together, though it has to be the right shades of both to work! I love the parquet floor, which I think I may have mentioned once or twice before....

Initially, this room had a large gas fireplace and surround, which we ripped out straight away. We stripped all the 1980's style wallpaper. A coat of white paint, as in other rooms, did wonders and made it easy to add decorative elements. The ceiling still needs painting, among other jobs. This room is lovely to sit in every evening, and having the playroom means it stays neat most of the time! There are some old folding doors which can make it one room, rather than leading straight to dining room (see below). We never shut these, as the flow of the rooms is really nice with them open.

Below are some before and after photos of the living room, what do you think?

Transformation Thursday-Dining Room Progress

Here's a look at the middle of our three, downstairs reception rooms. When we bought the house, all these rooms were wallpapered 1980s style. They were very dark, and were even more so when we first viewed the property. The previous owner had very dark furniture, which didn't help! There were 3 large, clad, gas fireplaces. We ripped these out immediately. The middle room also had a funny alcove which is now conveniently covered by a huge mirror. There were also some (dodgy DIY) lights, in between which we put the bookshelf. Having removed them, we've left this arrangement as it seems to work for the space.

 Upon taking the old carpet up, we found more parquet. This created a nice flow between the living and dining room. We've kept the folding doors for the moment, but always have them open. These rooms are beginning to come together now, though are still works in progress. The inside patio doors are not exactly aesthetically pleasing, but keep the cold out from extension, and will stay until renovation time. The vertical pipes aren't my favourite feature, but again will be removed in time.

The long term plan on this side of the house involves knocking the playroom down, and rebuilding with an extra room at the back, and on first floor. The Ikea shelving in the dining room brings together all our books, and some treasures. I thing the brightly coloured drawers are effective, and there are several to choose from. I love to seek out pieces by favourite fellow designer/makers, it's great knowing seriously talented people! Lots of finishing touches needed, but hopefully you'll agree, not bad for 8 weeks after moving.

                                    

                                    


                                   

                                   

                                         

     

                              

Bookshelf , £75 and drawers, £18, Ikea
Cat rug, Achica
Alice In Wonderland Print, £39.99, Spineless Classics
Fox Cushion, Lettie Belle

Jumping Fox relief print, Hello Hello DODO

Transformation Thursday; Under the (ugly) carpet.......

Having stripped the walls of the hallway, and repainted, next up was taking up the 1980's-esque dark red carpet. Upon first viewing the house, and knowing that one room had parquet floor, I asked the estate agent what was under the carpets downstairs. In his non-existent wisdom, he stamped on the floor and told me it was concrete. Fast forward a few weeks, and on our first day in the house we took up a corner of sitting room and hallway carpets....discovering original 1950's parquet flooring throughout! Although my husband isn't a huge fan of it, I was thrilled. It needs some restoration work, but is in good condition. Must be all those years under hideous carpets! We found lino glued to the parquet, which had to be chipped away, but luckily hadn't damaged it too much. Not the only 'crime against original features' in this house, by a long chalk! Next step in the hallway is putting up some prints and possibly a runner. The girls are big fans of the flooring, as it aids their speedy running action.

New Beginnings

This blog has been very neglected so far this year! This is due to a rather drawn out house move, which included a stint living with my Mum, among other reasons. We finally moved into our new house at the end of August, to the excitement, and momentary apprehension of Scarlett. She was very happy living at mum's, but was instantly thrilled with the new house once she realised the lady selling it to us wasn't included in the deal(as nice as she was)! It is a project for sure, which is what we wanted and its very exciting to plot and plan a renovation for the future. For now we're putting our mark on the house, bit by bit. The house has a lovey feeling about it, and is close to Scarlett's school and friends. Ah yes, school...... anyone who knows me has had to endure my stress, ranting and general paranoia when trying to get Scarlett in to our chosen school. It was attached to her nursery, but we weren't yet living close enough for entry to Reception. To cut a very meandering story short, she's in and for the most part loving it. The days are a bit long for 4 year olds I feel, and she gets frustrated with doing the mundane tasks like dressing herself and queuing to leave the classroom! Isla is a force to be reckoned with (yes another one), and enjoys seeing the siblings on the school run everyday. Now that things have calmed down a bit, my focus is turning back to work and catching up in all I've missed in the design world. I will also be posting on the (most likely slow) progress made on doing up the house. Exciting times for our family!