Blog friends

One of the best things I've found since starting this blog is meeting so many wonderful people. For the most part, the meeting is 'virtual', but I've also been lucky enough to meet some of my fellow bloggers in person.

Yesterday, I was invited to the home of the lovely Jenny of The Five Year Project, and we spent the morning chatting and sharing renovation stories over a cuppa. Jenny is as warm and friendly in person as she is on her blog, and I fell head over heels for her beautiful Queenslander, which she and her husband are in the process of renovating. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of a visit to her blog, here's just a little snippet of what you'll find there:



we had morning tea at this gorgeous table, which Jenny refinished herself




would you look at the domed ceiling - it's even more stunning in the flesh





...nothing like a great before and after, is there?



 Jenny's very talented husband built this kitchen island himself















her lovely, renovated master bedroom



hand-painted stripes in Jacob's room


Thanks for a great morning Jenny, and if you haven't already, pop on over to Jenny's blog - you can see all of the fantastic befores-and-afters on show. 


Also, thanks everyone for the lovely comments on yesterday's post - you guys are the best. Can't say it enough.


Have a great day,

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Blog friends

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Faux Inlay Mirror...the reveal

Ok, enough teasing...I've finally finished the makeover of my old timber mirror. Here it is now:























I love inlaid furniture, and when I looked closely at some of the originals, I realised that my mirror was the perfect candidate for a faux finish. The curvaceous shape was just right, and more importantly, I was really sick of it! If it didn't work out, no problem, I'd just silver leaf it. Those of you who've read my blog for some time may remember what it looked like:











I discarded the decorative pieces in the corners, and then undercoated the frame. The most time-consuming part of the whole exercise was the placement of the pattern - it needed to be fairly symmetrical to look convincing. Once that was done, all that was needed was a steady hand and lots of patience! It took much longer to do because I had to be in the mood to sit and paint - and it really can be quite theraputic to work on such a repetitive pattern! By the way, although it's not obvious in these pics, the pattern is painted in different mother-of-pearl tones, to give that lovely shimmer.











So, what do you think - could it pass as a reasonable copy of the real thing? I'm pretty happy with it, but there's just one problem....I think I've created a monster. I'm looking at some of my old furniture in a whole new light...





courtesy graham and green



irisfurnishings.co.uk 


....and I have a very similar chest of drawers in my shed! Stay tuned....




Oh, and I'm sharing this project over at Design Refuge, so go check out all the fantastic DIY projects on show

Btw, linking this project over here if you'd like to check it out.

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Faux Inlay Mirror...the reveal

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Blue cabinet...a little update

I know it's taken me absolutely ages to get back to this post, but better late than never I guess! Here are a few pics of my blue cabinet I posted about here - with a new coat of white paint and a few pretty vintage pieces to zhush it up a bit.








ok, and the before:







I only have this one photo to share today, as blogger and I are not on good terms - is anyone else having the same problem? I'm even struggling to log in at the moment. But anyway, I quickly popped some of my vintage pink china on the shelves, and thought the it looked rather pretty against the chippy, peely, aqua paintwork. You may remember my inspiration was the blue cupboard revamped by the lovely Maria over at Dreamy Whites :










gorgeous, no?




This cabinet will probably end up in my art studio, to hold all of my art supplies, but in the meantime I thought it might be fun to style the shelves in a few different ways - which I'll do over the next few weeks.


Ok, it's back to some real work for me, so I'll catch you all later.


Have a great day,

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Blue cabinet...a little update

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I've made my decision.........

Thanks to the gorgeous Maria over at Dreamy Whites, I've made my decision on what to do with this old cabinet:










Maria recently posted these stunning pics of her own cabinet (note to self - must try to take better pics, Maria always does such a great job with hers) and it was just perfect for what I had in mind. She painted the interior a combination of white and pale grey, which gives just the right, not-too-perfect finish to complement the cabinet's original patina.










must also track down a collection of grain sacks so my cabinet can look this good!












just right - perfectly imperfect


Thanks must go to Maria for letting me use her lovely photos. If you haven't already (and I find that hard to believe - her blog is hugely popular, and I'm sure you can see why!) go and check out her blog. She's also guest posting over at Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, which is a now on my list of must-reads too.


So, I know what I'll be doing this weekend! I'll do my best to get it finished so I can show you the result next week. 


Have a great weekend everyone,

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I've made my decision.........

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Mini home office

We have a small home office nook just off our main living area. At the moment, we have an ugly 'armoire' that houses the modem, printer, and other office paraphenalia. Now that we only have laptop computers, we don't need to worry about storing a tower and monitor, so I'm thinking of ditching the armoire for a nice desk/shelving/display arrangement, where I can inject a little more interest and personality. I also have a gorgeous old captain's chair, with a cast-iron base, which I've been wanting to use for years but haven't had the spot. So, I went looking for some online inspiration, and this is what I found:




 source
love the wall decoration - somehow I think the desk is a little small!





 vintage storage via elledecor.com





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a little too cluttered for me, but I like the desk and chair





source



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my all-time favourite - and I know much of blogland agrees!





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clever storage





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oh, and this is similar to my chair - mine is stashed away in the back of the shed





remember this? I think I'll hang this in the corner over the desk


So, my plan is to incorporate some modern elements, vintage furniture, a picture wall, and some clever (and good-looking) storage into the design. Oh, and as it's technically part of the living area, it needs to be attractive enough to have on show. Let the fun begin!

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Mini home office

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Lofty heights and ceiling lights...

So, before I released farewelled Bill on his holiday, (and sorry to all of you who offered working holidays, for some reason the lure of balmy New Caledonia proved too strong!) he worked his fingers to the bone and finished painting my ceiling. It's now lovely and white and fresh, and I couldn't be happier:


















Now, of course, the walls will need to be painted, and those bricks will soon be history. But it's getting there. And not before time! Here's a reminder of what it looked like:







Oh, and here's the mirror I mentioned in my last post. It's on my painting hit list too, and now all I need to decide on is the colour. Here's a closer look:








So, decisions, decisions. While Bill's away, I need to choose a colour and get it painted, so he can re-hang it for me once the walls are finished. I do like the idea of black, but I'm thinking the size of the frame will make it too dominant in the room? And don't laugh, but the idea of silver leaf is quite appealing! I've done a lot of leafing over the years in my artwork, so I may just go ahead and do it, but with an aged, vintage finish rather than too bright and super-shiny.


Ok, I'm off to work now - painting classes await. Poor me, mondays are always so tough! Oh, and thanks to those of you who've asked about my classes. I'm in the process of arranging venues for some workshops, so once all the details are finalised, I'll let you know. 


Have a wonderful week,

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Lofty heights and ceiling lights...

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Ceiling update - and a sneak peek!

Well, as expected, the painting of my ceiling ( remember my post here?) has taken a little longer than anticipated - of course - but I'm happy to report that all the yukky and annoying prep work has been done, and the first coat of fresh white paint is going on as we speak. And I LOVE IT! Already. Even though it's still a bit patchy, it looks soo much better than before. As I just can't help myself, here's where we're at so far:

The inspiration stage:




love this!


The reality (argh!)








yuk!
...the undercoat - better already





...and the first coat of paint - yay!







s
say hi to Bill, my new bff!


So, looking good so far, what do you think? And after a small flirtation with painting the beams black, I settled on white (as I'm sure you all knew I would!) It's amazing how different the room looks already, much bigger, and of course brighter. And the brick wall you can see in the above photos is on my hit-list too - which is the last area of exposed brick in the whole house. Somehow I know I won't miss it one little bit!


Ok, so I'm off now to ply Bill with coffee and chocolate - fuel for champions! I'll be back soon (I hope) with the final reveal. Have a great day all,

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Ceiling update - and a sneak peek!

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