BEFORE AND AFTER: RICHMOND LIVING ROOM SNEAK PEAK

WE STARTED WITH SOME MISMATCHED FURNITURE AND A COMBINATION OF LOTS OF DIFFERENT LOOKS.
THIS IS A LIVING ROOM AND THE MAIN ENTRY. WE NEEDED TO MAKE THIS SPACE FEEL MUCH LARGER AND MAXIMIZE SEATING! TIME TO NEUTRALIZE!!
HERE'S THE BEFORE.........

AND A SMALL GLIMPSE OF THE NOT FINISHED AFTER!

WE NEEDED TRAFFIC TO MOVE SMOOTHLY IN THIS SMALL SPACE.....AROUND GLASS TOP COFFEE TABLE WAS THE PERFECT CHOICE. THE CUSTOMER'S COMMODE WAS INHERITED AND LOOKING BEAUTIFUL IN THE MIX OF NEUTRALS.

IM OBSESSED WITH THIS PILLOW.......

AND OUR COLOR INSPIRATION? 

THE MARSH PAINTING ON THE BACK WALL PURCHASED FROM THIS SOUTHERN BELLE'S FORMER HOME OF CHARLESTON, SC

LOVE LOVE LOVE THE PANELS.....

A PAIR OF SLIPPER CHAIRS ALONG THE INTERIOR WALL.....JUST WAITING ON A TABLE TO GO IN BETWEEN.....

CANNOT WAIT TO SHARE THE FINISHED ROOM! AND THE NEIGHBORING DINING ROOM IS ALMOST FINISHED TOO!

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The Forth Bridge...

I expect you're all dying to hear what exciting new makeovers I've been up to. No? Well, not many. With the impending arrival of the in laws next month I became gripped with the need to have a freshen up of the white walls in the hall, stairwell, landing, ceiling and stairs. Lest they think I sit on my arse all day watching Homes under the Hammer. My aim was to achieve it in one day and I so nearly did apart from the downstairs hall and the toppermost landing.

The trouble with houses is that once they are all done, they're still not done. Hence my post title. (By the way, that's a complete myth. It's not true that once they'd finished painting the bridge they had to start again. Who knew?)

My new love in the world of paint is 'Soft Sheen' so I've mercilessly dumped ' Matt'. I was never happy with  him, if you gazed up the long stairwell wall it looked patchy and you could see where one row of painting ended and the next began. With soft sheen you don't get that, and it's a lot more resilient to cleaning off the grubby little fingermarks that led to the whole paint job in the first place.

I have a long handled roller which is great for the high bits you couldn't normally reach. But what to do about the parts that cannot be rollered. The edges? The bits where wall meets ceiling? This led to what I think you'll agree is a damn fine invention.

I call it 'Brush-on-a-Stick'. (Patent pending.)
Look at this span...

Hurrah! I'll have to go into mass production and sell them on QVC. I'll make millions.

The day before all this activity, I talked my husband into allowing me to paint an old Edwardian wardrobe, so that remains in four parts all over the kitchen. I promised I could do it in two days. But by day two I just had to paint the entire stairwell. The kitchen is an obstacle course, that has to be fun right? Well, the cats are enjoying it.

It struck me that the pursuit of calm, tranquil, white interiors lead to mess and total chaos. We are ALWAYS in chaos. My husband is very patient most of the time and as for the wardrobe, I didn't specify which two days so that buys me some time.

Let's look at that stairwell again...

Soft sheen, I love you.

The white stairs needed a freshen up too. I asked my husband if he needed the loo, hoovered all the way down, then wiped down every step and board to remove the last specks of dust and airborne cat hair in preparation for painting. Then my husband decided he wanted the loo. I told him no but he went anyway. This led to me screaming at him that I would no longer be doing ANY housework from now on. ''You don't anyway!'' he shouted back. I saw red, burst into the office and threw something at him. It was a cushion, which in hindsight was not the deadliest weapon but it was there. And I missed. But hopefully that was a serious warning to him.

And hopefully those walls will stay white for a little bit longer this time. 

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A Fall House Tour

I have recently been asked to be included in a virtual Christmas House Tour by Jenny and Lisa, and I seriously couldn't have been more flattered and honored to oblige. As this is the first time I've been involved in a showcase/collaboration like this, I quickly went through many emotions as I read the email. "What? Me? Did I read this right? This is so exciting! Oh, wait, so there's going to be lots of people looking at my house! Arghhh.... the pressure!! No, wait calm down... this will be super fun."
Yes, all those thoughts went through my head in mere seconds. Seriously, I am really happy to be included and super excited to be involved. It's getting me in the holiday spirit already and I can't wait to start prepping the house.

So here are the details.

The tour will start off at Jenny's house on her blog on December 9th and then each day after will be another bloggers turn. I am scheduled to show my house last, on December 19th. Since I'm bringing up the rear, I sure hope I don't disappoint. Then on December 20th, YOU get to link up your home in all is festive finery on Jenny's blog too.

I hope you all will check out all these great ladies and their beautiful holiday homes during the 12 days of Christmas and come back here on December 19th to see mine. But I'll be sure to remind you as the days get closer.

As I am mentally, emotionally, physically preparing myself for transitioning my home into a winter wonderland it has occurred to me that I haven't shown you my home with all it's fall garb.

This year as I started decorating for Halloween but I decided to get rid of all my true Halloween décor and stay with more just fall décor that can go from October thru Thanksgiving. I liked it much better this way, plus I can be a little lazy and keep the decorations up a little longer.

I loved using these fun black crows from the dollar store and even used some on my porch.

I really hate showing my fireplace. If you've been reading my blog for awhile you know this fireplace is a thorn in my side. It is on the list for a makeover for sure!

I also realize I haven't showed my before and after shots of my family room and eating area since our little remodel. I still have a few tiny tweaks and I will show them to you soon.

Here's a little peek at our dining room and living room. Again, I am very close to finishing and will show the before and after shots of these rooms with more details soon!
I just loved being able to add new seasonal pillows to this room this year. So fun!

Not sure why this throw is showing a little like purple but it's a dark brown....

Just need to add some curtains to the French doors and I think I am done in here. I'm very happy with how these spaces are turning out.
Did you see the bird prints? They are new from Wisteria, and I absolutely love them!

That's my fall home tour. Hope you enjoyed it!

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BEFORE AND AFTER: LIVING ROOM BOOKCASE

THESE HOMEOWNERS WERE LOOKING FOR A MORE ORGANIZED BOOKCASE TO HOUSE THEIR BOOKS AND FAMILY PICTURES.....BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, TO LOOK GREAT!
HERE'S THE BEFORE......

..... IT IS SO EASY GET A CLUTTERED LOOK BY MISTAKE! I LIKE TO PUT "LIKE" THINGS TOGETHER AND IT SEEMS TO HELP ELIMINATE THE LOOK OF CLUTTER.
THE RESULT? A CLEAN AND EASY TO LOOK AT BOOKCASE!!
THE AFTER......

WE ADDED A FEW THINGS.....4 BOXWOOD TOPIARIES ADDED WARMTH AND MAKE GREAT FILLERS.

COLOR COORDINATING BOOKS REALLY HELPS WITH THE COHESIVENESS!

WE ALSO FOUND SOME BRUSHED BRASS MATTED FRAMES....NEW PICTURE FRAMES ADDED AN INSTANT UPDATE!!

AND I LOVE FOR EACH SHELF TO BE SPECIAL....AND DIFFERENT ENOUGH FROM THE SHELVES ABOVE AND BELOW....

ITS OKAY TO MIX SILVER AND GOLD!!!

AND HERE'S A SNEAK PEAK OF SOME MORE EXCITING STUFF GOING ON ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM! 

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Country cottage door reveal...

Well isn't it just like 'Homes under the Hammer' around here? Except instead of fixing up a whole house in 6 weeks, it takes me that amount of time to change some doors.

Let's remind ourselves of the unpleasant doors that were on the cupboard in my daughters room...

             They were so ugly that I allowed the sticking of picures on them to try and hide them.
                       They were hollow and shoddy. But the frame is solid wood and well built.

               Hoorah! Much more yummy. Because I clad both sides in timber the doors feel very solid.

                                                                    And those edges?

                                                    They all got filled, sanded and painted...

                                         ...and look just like the edge of a door should.


            The door cladding and hanging process was a LONG one that you can read about here and here. 

                                                               Let's see the inside before...

                                                                        A junky old mess.

I thought it would be a really nice surprise for my daughter if I painted the inside in one of her favourite colours.
                 This decision may have been influenced by finding an ''Oops'' paint for £1 a litre.
                                                                        She hates it.

I had to saw off some shelves and add a rail, which would've been fine if I hadn't mislaid a screw for 45 minutes.

I like the pink. It makes me think of a boutique.

I added hooks to the interior where my cross pieces were between the layers of tongue and groove so that madams handbag collection is out of sight...

                                         They used to hang on the wall and it looked messy.

I used Blackfriars problem solving primer all over the bare wood twice. It's pefect to seal knots and will happily work with waterbased paints unlike knotting solution.
For the top coat I used Dulux waterbased Diamond hard satinwood in TRADE paint. I wasted nine quid on their regular paint earlier this year and it was so poor, I couldn't use it. It was so thin and watery. But the Trade paint version was 10 times better and I was very happy with it. Always go for trade paints!

 

The hinges and handles were just bog standard ones from Wilkinsons. You can find hand forged wrought iron jobbies all over ebay but we don't live in a sixteenth century cottage so I couldn't see the point. I'm all about getting the look without spending the money.

I still need to add catches so the doors shut nicely and do a little sorting of this area...

at the side of the cupboard...

...but it's getting there.

99% done is good enough for me.  I'm off for a lie down.
I'm over the moon with how this has all turned out. I've really not done much of this sort of thing before. I've mended furniture, put up some cladding, and stuffed up a table top but never attempted anything of this magnitude. There'll be no stopping me now! And if I can do it, anyone can.

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