Washstand transformation and latest treasures......

I found this old oak washstand - minus its marble top - at an auction and loved all the carved detail on it. It had seen better days and needed a lot of repairs but you know me, that's just how I like 'em! So I repaired and cleaned it and fitted a new top........

and here it is now... painted, shabbied, waxed, new handle etc and so pretty. It has pride of place next to my fireplace and looks just beautiful!

and here are my latest treasures...a beautiful mirror (love this)

The back board from an antique chiffonier (if I can't find a place for this in my house then I'll eat my hat!)

A mystery object...

It looks like you heat it up and put something inside to emboss a pattern on it but it's too shallow for pancakes or waffles so???

Anyway, I couldn't resist it whatever it is!

Then I found a cute Westie doorstop in cast iron, a Moroccan leather jewellery box with velvet lined cantilever drawers, a darning mushroom and a very quirky boot shaped musical box!

followed by a pretty blue and white dish with a metal surround...

 a pair of clown dolls with china heads. Not everyone likes clowns but these are quite sad looking and need a bit of tlc...

a HUGE stepladder, perfect for displaying books, plants - you name it...

a set of bamboo knitting needles in a tapestry style holder...

a doll's house - normally I find these in really bad condition and have to do a lot of work on them but this one should be a breeze...

and a lovely chair with beautifully shaped arms and legs. I'm really looking forward to refinishing this one...

and that's about it for today - phew! Plenty to be getting on with!

See you soon x

Don't know who said it but....................

I couldn't agree more...

I believe in this on so many levels and it's part of the design ethic of I Love My Home. 

We don't have to have boring, mass produced homes. Let's have homes that reflect who we are and are as unique as each of us.

Even the most mundane, utilitarian things can be beautiful, I put my washing up liquid in a pretty dispenser and store my cat biscuits in a chippy old bread tin just because they look nicer and make me smile when I use them. I know some people might think that's a bit pretentious or affected but, you know, if I worried about what other people thought, I'd never do anything!

Let's all do our own thing and enjoy creating homes we love x

Edwardian bureau bookcase refinish.....

I've been so busy lately working on lovely new things to show at Afterglow of Olney that it's taken me a while to get round to this lovely piece for my bedroom. In fact MLH has been skirting round it for about a month as it lay in pieces on the floor!

For some reason it had been painted in a rather unpleasant navy blue so I refinished it in an aged white finish using some eggshell paint I had (bit of an experiment but it seems to have worked). 

I did some jiggerypokery with PVA glue, a hairdryer, sandpaper and clear and dark wax and this is the finish I achieved...

here's a couple of close ups...

I know grungy, chippy and crackled isn't everyone's favourite but I love it so I'm really pleased with the way it turned out!

see you soon x

Master bedroom reveal........

Well, it's taken months (and it's still not completely finished, with artwork, radiator covers etc to follow) but finally here is my new master bedroom...

Okay, this is what it looked like halfway through...

we took two rooms, a corridor and a large built in wardrobe...

took them apart...

 and put them together again to reveal... 

 

a cool, calm, French inspired interior...

who knew this was lurking under all that mess?

the latest acquisition is this Edwardian bureau bookcase which I bought at auction

in the next post I'll show you some close ups of it's transformation.

See you there!

New 'tick' for my bird list.......

since we moved house last Christmas we have enjoyed having a larger garden and, in particular, having more bird life to enjoy...

We have Woodpeckers, Red Kites, Buzzards, Cormorants and Egrets and we're virtually overrun with baby Blue Tits, Long Tailed Tits, Goldfinches and Thrushes but today - fanfare please - a pair of Bullfinches arrived to gorge themselves on our Honeysuckle berries......

You can see from the male bird that they are looking a bit faded and scruffy as they are going through the moult after raising their babies all Summer.....

I've rarely seen a glimpse of them in the wild but, as I type, this gorgeous little bird is about two feet away outside my window. I know other people probably have dozens of them but, to me, this is ridiculously exciting!