Hello Turkey and China!

Just been checking the stats on my blog and noticed a large number of people from Turkey and China visiting lately!

Welcome! And thank you for stopping by ...

Raffy and Symi the furbabies, and me too of course, love it when you drop in....

We'd love to hear your comments on I Love My Home...

come again soon!

Fireplace transformation....

When we moved into our new home last Christmas one of the things that sold it to us was the fireplace - or rather the potential that I could see in it. I really didn't like it the way it was. 

As we've moved into an old dairy and barn, it obviously didn't have a fireplace originally, but the last owners had put in something using modern brick, quarry tiles and a shiny varnished beam - nice....You can also see the vibrant floral wallpaper (which had to go pretty quickly)

After some negotiation with MLH, we now have this...

and I loooove it! In a couple of months a company are coming to take all the beams back to their original light oak colour so that will be the final touch to my beautiful fireplace makeover!

Chair makeover and a dilemma...

I scored this old chair recently and it really had very little to recommend it: old fashioned, brown, horrible fabric, yeuch!

But, with my well-honed upcycler's eye, I could see that it had lovely proportions and was basically sound. So I spent a couple of days working on it and...

Voila!

Suddenly it's graceful lines and pretty details leap out

Here's a close up of the seat covering I used (linen, of course)...

and the finish I achieved...

I love a bit of crackle glazing and I've been working on my own method to get the best results. Also I've blended my own antiquing glaze which I'm finding a lot easier to use than dark wax. It gives a more controllable and subtler effect - hope you like it?

And the dilemma? The usual one: do I sell her or add her to my already overstuffed house?

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! 

I Love My Home in print...

I'm thrilled that I Love My Home has been featured in MK Pulse magazine as an example of the upcycled goodies available at Afterglow of Olney....

Olney is a lovely town with lots of opportunities for antiqueing, shopping, eating etc and the Cowper and Newton Museum.

I was thrilled to be asked to be a part of Afterglow which features items that are all from local designer/makers and are handmade, vintage or upcycled. So far it has been a great success and has given me even more opportunity to indulge my favourite hobbies of searching out unloved items and then recreating them as lovely home accents. 

Incidentally, the pretty sewing box featured in the article above (and in my last post) has been sold. It's always a lovely feeling when somebody likes an item (and what I've done with it) as much as I do!

Before and after transformations....

I'm not very good at remembering to take 'before' shots of my work so here are a few just to show what can be done with brown furniture...first a pretty little sewing box 

But just look at her now...Paris Grey inside, Bath Stone outside, new (vintage) brass acorn handles and a beautiful botanical Toile de Jouy on the padded lid

next is the Louis cabinet...I think someone had already given this a weird kind of makeover, but with some Old White paint and several layers of crackle glaze, more paint, wax, more wax etc...

now fit to grace a boudoir in a chateau somewhere near you!

and finally, a very plain 1930s sewing box, useful, clean and tidy but  sooooo boring...bring on the paint finish, transfer some vintage images and add a tape measure for good luck and you have...

a sweet little item that's both beautiful and useful (chanelling my inner William Morris once again!)

If you like what you see, the Louis cabinet is in my area at Afterglow of Olney (www.afterglow-originals.com for details) and the two sewing tables will be there soon.

Thanks for looking!

Antique linens and foxgloves........

I've been so busy lately preparing items for the Milton Keynes Vintage Market and the opening of Afterglow of Olney, that I had built up a pile of sewing that I wanted to get on with. So today I spent a happy few hours with my trusty shears and sewing machine making cushions for my own home....

I used some beautiful monogrammed French linens and you may remember the angel image from a previous post. This time I printed it directly onto fabric and appliqued it to a cushion cover -voila!

It's been a beautiful day here so I thought I ought to have some outdoor time too...

The garden is looking stunning at the moment and among the stars are these wonderful foxgloves....

I couldn't resist sharing with you...x

Tomorrow's the BIG DAY!

Last night I attended the preview evening of Afterglow of Olney. I can tell you a great time was had by all and the items on offer are so varied and lovely that you'll be sure to find the perfect gift for anyone 

(or even yourself!)...

Olney is a wonderful shopping destination with a growing reputation for galleries, interior design ideas and gifts. Also there are wonderful antique shops, bistros and delicatessans, and all set in such a pretty location with plenty of parking...

here are a few of the items from I Love My Home

(photographs courtesy of the lovely Sharon Mackenzie)

Afterglow opens tomorrow 14th June 2014...

see more on their website:

www.afterglow-originals.com

See you there!