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It’s Christmas!

I just have to share an image, or few, of our new Christmas tree! It’s just so fab. We ordered it back in September from a visit to the local park. Our park is great because it has a small courtyard which houses small craft companies as well as the usual park kind of stuff. We have bought a small number of items from this little wood craft shop in the past and we always have a wander in whenever we get to that side of the park. John, the owner, is a lovely man and a very creative craftsman. We saw a rather large version of our tree hanging in his shop and just decided we had to order one. The cost was more than a ‘real’ tree but for the past few years we have had living trees. They are delivered to your door in a pot and collected in the New Year to live out the year till the following Xmas, when it may well go off to another foster family. I loved the idea that, even though they were expensive for the relatively small size, they weren’t being chopped down to die and then get thrown in a skip. I’ve only ever had 4 of the type that you pick up and get rid of after Christmas and always felt a pang of guilt. So, now we have a tree made from driftwood found locally on beaches that we can take down and put up again every year until it totally falls apart, which I hope, is in many years to come!

We also bought these decorations from the same chap…lovely aren’t they?!

The duck and heart decs are from Ikea.

The colourful balls are from B&Q and Tesco.

The very special sparkly star was made by Lucas.

Merry Christmas everyone and have a very happy festive period!

I NEED this wallpaper!

I’ve just been reading some other blogs this morning and happened upon emmas.blogg.se. A really beautiful blog that I will be going back to for updates. She showed the most beautiful wallpaper I have ever seen and I’m not really a big fan of wallpaper, although we have been considering it for our bedroom revamp. I really want some of this but the price tag is a bit high for the quantity you get. Don’t get me wrong, after reading the site from the people who make it I appreciate the quality and love that goes into it’s production I just can’t justify the cost right now and there would also be shipping on top of that at it is produced in the USA. My husband loves it too and is considering the possibilty of creating something similar using vinyl cut outs. I love the orange one too so it would be a flip of a coin as to whether we have black in our room or orange in my sons room.Descisions! Thanks Emma for the inspiration.

Picture 4Picture 2

sixty eight from nama rococo

Whimsical


Whimsical

Originally uploaded by boltron-

Came across this via sgoralnick’s flickr photostream.

I was looking for interesting wedding photography,

and found it, and came across this stop animation

movie. Absolutely beautiful and a fantastic choice

of track from Cinematic Orchestra.

Well done to all involved!

Chairs!

We are just slightly addicted to chairs and we could easily have a house full. We do have some restraint but there are so many more chairs that we would love to have but they just cost more than we are willing to pay at the moment. Hopefully, some day, we may just find them in skips and things or charity shops so we may get them for a lot less with just some restoration work to be done on them. Here’s to wishful thinking…(we can dream can’t we?!)_DSC0769_DSC0770

Before Lucas came along, and we had a little extra cash, we purchased this beautiful white Verner Panton chair. We have always loved it but it was a bit more than we would have liked to pay for a single chair. It’s just divine and so comfy. We use it at our computer desk but it was originally bought to go around our dining table with a selection of other chairs. Once Lucas came we decided to move house, and the table, in the original dining room, has now gone into storage to make way for a playroom for our boy. We now eat at the Danish table, in the kitchen, left by the previous owners. We also bought a fake mini one for Lucas. Wooly (the sheep from Woolworths shop) has pride of place on there at the moment._DSC0772

We have also extended the love of chairs to Lucas. We had to get this shipped direct from Sweden. The people at Svan were wonderful and they got this over to us in speedy time and it cost much less than buying it from the US, which seemed to be the only place selling it at the time?! He has had so much use out of it. It’s a bouncer which reclines and can be used from baby to about the age of three. Lucas likes to sit in it to watch his favourite telly programmes and his friend Harriet loves standing and bouncing on it. It’s such a simple design with no mechanisms it’s just wood and fabric. I never really went in for all baby patterns or mechanical rockers. I wanted his things to be stylish but also simple. My nan never had the technology we have now so if she could do without it, so could I!_DSC0777

When Lucas started weening we read so many reviews and articles on chairs and feeding it made ours head spin. We always liked the idea of the Stokke tripp trapp as it grew with the child and I am a big fan of longevity. He’s 28 months now and he still likes to sit on it. He uses it at the kitchen table to do painting and crafts. He uses it for eating times and he now gets on and off himself like a big boy. It may eventually get put in his room so he can use at a desk when he is at school. Great!_DSC0767_DSC0765_DSC0766

I just love this chair. There was a big debate about whether to buy this or not. It wasn’t the cheapest of chairs and it seemed a lot for a 2 year old. It’s by magis from the me too collection. It’s called the trioli and designed by Eero Aarnio. It’s called trioli for a reason, it has 3 functions. Well 2 really. Firstly it’s a seat but it has two heights, just turn it over and it is either lower or higher. The other function is a rocker. Lie it down on it’s front and there is a handle to hold on whilst you rock back and forth. Brilliant! It was about £130 on every website I found it, except one. The shop was about 30/40 mins drive away so persuaded Ste to come with me to have a look at it. Unfortunately when we got there they didn’t have one in so they would have to order it. Shame. Anyway the owner of the shop went to the website to see what it was and checked the book for ordering details. He discovered that the price on the website was wrong. He said as soon as we walk out of the shop door he was changing it but if we ordered it he would honour the price on the website. Well it was quite a big saving so we ordered it and got this chair 4 weeks later for the discounted price of £85! Bargain? Well I think so but you decide. He loves it and we have found another purpose for it. He stands on it to help mama & dada cook. It’s the perfect height and his feet don’t slip off the edge like the previous step we used. Winner!_DSC0796

Ok back to adult chairs. This one is one of my favourites. It’s a 70’s? rocking chair. We have been meaning to re-cover it since we bought it about 6/7 years ago! The wood is beautiful and it’s so comfy. I’ve seen the exact chair in a home in Living etc with orange covers and that’s the colour we originally wanted. We’ll have to wait until we decorate before deciding. Please ignore the dodgy wallpaper. It is coming off very soon! I think it cost us in the region of £10-£15 from a 2nd hand shop.IMG_1587

These two we bought recently for the dinner table. They were £2 each! Can you believe that? Charity barn sale locally which is just brilliant. We bought a retro mirror for £2 and also a Meakin teapot which I was drawn too. I’ve now realised why I was drawn to it…we have the full set in the attic! Ste’s mum gave it to us but we have nowhere to put t until we have the kitchen/dining/garden room done. Ah well…the more the merrier. I aslo have a piece on a bracelet._DSC0804

These tam tam stools are in Lucas’s bedroom at the moment. The tall one Ste bought from a 2nd hand shop in Blackburn for a few pounds and the small one, base missing but still works, is from a shop round the corner from his work and we got it for a £1! I just love a bargain._DSC0774

This stool is also from a 2nd hand shop in Blackburn. Ste paid £5. Love it._DSC0776

This step stool we bought in Lytham. The top needs re-doing as the wood had bent. A little job for me. The steps fold into the base and Lucas uses it to reach the kitchen work surface. It’s very cute and I just had to give it a home._DSC0780_DSC0784

There used to be an old Mill in Darwen which housed lots of collectors finds and we bought so many things from there in the past. Being pregnant and after we just never got around to going there for about 2/3 years. It moved just before we stopped going but has recently been sold to a single owner who sells antiques. We did get these from there recently but the choice is not the same. Ste spotted this chair hanging hight up in the rafters and it turns out it belonged to the original owner. So a phone call later and it was ours for the sum of £15. It’s in the spare room with the sewing machine. The table here is also from the same the shop. It has quite a low back but is so comfy. I love doing my sewing on it._DSC0797

This chair was a bit of a find. We didn’t know anything about this chair before we bought it. A very stylish furniture shop opened in Blackburn and when we walked past we both loved this chair, but never went in to ask it’s price. One day we decided to pop in and enquire. The shop was closing down although no signs to say so. A day later and it all would have gone! We asked the price of the chair and expected a stupid price…£25!? Eh, errr we’ll take it. Not that I came across too keen or anything. Months later I discoved it was quite an expensive chair, about £300/£400. I don’t for one minute believe this could be an origial for the price we paid. It must be a copy but even for a copy it’s a fab price. I love it more each day. Again this used to be at our dining table but has been relegated to the bedroom until the kitchen is done._DSC0802

An ebay purchase. We have 2 of these. They were inteded for the dining table until we moved house. They are ok but not brill. We may end up selling them but we don’t want to get rid of anything until the kitchen is done as we may find a space for them._DSC0798

This was an impulse buy from Ste. He was doing some work for a local auction house and spotted 2 of these and placed a bid. We paid £69 for the pair. Very solid and comfy but very big. We are debating whether or not to sell them.

So there you go…our chair addiction. Some you may hate, most you may love. Some chairs are most definately mssing from the collection but watch this space…


Car Booty!

It’s been quite some time since I went to a car boot sale. Not for the want of trying it’s just there is always something else to do. On bank holiday Monday we went to a very local one for a wander and I am so pleased with what we found. I still can’t get over the ridiculously low prices people want to just get rid of their stuff…I would easily have paid more!

This cool casserole dish with lid…£1. The plates ranged from 10p to 50p. We actually don’t have a full set of plates. We decided long ago that to have a matching set was too adult and also too hard work. We have a tendency to break lots of things as we are both clumsy and with the addition of a small one, Lucas, well that would just be darn right crazy! We also couldn’t decide on just one pattern or style so the mix suits us fine. We have the same problem with chairs!

Anyway…I digress. This cool suitcase, which I shall use as a hospital maternity bag, if ever we have another child, was storing lots of lampshades on some soggy grass under a table of stuff. I was in the middle of processing what I would be happy to pay and what I should offer when the nice lady said…’you can have that for £1.50′. Did I even have to think about it? NO I DID NOT. It currently sits in my ‘sewing room‘. I say in inverted commas because it’s kind of the intention for this room but it’s not fully sorted yet.IMG_1411_LR

Casserole dish.IMG_1415_LR

Selection of plates.IMG_1417_LR

Soup bowls.

Lucas’s new bedroom!

At last he is in his new room. It took some doing, and some very long days and nights but he is actually sleeping well in there. It still needs the curtains sorting, as there is only one up, but I am going to source some nice material, maybe 70’s retro or cowboy print? Also needs a new rug and Ste to design a print for above the fire.

This room, being at the front of the house, is one of the brightest during the day but it’s dark when Lucas needs to go to bed. The fact that there is more space is an added bonus. His old room is now where I keep my sewing machine and the sofa bed. I just hate not using the spaces we have to their fullest potential. The room we now call the dressing room was pretty much a dumping room. the room we now call Lucas’s bedroom was a spare room and also had some of our clothes in there and that is where I got ready most days and dried my hair. Now each room seems defined. Lucas’s room at the front of the house is also a space he/we can play in and it shows, on his new shelving unit, some of his more interesting toys. His books are also on there and he can reach and choose his own bedtime books. It just works on so many levels. He’ll have room for sleepovers and furniture changes and still feel like he has lots of space.

His old bedroom, right at the back of the house, is now a great space for me to work and start some of those sewing projects I’ve always wanted to do. The sofa bed also acts a great place to sit and read books with Lucas as a family with no distractions. This room still needs decorating but it’ll do for now and it makes me smile whenever we sit in there.

Kaboom lampshade-looks so much better in this room.

Flensted mobile-whales. Would like another for our room but a more adult one. They have some amazing wind catchers. See here.

Cot bed is the Fable from Mamas & Papas. Took some time to get this in 2007 but it has since been discontinued?! WHY?

Ikea shelving unit.

Illustration of a whale bought by friends for Lucas. Thanks Chris & Julia x

Ahhh the fire…freshley sand blasted and spray painted…yum.

Shelving detail. Ikea Boholmen wash bowl used as storage for toys. (We also use one in the bathroom to store bath toys). Original vintage Fisher Price till bought from ebay. Motorbike & side car from Habitat in sale, soft robot toy from Paperchase, wooden car with red wheels, made in germany bought at 2nd hand shop for £1.50 & vintage F-P camera from ebay.

His coat hook was such a good find. I can’t remember the make but will check and update later. It has moveable pegs. It’s just fab. Loved it so much we bought it as a Christmas present for our friends little boy who is a month older than Lucas.

Dragon rocker, that he uses a bit more now, but mum bought it when he was 6 months old! The tam tam stool Ste bought from a 2nd hand shop in Blackburn for about £5. It’s original and not the version from Habitat. Just look at the light that comes through the window into this room. It’s a delight to be in here.

This little fella, the red horse baby rattle, was ent by my Uni friend Eva all the way from Sweden. He just loved it as a bub. I’ll post photos of him playing with it later here.

Fireplace

A very good friend of ours took away two bedroom fires and sand blasted them for us on his in-laws farm. They needed a little hand sanding to get the tricky bits that just wouldn’t shift out of the cracks. They came back a lovely silvery grey colour that I would have loved to keep but fear of rust prompted us to spray them a matt black. It actually came up really nice and we’ve finally got it back up in Lucas’s room. (Ours will have to wait until I start stripping the walls.) I can’t believe the detail that, when painted for the last 30+ years was practically hidden, until sand blasting. I was jumping and clapping like a seal when I saw it in place. Yes the simple things really do make me happy. See for yourself how nice it looks in Lucas’s bedroom here.

Chester Zoo

What a madly hectic few days. It was our 5th wedding anniversary yesterday! (Ste:- Love you more than words can say.) We decided on a family day at the zoo. What a beautiful day…picnic on the grass by the colourful flowers and just time together, the 3 of us, enjoying, playing and laughing.

There was an element of animal noises too created by the 3 of us and the animals…have you ever heard a lion roar in person?…goose bumps all round.

For the 3 days prior to yesterday was a haze of sanding, priming, filling and painting floorboards. Lucas will have a new bedroom in a few days and had to make the most of Ste’s day off. Lucas at chilminders and also, over the weekend, Lucas stayed at nana’s. It’s really quite hard trying to decorate when looking after a demanding 2 year old boy…but I love him for it! He really is looking forward to having his new room as we keep taking him in there and playing with him and dancing to 6 music on digital radio…’more dance daddy, more dancing mummy’, very cute._DSC7577

These are just a small number of images taken on our family day. Bedroom revamp images to come very soon.

Begin the beginning

Hopefully, once I’m on a roll with this blogging lark, it will become apparent exactly what we have accomplished since moving in to our new home. It was previously owned by a couple in their early sixties, who have two grown up sons that have now moved away. It was very well presented just not well preserved. We bought the house just as the ‘credit crunch’ hit and we were lucky to sell ours at such a good price so we were able to put an offer in on this. Anyway we have now been here just over one and a half years and we are loving every minute.

We have started the small bedroom. We have dedicated the smallest of 4 bedrooms into use as a dressing room. As I’ve mentioned before we really like the white look so we stripped all the wallpaper from the walls and ceiling and had the room completely re-plastered. I just love fresh white paint over plaster walls…divine. After much deliberating over what to do with the floor we decided to go ahead and paint it white. Well it’s come up really well…much better than I could have ever imagined and so easy and fairly cheap to do. You can see the, in progress, results below.

A day with my boy

I woke up this morning and the sun was gloriously flashing through the blinds. I decided that I was going to just have a fun day with my little boy, as from tomorrow we will be sorting out his new bedroom. We decided a picnic on the park would be required. Here are just some of the photographs that I took early on.



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