Beautiful Brissi

After months of longing I've finally got my hands on a beautiful, shapely chair from Brissi for my bedroom.

I had actually been hankering after this one:


but ended up with a smaller/ more modest-shaped but still perfectly-formed version that fits much better in my room.

I love the shape of the legs and the colour of the wood which matches the beams in our bedroom following their soap-n-scrape treatment from our fantastic decorator.

http://www.brissi.co.uk/

Who's stolen my house?

Day 11

The demolition is finished! Am sure the neighbours must be very pleased - everything that's coming down is now well and truly down. I guess you could say we're definitely past the point of no return!

So you can now see that the two side walls and a small section of roof remains - these will stay as they are, with the new part of the house extending at a perpendicular angle from the existing house.

Staffy B

I'm thrilled to have found the most lovely interiors shop in my nearest town over the weekend. Staffy B stocks 'Recycled, Vintage, and New'; shabby chic, rustic Provencale-style, and up-cycled furnuture and homewares - all out of a small but perfectly formed shop in Baldock, Herts.

If they haven't got what you're looking for, they'll happily scour local auctions and fairs in the UK and France to find that perfect piece of furniture, or if you've got a piece at home that needs a new lease of life you can take it in to be up-cycled by the shop's talented team.

I've put an order in for a plain curved mantlepiece-style mirror for my hallway/ dining area - fingers crossed the frame fair comes up with a specimin ripe for some TLC!

http://www.staffybhome.co.uk/

The point of no return

Day 6
Well if there is a point of no return, I think it's safe to say we've passed it. We now have no conservatory, no outer walls, no downstairs loo, or roof - but most importantly - no kitchen! Let the ready meals commence (Jody is delighted!).



Rockett St George



Life - Vintaged Sign

 Out of all the interiors shops out there, this one is my absolute favourite - and there are quite a few pieces either bought from here, or 'inspired by' the site in my cottage.

This eclectic site is full of wonderful things to adorn your walls, including original handcrafted one-off wooden pieces like this one (pictured) 'Life is a series of moments called Now' - which has a wonderful, antique feel, and a message that manages to be feel-good without being sickeningly sweet! I'm thinking of buying one for a friend's wedding this year - just need to decide on which message to go for.

The site is like an Aladdin's cave, and it's easy to waste hours browsing through the timeless prints, word art, wall stickers (a look the site has been rocking before they became popular last year) and even quirky ceramic tiles.

I Rule print

There's plenty for the rest of your home too, from witty teatowels, to tableware that's sure to be a conversation-starter, to vintage-style bathroom accessories and toiletries. I noticed the other day that they've recently started selling the most realistic-looking range of faux flowers, with beautiful cherry blossom, peonies, hydrangeas, and Equadorian Roses. 

In the vintage section there's a great selection of design-classics on offer. I'm dying to order a couple of Eames Dowel chairs from the vintage section, which come in gorgeous 70s colourways - they'd be the perfect fit against a traditional Victorian wooden table in my kitchen - might need to save up though, as I'll need 6-8...

 

http://www.rockettstgeorge.co.uk/

 

Vintage Eames Dowel Chair



Well that didn't take very long

Day 2
We always knew the conservatory didn't have any foundations to speak of, but even with that in mind, I wasn't quite expecting it to come down quite as quickly as it has. Am sure there's something poetic to be said here about living in a house of cards, but am in far too much shock (and excitement) to think of what it might be.

In just two days, we're now back to where the house would have been around 200 years ago - with the original cottage area, adjoined by the single story lean-to extension.

Work has started!

Day 1
After a lot of planning, packing-up, and more planning the work is finally underway.

This is how we started:

First step - the patio and conservatory come down...



The plans

Now that the builders are about to start, I've realised I haven't shared the plans yet.

So to go back a step, the house is made up of three parts:

1. The original part: two farm labourers cottages circa 17th Century, that were knocked together to make one cottage somewhere along the way

2. The middle: a single-story lean-two extension, age uncertain - estimated 19th-20th Century

3. The conservatory: about 20 years old, poorly constructed, with no foundations

Each of these three sections is similar in size in terms of the floor area, although the only part with a corresponding upstairs level is the original, front section of the house.

In the new plan the original section of the house will remain unchanged (both upstairs and down), whilst the other two sections are removed (all but two walls) and re-built as a new double-story extension - here are the visuals of the plans which should make more sense!

(The plans have actually been amended slightly since this - will try to find time to scan in the most up-to-date floor layout and upload when I get a spare second).

All packed up and no where to go!

Well after a lot of help from my parents we're all packed up and ready for the builders to descend on us.

The house looks very sad, and it's going to be a long 5 months using our makeshift 'kitchen' (otherwise known as a fridge, microwave and kettle) in the dining room, and eating off paper plates.

I already hate that the 'good' half of the house looks like a junk shop - there's certainly going to be lots of weekends spent staying at friends just to escape the mess...

Suddenly feeling very apprehensive.

The growing pains of our little house...

Anthropologie

There's nothing better than an hour spent browsing around Anthropologie on a Saturday afternoon. I head there whenever I get the chance - the shop on the Kings Road is my favourite.

The decor of the shop itself is just amazing; it includes a running water feature that has a relaxing, tranquil effect on the whole shopping experience, and a mish-mash of colours in the interiors section is enough to brighten the darkest of days. 

The shop unfolds as you walk through the different sections, giving you the feeling of mooching around a jigsaw of boutique stalls. The wide range of products is inspired by far-flung countries, bold patterns, nature, and seminal moments in time - making for an enchanting, eclectic mix - I challenge you to leave without picking up a little something!

 

Driftwood Hurricane Lantern



The prices are as wide-ranging as the styles stocked too (although naturally it's the more expensive pieces that my magpie eye is drawn to).

The new arrivals on the website that are catching my eye this week would fill up this whole blog - a taster includes;

 - Colour Flight Butterflies Wallpaper, by Over & Over

 - Driftwood Hurricane Lantern candle holder

 - Round Conure Rug

 - Bug door handle

http://www.anthropologie.eu/ 



 



 

Small designs...

What do you do when you've found a great house, in a perfect location? Improve it of course...

The house as it stands is a typical old cottage that's been extended - it's got a very live-able downstairs, and a less than live-able upstairs, with small rooms and low ceilings.

Actually the ceiling heights aren't too bad for a cottage - I can get around without bending in flats, but Jodes (the hubby) has to walk around with a permanent stoop, and has had quite a few really painful bumps to the head.

For just the two of us, the space is fine, but we want this to be a family home, which it can't really be unless I surrender my dressing room to be a kid's bedroom (just not an option...).

There were also a few problems that came up in the survey when we first bought the house to do with the lack of foundations for the conservatory, and the poor construction of the middle section of the house (a 200 year old extension) in terms of where it's fixed to the original part of the house.

So the plan is to retain the original part of the house, knock down the conservatory and 'extension' and rebuild both of these areas as a double-story. This will give us a load more room upstairs - an extra 2 double beds (one with an en-suite) - and it will fix the other problems with the walls/foundation by removing them, and in its place leaving us with a practical family space.

The house came with planning permission when we bought it, so we'd always planned on doing the work - the last 16 months have been spent sorting out our finances, tweaking the plans, and getting the builder on-board. Oh - and getting married last year took up quite a bit of time too!

Anyway, we're nearly there - how exciting!