One wall inspiration

Source unknown via Ferm's clever spaces.


From outinhome...

Kitchen to do list

1. Prep walls, ceiling, and woodwork
2. Re-fix tiles by the sink (or remove them!)
3. Paint walls (white or something mad like green, yellow, blue or orange? and ceiling (white!)
4. Replace old light fittings
5. Paint woodwork, including back door and internal window (white)
6. Paint tiles (or fit cheap MDF panelling) - have paint already
7. Replace worktop (including fitting in utility room) - £30
8. Fit shelves above washing machine
9. Move small fridge to utility room
10. Paint utensil holder and move away from sink
11. Wax the door
12. Fit rim-lock to door - £10 from Bishopston Hardware
13. Make curtain for larder
14. Paint doors and change handles
15. Replace oven (electric? Stainless steel fan oven on Gumtree for £60)
16. Replace gas hob (stainless gas hob on Gumtree for £25)

Phew!
Notes:

• Ikea's worktop no long enough - need 175x60cm, 294x60cm and 126/7x60cm for the utility room. All not lost though as Wickes do cheap worktop (e.g. Ebony Star, £15 for 3m length!)
  

Kitchen...

Over at apartment therapy looking at Karen's Urban Cottage House tour and voila:


I like.

More kitchen inspiration over here: http://purestylehome.blogspot.com.

Creating a blank canvas...

We took a week off in April to strip all of the woodchip and dodgy wallpaper. That green had to go!






We could have done this room by room, decorating and finishing each one before moving onto the next. We probably should have done this room by room - T has a new job, I'm working full-time and doing an MSc, which means that making this house feel like ours is going to take some time.

I figured that blitzing the whole house like a pair of wallpaper addicted locusts would mean that over time we'd become "blind" to old white plaster walls rather than the horrendous colour scheme we have now.

The upside of this house is that there are still quite a few original features, the original doors (although 2 were hiding under hardboard cladding), rim locks on most of them and 1930s ovolo mouldings.


Unfortunately the previous owners had a teak-fetish phase, guessing sometime in the 70's, and the windowsills (all teak-clad) and staircase didn't fair so well.

Anyway in the front bedroom one thing led to another, and then another! The wallpaper continued on behind some built-in cupboards. Useful for storage, but not so easy on the eye.




So out they came. Along with the plasterboard that was covering up the fireplace...


Alas no fire surround hiding under there, but the fire brick is in good nick:


Our surprise discovery was the remnants of old wallpaper giving a hint of how the room used to look. Not sure, but guessing this might have been the original 1930s/1940s décor. Took lots of photos and kept a few bits of the wallpaper for posterity.






Even the decorator's marks were there:


Empty and ready for painting:


I've also spied the original black and white brick tiles in the kitchen still visible behind one of the cabinets. They've been tiled over, but I'm hoping that we might be able to restore them.

House visit

Pictures taken during our second viewing

Front of the house:



So far so good...

Hallway:



OK, kooky, but doable.

Sitting room:





Nice colour choices, and what's with the carpet missing from the alcoves?

Dining room:



Umm... seeing a colour trend here and another for painting/carpeting around furniture. Are those nicotine stains in the corner? Yes!

Kitchen and utility room:




Conservatory and garden:









Wow! Space!

Landing and bathroom:




Front bedroom:






Back bedroom:



Love the bed.

Box room:

Eugh!