Look No Pink!!

Hello my lovelies (is there anyone still out there?!!)

I'm starting to go into my hibernation mode. This time of year my anxiety levels crank up and I become even more of a homebody than usual - leaving the house only to go to the stables or do food shopping and preferring to stay tucked up in my little home.

Part of the reason is to avoid nasty germs, my phobia of vomiting is always worse in winter especially when the media crack out their "winter vomiting virus" horror stories (it's only a matter of time - just give them slow news week).

This time I've even hibernated from the internet - my blog has been a bit neglected of late and I've even lost my Instagram mojo and in the last few weeks have barely been on there either (I don't think anyone has noticed!!)

I have been busy playing in my cabin, decorating and crafting though - I have to be making something!!

I had to take this pic as I thought how pretty the cabin looked in the autumn sunshine....

Our youngest son W moved into my ex-sewing room and as he got the smallest room I promised to decorate it first for him. I tried my best to steer him towards something tasteful and not-too-chavvy but the lack of pink or shabby-chicness is taking a bit of getting used to:

It's all so boyish!!

I did manage to insist of a couple of vintage bits - this 1930's gentleman's wardrobe was £16 from eBay - I'm going to paint it so it matches better, it's rather scratched up so I'm happy to paint it.

W wanted a New York poster and so we added another little vintage touch my agreeing on this one - "Lunch Atop A Skyscraper" was taken in 1932 and makes my head swim if I look at it too closely (I don't do heights!!)

W also requested one of my signs, so I made one out of some of the tongue and groove that was left over from the cabin floor:

And I modified a plain black lampshade by using a needle to pierce a skyline into it:

I also made name signs for both the boys doors:

BTW the boys are not named after the royal princes!! H is named after my Granddad & W was the only boys name we really agreed on!!

H got the bigger room and we scored a fab 1930's bed off Freegle and I managed to win a matching wardrobe on eBay for £10:

After Christmas we'll decorate H's room - he doesn't care what we do so I'm going for a hunting lodge type look with off white walls, plaid and tartans and maybe even the odd stags head!!

Thanks for reading....

Hugs,

S x

 

 

 

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Home Tour - Part II

We continue our tour today with the kitchen and conservatory. Before we had the conservatory across the back of the house you would have been looking at the kitchen window above the sink and the back door to the left.

In 2007 we splashed out and had a large conservatory/sun room put along the back of the house.

We had wanted the peninsular knocking out and the kitchen to go out into the new extension but due to budget restrictions we kept the kitchen where it was.

What you may not know is along with the photographer magazines send a stylist and she "set up" the house for the shots. In actual fact she didn't make many changes at all but she did move the microwave out of the shot above - it usually sits to the right of the sink. I didn't want to put it back afterwards as it does look much better!!

As usual with us the kitchen was done on a budget - I designed the layout myself and ordered the cabinets online.

The cooker was an eBay bargain, I toyed with the idea of spraying it (duck egg?!!) but it fits in ok. I do detest the stainless splashback though and would one day like to tile it. Incidentally, we never use those Le Crueset pans, another "set up" by the stylist!!

We did have a hood above the cooker but as well as not working it was a grease magnet and also stainless steel so I persuaded Mr G to take it down and put up some open shelves for me (why do men detest putting up shelves so much?)

Now into one of my favourite rooms in the house - the conservatory:

This is the room we spend most of the day in. Mr G works at this end at the dining table - he's a Technical Project Manager and much of the day is spent at the laptop and on conference calls.

Some of the bargains here include the table which cost £10.50 and the chairs £40 (both from eBay). I painted the chairs in mismatched Annie Sloan ice-cream colours. The lamp was given to me out of a friends skip.

The tall cupboard houses the washing machine beneath and the "pantry" (oh how I'd love a real pantry!!) above. I painted the Coca-Cola sign myself.

The sofa is one of my sister's cast offs and came all the way from America - it's seen better days now but is very comfy. We have had three of my Sis's old sofas and now joke that we should go with her to buy to make sure we like it!! She has in fact just ordered the most gorgeous sofas from Laura Ashley so I'll be glad to rehome them for her in a few years!!

I made the cushions and the plates are an assortment from eBay and boot sales. The coffee table was from eBay - the legs are painted in Annie Sloan's Old Ochre.

My favourite spot is the right side of the sofa - it's called "Mummy's Corner" and where you'll find me if I'm not in the sewing room.

The conservatory is home to my dresser. This was one of my Mum's cast offs (I'm lucky in that I have relatives who change their furniture every five minutes!!) and came originally from BeWise of all places. I mixed some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint to make the blue it's painted with and added knobs decoupaged with Cath Kidston.

We have a few heirlooms on here - the rose tea set belonged to Mr G's Grandma; the cutwork plate was my Nanna's and the cruet set belonged to my great Aunt.

The Cath Kidston mugs hung here are, in actual fact, all broken!! The first set I had were duff - developing hairline cracks and all broke within a few months. Cath Kidston replaced them after a bit of a tussle and I glued the salvageable ones as they are still pretty.

Despite the multiple chins I'll include these pics - I like the cats in this one:

And this one where I am chatting away!! I hate having my photo taken but photographer Brett made me feel very at ease.

So there we have the downstairs - small but perfectly formed? I must admit until I saw the photos all together in the pages of the magazine I didn't realise that the colour schemes were so similar in each room - I guess because as you walk around the house you don't see every room side by side as you do in the magazine!!

Next time we'll venture upstairs - but we'll skip the tatty stair carpet!!

Thanks for reading....

Hugs,

S x

(All photos courtesy of Brett Charles Photograpy)

 

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Home Tour - Part I

Now that the Style At Home magazine that we were featured in has hit the stands I can post the pics that the photographer Brett let me have and do a little home tour of my own.

The house is a semi and was built in 1970, so perhaps not the most attractive of houses. This pic is actually one of my own as the picture used in the magazine was taken before we added the wisteria and baskets - the house looks much better with those simple additions.

I've wanted a wisteria for years, and finally got one this year. It seems very happy in its pot and has grown like mad. Fingers-crossed for flowers next year. We have large flower beds either side of the path and we tend to favour the "wildlife" look!!

We had a "new" front door this year - when I say new I mean it was out of the skip from the house across the road!! They had all new doors and windows and so we asked to have their old door.

One of our favourite changes to the front of the house this year have been these vintage 1930's garage doors:

Our garage door was a sad, broken, up and over and we looked for a set of secondhand doors like these for a while. They were going for silly money on eBay but I found a two sets being sold together on Gumtree so we bought both. We kept this set and sold the others on eBay for almost as much as the two sets together had cost.

Mr G and his Dad had to cut them down a bit to fit and then was under strict instructions to paint them in Farrow & Ball's Green Blue - I really am just addicted to all shades of duck egg blue, I didn't really realise how much until I saw all the photos together and I think some shade of duck egg/aqua/eau de nil makes an appearance in every room!!

As you come into the house you enter the little porch:

You've seen my patchwork wall before, all made from wallpaper "samples" (ahem) I procured from a DIY shop and so (other than the paste) the wall was free.

Previous to this we had a nasty, dark 1970's door - this one was from the tip (it's one of my favourite places to shop!!) and is painted in my own mix of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (ASCP).

The blanket is a lap blanket (didn't have the stamina or money for any bigger!!) in Jane Brocket's starburst flower pattern. I'd love to do a huge blanket but I have very little patience.

The standard lamp was given to me by my Stepdad - I was meant to do it up and sell it - and painted in Old White ASCP, the shade I recovered. Same goes for the hexagonal mirror but that found its home here as well. It looks a lot tidier in these pics than it ever does IRL!!

You can see my duck egg fetish continues indoors!!

The sofas don't really go with the decor but they are comfy and practical - they were a cast off from my Mum (who is obsessed with changing her suite every five minutes!!) I'd love a velvet chesterfield one day.

The pressed flower picture is actually my wedding bouquet and it hangs among floral pictures found at car boot sales and some embroideries done by myself and my Mum.

The sideboard (or "Mouse Organ" as we call it due to its resemblance of the same from Bagpuss!!) houses all the the TV and media gubbins and is painted own Duck Egg ASCP and gilded with a bit of gold Rub And Buff.

The footstool/coffee table was a plain orange pine coffee table from the tip. Mr G sawed down the legs and I added foam and fabric to upholster it (since this pic was taken I decided the fabric was too wishy-washy and I've redone it in pink tartan wool).

The stool under the window was kind of found on eBay - I was looking for a stool to paint and crochet a cover for and found what looked like the perfect one on eBay. As I looked at the picture I thought "I recognise that kitchen" - it was my Mum selling it!! So she of course gave it to me....

This sideboard is a 1930's one which we got from the tip for £8 and is painted in Old White and Duck Egg ASCP. The lamp base was £1 from a boot sale and I covered the shade in vintage fabric. The clock belonged to my beloved Granddad (who you can see with my Nanna in the photo next to it). The portrait is of my horse TC - Mr G had it done one year for Christmas.

The other end of the lounge is a bit of a non-room now. Before we had the conservatory across the back of the house it was the dining room. It's now a bit of a walk-through but does house the computer (to the other side of this pic) in a hideaway cupboard where our eldest H spends most of his time.

The radiator cover was from eBay and the chairs from the tip. The book wreath I made out of a copy of "Gone With The Wind" following a tutorial I found on Pinterest. Mr G made the shelves from MDF and moulding and I had to wait 9 months for them!! I added the little "shades" to the fairy lights by covering plastic shot glasses with scrap booking paper.

This is the other side of the room. The sideboard and computer hideaway were both from eBay and are painted in Paris Grey ASCP. This chair was also from eBay and I reupholstered it (badly) in patchwork - it actually lives in the conservatory and was just popped here for a picture.

In the background you can see a gramophone that belonged to my Dad, he had always wanted one and when he bought a pub he finally got one.

In this photo you catch a glimpse of my vintage tea trolley which was from Freegle and I sprayed in cream.

I was going to continue with the rest of the downstairs but this post is already rather long so I'll leave it there for now!!

Thanks (as always) for reading

Hugs,

S x

All photos (except first two) courtesy of Brett Charles Photography....

 

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It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas....

I have been completely slack again and let the time between posts slip once again, but here I am and I thought I would show you how I have made Shabby Chic Towers look festive this year.

The first thing to go up was the tree, this year I have been a sheep and gone for the very popular red and white theme and (for the first time ever) no obvious tinsel. In actual fact, it does have tinsel, it's just matt green to hide the wires of the lights plus a bit wound round the very centre of the tree to give some depth:

(It looks quite rubbish here)

I got some really lovely new decorations from Wilkinsons and Poundland:

To the right of the tree you can see the fabulous nativity scene that my Mum knitted for me before I could craft - my Stepdad built the stable and I adore it:

We also have a lovely little shop all lit up for Christmas that Mr G's Mum and Dad treated us to last year:

The local garden centre has a massive display of these every year and I was so chuffed to get one!!

Since we had the conservatory built across the back off the house five years ago we have had two trees - although I love, love, love real trees we gave up on them the year we had to chuck one out on Christmas Eve because it was as bald as a coot!!

The second tree is not quite as tasteful as the first:

(Not sure what is going on with that errant branch!!)

I decorated my sticks with decorations I had made from the Cath Kidston Christmas Decorations book:

I'd read some less than flattering reviews of the book and nearly didn't buy it, but I am glad I did because I thoroughly enjoyed making the little felt decorations:

I also knitted some little hearts using this pattern from Ravelry, though I "cheated" and backed each heart with fleece instead of knitting both sides:

Other favourites that are new this year are my little stag and gingerbread house:

I bought two and I shall leave them out all year round, even though they are glittery....

From Poundland, would you believe?!!

So that is how things look here. I still have lots of Christmas shopping to do, but most will be done online although next week we are going to have our traditional outing to Winchester Christmas Market.

It's our 16th wedding anniversary too next week and we also need to make a trip with the boys to the garden centre to choose a bauble each, I do so love our traditions - I'd love to hear about yours?

Hugs,

S x

PS My absence has been in part due to my anxiety which is often bad this time of year, I think probably due to the added stress of Christmas....

 

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Mini Makeover....

This weekend we made over a little spot in our (tiny) kitchen that had hitherto been an eyesore.

Ever since I saw Cherry Menlove's gorgeous open white shelves I have hankered after some of my own but the problem was where to put them.

I also really disliked the cooker hood and splashback we had above our range:

We used to have a stainless steel range that matched the hood and splashback, but after that finally gave up the ghost we found this fab Aga-like Leisure range on eBay for the bargain price of £150 and for well over a year I have put up with the mismatch (some kinds of mismatch are NOT good!!)

I got to thinking about what we could do to prettify this area of the kitchen - this involved laying in bed at night hatching all manner of plans - 99% of which are rubbish in the light of day - and decided we should remove the hood (we never use it as its not connected to the outdoors and just "extracts" back into the room) and build some sort of unit or shelves.

Then came the persuasion of Mr G.

It took weeks.

And in the end I had to put my foot down.

So on Saturday I marched him to the wallpaper shop, we chose paper and on our return the hood came down and the paper went up:

Already looking soooooo much better!!

The conversion of Mr G to all things floral, vintage and shabby chic was proved complete when he came up with the idea to paper the back of the plate rack.

On Sunday, off we trotted to B&Q where - following a brief hiatus for a row over fairy lights - we got the material for the shelves.

Mr G got down to one of mans most hated tasks - erecting shelves:

I was beyond excited!! I danced about waiting for the moment when I could fill them with pretty things:

I've ordered new Cath Kidston labels for the flour jars!!

We're sooooo pleased with how they have turned out - Mr G went as far as to say it's his favourite makeover to date - which is high praise indeed considering he was against doing anything in that area.

I still dislike the stainless splashback and will now work on getting Mr G to tile over it - resistance is futile.....

Hugs,

S x




 

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