Bedroom lock down project for a rainy day

     
Well, you have to do something, don't you?  For the first time in several weeks, no sun and it rained all day and  by late morning something had to be done!  I am revamping our bedroom, little by little, and last night the bulb blew when I switched the light on.  This morning was a failed attempt to find a bulb in the house for this particular light fitting, and that was a big fat FAIL! No bulb until Amazon delivers, but on the other hand...... I saw the light (groan!) and decided that our skeleton chandelier needed tarting up a bit.  For what is lock down for, but to encourage a bit of bling into a grey day?

I have been helping my local charity shop clean and remake where necessary, old jewellery, which means that lots of junk necklaces get taken apart and reused.  Sometimes you find something that you have no inspiration for, so they stay in the tin.... or they did, until today!  Lots of "drop" faux pearls.  Just what we needed!

Washed, and as it was (with the exception of two pearl drops for a try out).   The white pieces are just washed sea shells and this is how we bought it.   This has survived two bedroom redecorations so far and we still think it's fun.... but not fun enough any more.  Needs some bling!

And now with added jewellery!  Added drop pearls to all the hanging shell pieces, including a row of pink ones half way up - originally all the trim that hung down was only shells but now she's rather glamorous, isn't she? 

Now back in place with added glamour!

So a few hours with a pair of pincers and a pile of junk pearls and there you go!  I had to lay down for 5 minutes to truly appreciate what I'd done but I'm OK now!  So a much loved skeleton chandelier has been bejewelled and  made into a lovely lady.   


Lock down made me do it......

Shamelessly stealing - a gorgeous smell! - post 9

Surfing t'internet, as you do, I came across the blog of Remododelaholic (remodelaholic.com) who does all sorts of lovely little things.  I got to thinking (again!) about the lock-down, and what we all might have available round the house and garden as she did.

People addicted to nice smells often have candles that smell.   Others have vapourisers...... and this is a homemade way of getting the same wonderful house perfume but for next to nothing - WIN-WIN!
Mmmm Mmmm!  I can smell it already!

Just note that she used only 3 measuring cups of water.  This means the heat should be really really low, or you will finish your cuppa and find a dried out pan! 

–– ADVERTISEMENT ––

Lemon Mint Stove Top Potpourri

This lemon mint stove top potpourri is a natural way to make your home smell delicious and fill it with the scents of Spring Super easy to make and can make it with just a couple of things and in just some minutes!

Ingredients

• 3 Cups water
• 1 Cup fresh mint
• 1 Lemon sliced
• 1 Inch Ginger sliced

Instructions

• Place all the ingredients in a small pot and stir to combine
• Take to your stove-top over low heat and let it simmer for 2 hours at a time.
• Fill with more water as needed

Shamelessly stealing - a real nice guy! post 8

I KNOW. I KNOW!  I have mentioned this before, but for new readers, I have to bring your attention to something I posted about a couple of weeks ago, because in these strange times, anything that brings a smile to your face or a laugh to your lips is worth everything.

I don't have much to say, but you know that sometimes heroes have feet of clay?  Not

John Krasinski  !!!!!!!

SGN (that's Some Good News) is his very own  broadcast  on a regular basis .  And it is full of good news.

Just go to YouTube and put his name in the search bar.  Be surprised.  Smile a little.  Cry sometimes (because of the cute stuff) and of course, start with Episode 1.  

And really importantly, stay around until the end to see what he really wears round the house.

Stay safe and enjoy his broadcasts.

Shamelessly stealing 7 - be your own genius!

https://mymodernmet.com/free-coloring-pages-color-our-collections/

Want to paint a masterpiece?  find something different for that "colouring morning" you hold once a week with the family?  Just want something different from all those whirly kinds of colouring pages?

Of course you do!  On this site you can print out anything from a 1930s Harley Davidson motorbike and sidecar with driver and passenger in a country scene to a medieval manuscript..... and then colour them.

Around the internet - John Krasinski's SGN - WOW!

https://www.upworthy.com/some-good-news-hamilton-cast

Don't click on that yet!  Just want to tell you that Upworthy is an American website that brings you all sorts of alternative (and mostly good) news.  They are broadcasting John Kransinski's SGN (Some Good News) vlog which you can also find on YouTube.

Bless That Man!  Tears of Joy in my eyes!  And please stay until he leaves his "newsdesk"  ...... a lovely surprise to see what he actually wears around the house.... :o)

This particular item is just more than brilliant  and so this morning, I'm not stealing anything on the web, just passing this one along.  Pass the link on to someone who might like it.  Me?  I loved it!!

Shamelessly stealing (from an ex-banker today!) 5

"Don't Die Until Death Comes To You"  (Syrian Proverb)

.... and in these strange times when we never know what's coming next, this is not a bad way to look at things.  Louai Al Roumani was a banker in Syria.  In the midst of all that warring, and terrorism, his bank continued to operate.  And the things they did would be a good lesson for many of the big businesses currently bemoaning their fate in today's Corona Virus crisis:

"Don't overplan".  Don't try to predict what's coming, better to respond at the time.

"Be flexible with rules"  He says there is a lesson here for government officials - now is not the time to be jobsworths.

"Be magnanimous"  When transport ceased because of rising fuel prices and threats of kidnapping, the bank put on a bus service for staff and because there were spare seats it picked up competitors' staff too.  The way a company behaves during a crisis will be remembered longer than a branding exercise.

And then there is the tip for everyone:

"Be kind to everyone you deal with"  because you might need them in a crisis.

His newly published memoir, Lessons from a War Zone - Louai Al Roumani is from Portfolio Penguin £18.99 hardback, although I see there are a few s/hand on Amazon already.  I don't normally read this kind of book.  How to do better at business is never a subject to fascinate me.  War zones don't make good reading for me.  But from a short article I read, I think this one is going to be fascinating.

Shamelessly stealing... 4 (stealing from myself today!)

Roaming the internet, you'll find loads of interesting stuff, so today I thought, how about a new project....?  We all need to keep ourselves occupied in these strange times.  Do you have a chair, a small set of drawers, a stool that has seen better days, or perhaps just needs a spot of colour?  Do you have half full tins of emulsion type paint that you can mix up to make one colour, or a few colours you will like?

There are some very clever upcyclers out there and a good start would be to go to Pinterest and put in "upcycled furniture" to see what comes up!  I found a little table on Pinterest with ballerina legs including "en pointe" ballet shoes.  Fabulous!  I would never attempt this myself, but it just made me laugh out loud and there are loads of ideas simpler than that available to you.  There are no instructions on Pinterest of course, but there are loads of blogs out there that give you step by step instructions, and you'd be wise to have a look at a few if you want a professional finish, especially if the furniture piece you chose has already had a paint-over, or if it is old and dirty.

Here's a chest of drawers I did over last summer in less than a day.  Originally (25 years or so ago), it was unfinished pine, so didn't need stripping or washing, just sanding down before I painted.  The paint is emulsion (the kind you use on walls) and after I'd finished it I gave it a layer of Annie Sloan's wax to protect it.  Changed the knobs from wood to ceramic, but you don't have to do that, you can just paint the knobs.   I painted one drawer lime green just for the fun of it.  You can do it!

Shamelessly Stealing - 3

An American blog site I found today, surfing the net for ideas gave me a brilliant idea to tell you about.   The blogger is Simply Organised (can't get a link to work so try searching Simply Organised blog) and she's organised all her cables!  Dull?  Think so?  Get occupied!  Make it job for tomorrow!  I thought it was genius because if you are stuck at home you need a challenge.  If you want to do what she did you can do this one of two ways -

1. spend some money and order containers on line - so that you look clean and sleek (!)

2.  shop your house for containers that would do the same job (perhaps a cutlery drawer divider that you keep meaning to use?)

Me?  in my head I am already revamping my bedroom, especially as yesterday I found a pair of no longer used Roman Blinds.  They need a bit of work;  each strap that held the wood stiffeners is to be unpicked and the blinds then need washing to "disappear" the stitching marks, but hey ho, got time on my hands, right?!  Pictures to follow when completed.


And today, to cheer you up here's a pic of my dining room fireplace..............

Our inside the house log store!

Shamlessly stealing - 2

Good morning/evening, depending on when you read this.... still continuing to shamelessly steal ideas from blogworld.  Today I watched how to update and beautifully paint a two drawer dresser.  Hers was fabulous, so I decided against that!! 😊

But as I was drifting around t'internet, I found lists and lists and lists, and spotted some stuff that might inspire yourselves.  Here's a little list of just four things, all of which seemed to me like a good idea!

Declutter the photos on your phone

Declutter the photos on your computer

Declutter the documents on your computer

Scan papers you want to read and shred the rest

You could do them all in one day, or you have a list there to last for four days.  Up to you, but when this strange time is over, there will be thousands of people with tidier lives, hopefully, and therefore less stress - because it's stressful enough already and WE WANT LESS OF THAT!

Worry a little less today if you can and if the sun is shining where you are, stand out in it and get some Vitamin D.

Stay safe wherever you are.

Shameless! I'm shameless..... stealing ideas around the blogworld!

I read a blog post this morning which listed 30 things to do whilst confined to your home.  So if you are, or if you're going to be shortly, you might like to make a list of your own.

I'm not going to list her 30 things, and I'm not going to list mine, either, but one of the things she listed was one of those things I never do but will consider this strange and different year....

Deep-clean your home!

Over on this side of the pond we would call that Spring Cleaning... and after all, it is spring!  I may not necessarily do the whole house, but in the next week I think I will do both bedrooms, including washing or changing the curtains, putting clean newspaper on top of the wardrobes (what?) which is a tip you may never have considered.   I hate housework, and this is one of those things that saves me any angst.

Cover tops of wardrobes with newspaper.  Bedrooms get dusty.  Change paper as often as you like.... once a month, once a season, once a year, but all you do is fold the newspaper sheets up with the dust inside and bin them!  RESULT!

And to cheer your way today, here is a lovely view, somewhere is northern Italy, near the coast, taken on holiday a few years go.  Enjoy. x

Corona Virus thoughts......

Corona?  When I was a kid that was a fizzy drink (soda pop)!!  And now, here we are with the world in lock-down with the Corona Virus.  Horrible, but we can't stop it until it runs it's course, so like other bloggers I thought I'd post news and other's views.

Let's not involve politics of any kind at all people!  Let's say a big thank you to all those who will endeavour to keep your country running, wherever you are in the world.  Let us be kind to those who need assistance.  Let us not be too greedy (especially over toilet rolls!).

And now I'm including some comments from a blogger in Minnisota USA who I follow because there was some great stuff in her latest post plus a lovely summer rose from my garden to cheer up my readers :

"As Bloggers, Influencers, etc. I feel we have at least some moral obligation to stop what we’re doing for a second and acknowledge what’s going on in the world. I also believe we absolutely have the obligation to spread this right now: DON’T PANIC! Currently, in my home state schools are closed and it seems pretty much everything else that is not mandatory is already closed or not far behind. Its time to go home and stay there (if you possibly can) and binge watch Netflix for a bit.

I can’t personally do that entirely but I can MOSTLY. I don’t need to go the grocery store or go out to eat or go out to a bar. I don’t need to do anything currently but go to my day job and go home. My day job has five employees and we’re not hugging each other lol.

When I close up at the end of the day I hit every door handle, light switch and surface with a disinfecting wipe. I don’t feel we’re being silly or idiotic.  Our boss (my Mom) is currently going through chemotherapy treatments and we have banned her from all public places. I will be getting her needs from grocery stores etc… its not negotiable lol.

PLEASE think of people like my Mom before you decide that this is all hype. It won’t hurt anybody to stay home a bit more than usual and wash their hands…
I know people are being idiots. I know the media is to blame for a lot of it. I know that if my Mom gets sick (with the measures we’re taking) it will be most likely me who gives it to her.

SO I’M STAYING HOME.
I’m limiting my social contact.
I’m doing this because I love my Mom. Her health is not something I’m going to take chances on. And its not like staying home is such a burden good grief!

Seriously, only buy what you need. NO ONE will need twenty years worth of toilet paper. Packaged foodstuffs - If it has a best before date you really can eat it for a few days after; and you can also freeze it,. But if it will most likely expire before you could possibly eat or freeze it please don’t buy it, leave it for someone else.

If you have more than you need PLEASE DONATE IT.

Stay home all that you possibly you can. (Going to the movies or the shops with your kids entirely cancels out the point of all of this). The only stop I’m making is a stop at the liquor store on my way home. Everything is gonna be all right. 
Now, Grandma’s House DIY will return to our regular scheduled posts 🙂"

So that's what Tarah wanted to say, and I'm sure that loads of other people on other blogs are saying the same thing or similar.

You can reply to this or not, you can comment or not, but as long as any reader feels a bit better because other people think like you, well - that's the whole point.  Don't feel lonely out there if you are self isolating.  Pick up the phone, or send a lovely chatty email letter to  someone on your Christmas card list every day.  Do some exercises (tin of baked beans in each hand for example - 20 lifts each  side.  Walk upstairs 2/3 times more than normal.  Eat a little less than usual if you are healthy.  Is this the time to give up smoking?  Well, you could try!  And even if your garden is only a little courtyard, make the coffee and sit out in the fresh air for an hour.  

Bless us all, eh?

Kitchen makeover in small house - We love it!! PART 1

Long time coming..... here's our new kitchen!!  But first, as this is Part 1......

This was the old kitchen.

The room was extended by 3 feet so it had been only 9 feet long.  It's still small, 8 feet wide and 12 feet long in total.

You can probably guess that we didn't have enough storage!  All the working tops were covered in "stuff" the rubbish bin was permanently on display, everything was fighting for space.  We had this kitchen for 15 years!

At it's worst.............

we just didn't have enough space to put everything away!!  In this picture, right in the centre above the dishwasher, although you cannot see it, we had two wine boxes side by side with "stuff" in and on top of them!

Moving on, and telling you what went out:

Green cabinet on the right in picture above, in store in our summer house because I love it and want to find it another home.
Trolley under green cabinet, now in summer house awaiting a new owner.
Cooker/Stove now passed on to someone else.
Cream wall cabinets cabinets taken by someone for their workshop.
Waste bin went to a recycling centre

We kept:

The knife rack (top pic on the wall).
Kettle and toaster.
Lots of the "stuff" you can see all over the work tops.
Washing Machine.
Dishwasher.
Extractor.

But before the change, we went to see four different kitchen companies - one was way too expensive for not very much; one was not really quite what we wanted, another we nearly went with - and finally,  not a quarter of a mile from home, we found a new company who worked with us and gave us exactly what we wanted for an affordable price.

And here we are almost at the end result:

The night the kitchen fitter finished, so not yet  Wow!  but nearly.....

Ignore the symbol, this is not a movie, but just a decent pic of the sink and the hob

...and come back tomorrow and see what we did with this bit of spare space

Next post I'll show you wall colour and some close ups of our storage and you can see what you think!

Upcycling/recycling/shop your house - I did!

About 4 years ago we bought a piece of second hand furniture with the aim of revamping it.  Even bought some paint.  It sat in our dining room and sat there, and sat there.  It got filled with the bits and pieces of life.  It got covered with keys, books,  pens, receipts, dead batteries, and general tat (or tringum tramgums as Mr Mac would say).  Fed up, want it gone.  But what to put in it's place?

So.  I am revamping our bedroom.  And next to the bed stood an ordinary pine tallboy that was bought 26 years ago as a "just for now" piece of furniture.  Got it downstairs and decided it would go where the other piece of furniture stood very nicely, and  all the trimgum trangums could go in the drawers.

Making a start, giving it two coats of the blue colour that we have on the walls in the kitchen (notice the clever continuity here !..... the dining room is next door to the kitchen and there is no door, so each room is open to the other)

And finally, two coats of paint and a coat of wax later..........

Original knobs were pine and two to each drawer.  Took them off, filled in the holes and added these single white china ones.  Much nicer,  it's whatever works for you.  And, as you can see, one drawer-front painted lime green.  I like that.

And just for fun (don't you ever have time on your hands, dear readers?!) every drawer has a different bit of fun on it's side.

So it's many thanks to Mr Mac who cleared the original item of furniture out (and found some lovely wine we had forgotten all about!). and then went about putting all that stuff away in the drawers.

Also, in case you were wondering about the little portrait above the tallboy - that's an oil portrait of Sergeant Reggie Cockspur of the Royal Canadian Mounted Poultry.

Upcycling - the Fourth Table!

Not the Forth Bridge, which it has felt like sometimes.  When we moved here some years ago, we bought an oblong IKEA table, the biggest one we could fit, as we sometimes had 12 for lunch in the early days here.  But it proved to be too big, so after a year or two, we took 9 inches off the width which proved perfect, as people could then get out of seats and do stuff, rather than being trapped for the entire meal!

But I always hankered after a round table, and finally, we found one, second hand, a badly stripped G-Plan with drop leaves.  Got it home and ... problem.  We have a tiled floor and the table was too light.  Consequently if leaned against, it slid off and away!  Sold it to my sister for half the price paid, and she is carpeted, so it's been perfect for her.  But still no table!

The third table was a real bargain in a sale, it started square, but had a "butterfly" in the middle, which extended it to much the same length as the old IKEA table. Got it home, used it once and decided I hated it.  Why would I do that?  who knows!  Anyway, eventually I owned up to hating it and the hunt was on again.  And then, one day........ there she was!

Found in a second-hand emporium, edged buggered, so much beeswax on it that you could take it of with your nails.  It took some removing, but Mr Mac just got at it ........................

And, as you can see, (this was the third go) there was a lot of it!  He used metal pot cleaners, not steel wool.    But eventually, it was all gone, and we had a blonde table.

Mr Mac also did a brilliant job on the edge - smoothing it back so that it was like new again.

The leg(s) were painted grey, and distressed a bit.  I was about to change all that!

So.  Some hard work, but really, a pleasure to get it ready for our own refinishing.  Should I paint the top?  I thought I might.  Perhaps some watered down emulsion so that you could still see the grain of the wood?  How would that stand up  to constant use? -  for as my friend in Nova Scotia says - "your dining table is Mac-Central - everything gets done there"!!

Ultimately, we found that we owned a whole tin of OSMO  Polyx Oil for floors.  Said to be hardwearing, I slapped a thin coat straight on the table top.  Ooops!  Dries within 24 hours it says on the tin, so no using the table tonight,  maties!  And no using it after the first 24 hours either, as I did a second coat.  But it was the right thing to do.  We love the colour.

The finished top, 48 hours and two coats after starting!

Leg(s) now the same blue as the kitchen walls - a perfect match in fact.

Drop your keys and loose change on the plate, please!

It can be done then - it has been, and I have the round table I've wanted for several years.   We also took six dining chairs to the sale rooms, because we had already taken them out of the dining room as they looked really bad with this table (just no kind of match at all, and just wrong).  We already had the four white chairs in use, and as these are cheap copies of the real thing, we can bide our time until we find some for "keepers" (or not, remember this is the fourth table!!).

As it's nearly December, I just did a little something with ivy and rose hips for the fun of it!   Well, that's the tale of the fourth table.... and I guess I could say Everything Comes to He Who Waits, couldn't I?  Nah!  I'll just say  that it makes me smile every single day.

Sometimes a change is as good as a rest!

Compare this with the header picture.  I grant you that the header was taken on a sunny evening and this was taken on a grey morning, but you can see the difference in the new colour here.  We really like it!

These two sheds sit side on to the house - the left hand one is the woodshed and the right hand one has the tumble   dryer, bottles of car windscreen cleaner, spare tins of paint etc.  lots of "stuff".   But you can see the new colour green on the doors.

And here is our new front door, all draught proofed for winter and open to any friends who may find themselves in the  neighbourhood - and welcome!

From understairs glory-hole to a smart corner of the house PART 2

THE REVEAL - as they say in the USA!  For me, Mrs Mac, I just say "here it is then".  Not 1st class pics, but then I mostly blog about books and I can steal pics from elsewhere on the net to show you the covers.  Here it has to be all my own work.....

Wooden blookcase removed, new metal cupboard and shelves fits right in!

And finally a real home for the printer - and wait till Mr Mac makes a "pullout" for it, too!

That top shelf there..... I could treble park a lot of paperbacks up there if I wanted!!

How it fits in..... very nicely - and you can get to all of it without moving anything else!

 

A closeup of the panelling which was installed plank by plank, not just a sheet of MDF.

 So there it is!  The floor has to be tiled, we can get same-size tiles at B&Q but we will do that in the autumn - this is far too busy a summer!  But what a joy it is to have all the stuff that might require a spare bedroom or a whole corner of another room in one tiny place, and to have been able to "tidy up" that corner for good! 
 And at some time in the distant future, when someone else takes over our little house, perhaps this will become a reading nook.... my measurements tell me that a large comfy chair or a small sofa with a little table for a cuppa would certainly fit well in here!

And Major Tim?  He's a little light which plugs into the pc and comes on when you switch on.  You can turn him off if he gets on your nerves by closing his visor, but he was a wee present to myself for only £9.99!  Here he is floating in front of the screen ........

Metal cabinet and shelves from IKEA's Hindo range of outside furniture at a total cost of £90; and the shelves come with 4 matching hooks, which can be removed or moved around.