Making a house a home

The one thing our new house lacked was a dedicated workroom for me.  There was a big area at the back of the house which was ideal but it was open to the dining room so it would need to be tidy.

As it was unlikely to be tidy often then we needed a wall and a door.  Over the last few weeks we have had the wall built, the door installed and the lot painted.

Now I have a workroom/office/spare room and I do feel lucky.  There is still a lot to do to make it work but it is gorgeous.

Our new wall.

Room for sewing machines.

Storage

 More storage - the shelves are perfect for paints and beads etc. 

 

there is room for computers and files too.

 

The sofa turns into a bed and there is room for another sofa. The tv is in the corner.

Now I don't have an excuse for being lazy.

A stranger in blogger land

 I feel like I have been away from blogging for months: not that I haven't wanted to blog.  I often think about what I will write and then the days fly by and no writing is done.

 

Up until a few weeks ago I was spending three days a week minding the twin girls from next door.  It was a real labour of love and I was terribly disappointed when their mummy gave up her job to stay home and look after the little ones.

I decided I would make the most of the time and renovate the room downstairs where I do my craft work, keep up with the office work and where the twins had their toys and cots etc.
It is a big room (imagine double garage) with a kitchen in one corner and a bathroom attached.





 Not to be content with plain walls I have decided to paint the bricks in a soft chalky grey (vanilla quake) which is lovely, and then to add some yellow (pale daffodil) in a diamond pattern.



The brick walls and wood panelling made it look very dark and gloomy.



I will paint the wood panelling last as I think it will be the easiest.

So you see I have been busy but I am really missing having time for sewing or other craft projects but it will be worth it. 

By the way isn't the clock gorgeous.
 

    
 

Step by step

 Today we went back to buy some sample pots of paint for the trim of the house.


The first pot was too blue so we had to go back and decide on another colour to try.  The young woman in the paint department was happy to discuss the tints that made up the final colours I was looking at which was really helpful.  We finally settled on Malay Gray for the window frames and other trims and Burnished Bark for the steps and decking.

 Now that the decisions have been made and we are both happy with the colour scheme I feel as though a burden has been lifted.  I know it sounds silly but I was dreaming about paint colours last night.

Anyway I have decided to make another knot garden and I managed to sketch up a preliminary design to work on.

 I am going to use felt for the background on this project and as you can see I have plenty to choose from.

I might even use my embellishing machine for some of the elements.  

In the meantime I will keep on with my painting: it really provides a lot of thinking time once the decisions are made.

Choosing paint colours

 I have been wondering how other people decide on the colour of their homes.  We have painted each of our two previous houses in very different ways.


The first home we bought was built in 1929 so we chose colours that were popular then.  In fact we scraped back the various layers until we discovered the original colours: cream & dark green.  It looked just right when it was finished.

The next house was a sandy coloured brick and the house lacked something until we changed the trim to lovely shades of blue.  The terracotta tiles on the roof finished it off beautifully.  When the echium were in bloom it was a picture.


I have always disliked the colour (milk chocolate & mint green)  of the home we live in now but it is such an important decision - choosing the right colours - that we have only just started painting the outside.

We have chosen a dulux colour, Oyster Linen, for the weather boards.  The window frames will be charcoal grey (I haven't settled on the exact colour yet).  The verandah floor will be red, with a suggestion of brown: again I have to settle on the exact colour.

We chose these colours because the soft, light coloured weatherboards  look clean and crisp, the grey and the red are colours that we see in our garden and the birds that visit us.


I would be interested to know how others choose the colours and whether they enjoy doing the painting.  It is one of my favourite things to do.  Of course while I am painting there is not much time for stitching. 

it never rains - it pours - or leaks

 Today I had nothing planned: except a few errands to run and the supermarket of course.  


We have had quite a lot of rain overnight which has been lovely for the garden and of course it has cooled the house down a bit too.

 I thought it would be a good idea to pick up some paint so we can continue on the outside of the house.  We have painted the front wall (which is the smallest area) and I am keen to do the rest before winter arrives.

 

 I popped into the shed, which is behind my work room, to check on the type of paint.  The colour is Oyster Linen which I really love but I am always confused by all the options when I arrive in the paint department.

While in the shed I heard a loud dripping sound and as the rain had stopped some hours earlier I thought I should investigate.  I rigged up some lights so I could see under the house and was horrified to see water dripping through the laundry floor.  I rushed up the stairs and turned off the washing machine taps and disconnected the hoses, and then I moved the washing machine.  It has been leaking underneath and the water had seeped under the tiles and through the flooring.  Great.  Fantastic.  So I did have something to do after all.  Hubby was away so I lifted up the tiles, many of which were cracked or broken as it turned out.  The chip board, (MDF) was soaking wet - so now I am waiting for it to dry.  I think it will be ok - it has never been sealed - the tiles were laid directly on the flooring.  I intend to put a drainage grate in the floor and then seal it all before re-tiling the lot.  The walls could do with a lick of paint so it should look lovely and fresh when it is finished.

I did buy the paint too - just in case.

The red and green pics are for inspiration for a colour study I am doing.

click here check out this blog - something a bit different 



and this one  I could waste a lot of time playing with this one.

crafting at last

 At last I have had some time to play - I want to make a journal cover and to try some different materials or techniques.  I have had a pack of Lutrador on the shelf for months and could never get around to using it.  I also have the wooden printing blocks I bought from Etsy a while ago.  I decided to use some lumiere paints and one of the blocks to add some flowers to the lutrador.

So far, so good.

The flowers look fine.

This is going to be a slow project so I will show some more in a day or two.