A Christmas upcycling project that cost £65 (the contents were probably double that!). It is going to be a very merry Christmas with this to dip into!

izzy's playlists!

shark vs the universe
Aqua Utopia|海の底で記憶を紡ぐ
No title available
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH

Janaina Medeiros
we're not kids anymore.

★
Sweet Seals For You, Always
noise dept.

#extradirty

Kiana Khansmith
macklin celebrini has autism

Love Begins
styofa doing anything

⁂
Today's Document
Cosimo Galluzzi
trying on a metaphor
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
seen from Germany
seen from Türkiye
seen from South Africa
seen from Venezuela

seen from Venezuela
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from Poland

seen from United States

seen from Venezuela

seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from Netherlands
seen from Japan

seen from United Kingdom
@colporter
A Christmas upcycling project that cost £65 (the contents were probably double that!). It is going to be a very merry Christmas with this to dip into!
You know me and my Eucalyptus. £5 goes a long way... Here are three vases... 2 more are full too. My favourite way to spend a fiver!
More #rug love in TK Maxx
Cazals, France. Shutterly inspirational, unlike the weather!
Who needs RHS Chelsea when you have my mum Linda's garden...?
Paint job done. Very messy job but happy with the result. This has cost me £5.89, because my Cuprinol tin had a pink paint spillage on it. Bargain. Now for cushions etcetera.
Amazing graphic prints and colour from...Tesco. OMG who knew.
Lovely new Cafe in West Kirby, Wirral. We recommend the Lemon Drizzle! Love the decor and the branding. Very stylish. I think the brick wallpaper might be Rockett St George which we considered for TOTA.
Got to still love the industrial light trend. Pizza Express New Brighton.
The Tongue and a Groove fetish must be in the genes… My Mum’s 2 bathrooms and downstairs loo all sport some painted panelling.
Another pair of affordable artworks. These are moody, and figurative again. A bit of a theme. I like people in my paintings. I probably prefer the one on the right. I think these two came in under £35. Some charity shop frames for now. Bosh.
Get into the (tongue and) groove....
I have had some requests for some more housey pics. As luck would have it our Guest Bathroom was finished this week. My last Bathroom post here was probably my most popular blog post ever (more than my Mum and a few chums have read it that means).
It was a from scratch, exactly how we wanted, bathroom and was hard to leave. My very good friend over at ModernMumMusthave also tells me a pin she popped on Pinterest of the panelling in said old bathroom is her most repinned pin. Eeek.
This is the budget, work with what we have because it is perfectly fine, version.
The compulsory before pictures...together with Fred the Red.
We did not really do that much. It just needed a bit of "fluffing" and the sink replacing because it leaked!
Cue more chippy work by Darren the Carpenter - this time vertical tongue and groove painted a version of Wimborne White from Dulux (66YY 85/045) and Dusted Moss above. Dusted Moss 2 this time though - crazily going a tone darker than in many other rooms. This version of Dusted Moss is definitely greener in tone than 3, which worked quite well with the coloured streaks/mottled bits in the tiles.
The sink is very plain, probably not what I would choose if starting from scratch, that would be Burlington, but it needed to match the existing sanitaryware and be reasonably priced. The mirror was from that little boutique I always tell you about. Ahem. It was £24.99 when I first spotted it and then, hey presto, Eight English Pounds today! Bargaintastic. A handwash and cream from the same "boutique" is par for the course when you have guests arriving for the weekend. You know who you are! I have just read in the Evening Standard that not only am I from the "Lidl Classes", I am a "TKMAXX Extremist".
Then my clever Mum made these swedish style blinds for some privacy. They are so easy to make if you are learning to sew. A tip is iron the fabric at every stage of the process. Then you need to learn how to tie a neat bow. A blog tutorial might assist here.
The fabric is from a very affordable range from Dunelm Mill. £11.99 a metre and in various colours. This is the black version. Top tip, if you want grey use the wrong side of the fabric - we did this in the Dining Room - pics another time.
I was losing the light at this point but you see the effect. You can also see how naughty my magnolia tree is being by dropping all of its beautiful leaves on the lawn.
A little shelf with some toiletries is a must. A turkish Hammam towel casually draped, ha ha. Seriously get one of these - they are perfect for holidays, wrap up really small in the case and are surpisingly absorbent. My bow has drooped though, too floppy. Not happy about that.
The reverse shot, just for completeness but not that exciting. It does alert me to a rogue light fitting popping out of the ceiling so has indeed served a purpose. The Towel Rail was an Annie Sloan job over a mahogany ebay purchase.
The posters are 1980s French Gig posters. I have a number of these in various candy colours. Email me if you want details as my website is hideously out of date and on the "to do" list to reinvigorate that when the house is straight.
Looking forward to a soak in here soon. This little tart up has probably only cost about £475. Got to be pleased with that Mr Bank Manager.
I thought I would do a little series of Tumblrs showing you art I have acquired affordably for the new gaff. We have a lot more walls now we are out of London so I needed cheap solutions to blank spaces. It is so hard to find original art and when you do go to a gallery you can find the prices are eye watering. This one is from ebay. I think it was under £25 but I absolutely love it. It says to me Happy Children. The colours are vibrant, the style naive but there is something about it. It is by a Russian Artist whose name I do have but cannot pronounce nor spell from memory. The frame was an old photo frame where the glass had smashed and it's simple colour and look seemed to suit it.
Hush summer gear. Want want want.
Inspiration Station or Aide memoire?
I love a pinboard. It is a place to bob things which are visually pretty enough to be displayed temporarily, like a 40th birthday invitation or Christening, a stylish business card, you know what I mean. Just nice "stuff". We have a few in the house, this sort. They are good as you kind slip things behind the ribbon if no pins are to hand.
Ideally, it should be pleasing to the eye. My eyes are not pleased by mine at the minute. They have moved from "inspiration stations" to crucial reminders of where and when my children need to be and cheques I need to write.
I need to edit my pinboards like the above to just be pretty and I need to find another way to sort out the clutter of invitations and school letters. I perused pinterest - the amazing internet pinboard which is my salvation when I have an idea but cannot find an image that shows what I am after.
Here are some of them...
A cluster of clipboards...interesting but a bit contrived for my purposes.
I like the fabrics on this one though. Maybe a thought for the office.
Then there is the notice board, a different beast. The things one displays on there may not necessarily be beautiful, stylish or "you", but they need to be popped somewhere to remind you to do something, go somewhere etc. Most people's noticeboard is their fridge but I am getting annoyed by my fridge magnet clutter and only the sides are magnetic. Irritating. I am going to frisk the fridge, and ditch the unnecessary newspaper clippings (a picture of David Cameron and Sam Cam - apparently mine and my husband's famous lookylikeys!?), a funny Nigella clipping and a courgette recipe I will never make.
What about a chalkboard, or chalk painted wall - great for shopping lists, quick reminders, kids colouring and inspirational quotes. But messy handwriting on it would bug me.
When you have as many kids as me then the stylish pinboard starts to morph into cluttered noticeboard, cluttered hall table and cluttered coffee table. My reminders for rugby, hockey, world book day, HMRC bills blah blah blah, are in too many different places that they are not reminding me of things they are just messing up my living space.
I think therefore I need to embrace a pin/notice wall in the heart of the home, the Kitchen. Eek. I think I have got a bit too used to plain walls. Can I let go?
I am thinking an enormous pinboard painted the same colour as the wall, almost flush to the wall. I will be strict about each item having 4/2 brass pins, dependant on size. Some things will be ugly, some beautiful but it may make me slightly more organised. This in Livingetc this month was my inspiration. Pictures can break up the boredom of the school letters.
Watch this space for my solution which will involve some DIY drilling, always dangerous for me but I will give it a go.
If you are ever stuck for somewhere to dine in Nice try Les Brasseries Georges. Super stylish and typically French. Reminded me of Brasserie Zedel in London. Get the 6 snails to share unless you mind the other half having halitosis... Check out the gorgeous interior. Loved the floor tiles inlaid with "Georges" and look up to see the stunning lion fresco on the ceiling. Just behind Galerie Lafayette on Jean Medecin. Bon.
More lovely retailing en France this time. Makes you want to eat your five a day right there and then. We grabbed rose, artisanal breadsticks and pork products for a pre dinner nibble.