Sleeping comfortably in an uncomfortable time!

Some glimpses of the master bedroom makeover. . . . . . as promised.

Still working on the master bedroom makeover in this small 'cottage style' house.
 At last it's able to be used again now there's new furniture, bedding and
 lighting. . . . . . and Bob has at last put most of his stuff away! 
I lined my dresser drawers with pretty paper - he wanted no part of that!
This coming Wednesday the new window shades will be installed and then
 I can either rehang the linen drapery panels. . . . . . or could search for
 something new.  
I'm thinking the linen panels are fine and I'm not planning shopping 
anywhere for some time.

Above, a few things I've made over the years - and they will remain in the

bedroom - cushion covers and lampshades.  

This weekend I framed the original watercolor of a country barn scene I've had

for years in the attic - no I didn't paint it - in a black frame, and two small prints

 by a favorite British Printmaker & Painter Angela Harding. Do check her amazing

 body of work if you are a nature lover, or even if you're not, you will be amazed

 at the beautiful bird and wildlife art she creates.

I bought this black/gold wood framed fern print at Hobby Lobby when shopping

 last week for frames and mats. It just caught my eye, was inexpensive

and perfect for the room.

The chair was one I painted and had upholstered in antique French linen

years ago - it's a favorite and moved here from the dining room where it

was hidden behind a door.

The matching black/green lamp bases are made from a pair of candlesticks,

and I also made those cute clip on shades - fabric is actually wedding gown 

heavy textured silk. I certainly would not have the patience - or eyesight -

required to sew these shades now!

This botanical print between glass with an aged black wood frame I moved 
from the living room. I've done a lot of 'shopping the house' rather than buy
all new for this room.

I love the taller dresser of this new furniture - being tall myself it just makes sense.
You can see the photo of me with my dear mother. Today marks 17 years 
since her death at age 91, an always and forever very sad day for me, 
but the memories are rich and full of the love we shared. Fortunately I arrived
 home in England to see her the day before she passed. She was the best, 
most talented woman I've ever known.
 The smaller of the two vintage silver lidded crystal powder bowls, was my
 mother's 21st birthday gift from her father in 1932 - a 'treasure' I treasure.

So now there's the question of these swirled silk shades I made years ago! 

 Can they stay? Can I do something to make them look a little less frou frou?  
I'm going to try because they are still quite lovely and are special to me, mostly
because my dear mother taught me how to make them when she came
to stay with me whilst I was recovering from cancer surgery a long time ago.
All the shades I've brought home from stores to try, just don't work for me!
There's really no way to change the trim around the top of each shade -
it's glued on and might tear everything if I try to remove it, but the base 
trim (gimp) on the lefthand shade I'm OK with. On the righthand shade,
fortunately the fancy bow trim at the base is stitched on. I can
 easily remove that and replace with similar plain gimp trim.
I'll see how it all works out.

I hope we can all stay in touch during this stressful time. No matter where 

in the world we are it seems we will all be struggling with exactly the same

 problems for some time. 

Here, our school system is closing down for at least two weeks as of

 tomorrow, creating a difficult time for parents. Retail is shrinking as shops lock

 their doors, and we all wonder how we'll fare regarding replenishing items from

 food to household necessities. If quarantined in our homes life will be much different.

But, chin up, hang in there. . . . . . there's much to keep us busy at home.

Most important, stay well, practice social distancing, listen to beautiful music,

sing like the Italians are doing, cook, bake, garden, read that stack of waiting

books. . . . . . . . . .and pray that hopefully this will pass very soon.

With love -

Out with the old. . . . . .

Still working on getting the bedroom together.  

Lots of changes continue to be made as we put our 

edited items back into the closet and drawers.  

I think we became packrats somewhere along the way.

Saying goodbye to stuff is not a problem for me. Another

person has difficulty. . . . . . . I won't go into messy details!!! 

I've been working on framing new art for walls and arranging displays

 on dresser tops, night stands etc.  

These pretties above are packed away, other than the lamp. 

Two white ginger jar lamps will remain, one on each side of the bed. 

I've been looking for new lampshades as I made these swirled,

silk chiffon shades many years ago, however I just haven't found 

replacements I like yet!

International news has become quite frightening as the Corona virus spreads.

Now the virus is here in our city, brought by a passenger flying from Seattle.

He dined in a restaurant in town last weekend so we are hoping he hasn't 

spread the virus.

Hand sanitizer is no longer available anywhere in the area. . . . . . . washing 

with good old soap and water should be done often.

Staying home is calming and I really don't mind it once bit. 

This weekend will be good weather for garden chores. 

Throw in a little baking - a crunchy loaf of bread, some pistachio muffins, 

a pear cake, and make a mushroom and spinach quiche. . . . . I'll have

 plenty to keep me busy for the time being.

I will not be traveling anywhere far for some time most likely.

What are your thoughts on COVID-19 and staying close to home.

Getting it all together. . . . . . .

Change is in the air.

The furniture store called yesterday afternoon with good news . . . . .  

. . . . . our purchase had arrived after its long road trip across the USA!

The sad part is that not too long ago, almost all American furniture was

 manufactured right here in North Carolina. Just an hour or so down the

 highway were all the factories turning out beautiful wood case goods and 

upholstery, employing thousands of quality employees. Furniture 

manufacturing was the lifeblood of this southeastern state. 

Like most manufacturing companies they have gone. . . . . . and yes,

 I know, my furniture probably took a long sea voyage prior to being loaded

 onto a truck in California to bring it to North Carolina!

The circle of life is not always what we would like it to be.

Anyway I'm happy it's on the way and will be ready when

 the delivery truck shows up this afternoon.

The bedside rug is a new purchase. Then I 'shopped the cottage' to see what

 other items I could find and might be considered in bringing the bedroom

 together - my favorite part.

Textures - I love to mix them, and I feel with neutral colors especially

 they are most important.

These pillows came with the Drexel living room sofa bought 18 months ago. 

For some reason the lovely saleslady threw them in with our purchase - I was

 shocked later when I unzipped the covers and discovered $95 price tags on each!

They are good quality with feather/down fillers (Ralph Lauren Home) but I didn't

 use them as I had other larger, more comfortable ones. They might be fine on 

 this loveseat. The throw is a find from years back, made in Scotland, soft, cozy

 chenille. The colors are good with the rug, especially the cute tassels. 

Next view of this room will, hopefully, look a lot better - fingers are crossed, 

making knitting somewhat difficult but keeping me busy until I see the truck

pull up!

Tweedy texture with Hobby Lobby yarn - my favorite to knit with.

A beautiful sunny, but very chilly, day here.

Lots to do indoors so I won't be venturing further than the potting shed!

More later. . . . . . . .

Before and after, as promised!

The bedroom makeover is coming along well. 

Painting completed and new flooring installed.

New ceiling fan/light is up.

New blinds being made.

New furniture traveling cross country, hopefully!

Only piece of furniture remaining from before - the loveseat, with freshly

 laundered slip cover, awaiting new pillows.

This is my favorite place to read during daytime hours.

Before was OK but getting tired looking.  Carpeting too hard to keep clean, paint fading.

Entry hallway in Kendall Charcoal - a few shades darker than the bedroom's

 Chelsea Gray.  We did this area in eggshell finish rather than flat paint

so it has a soft gleam in the sunlight from the front door, plus resists 

scuffs in a busy traffic area.

Taking the same flooring through from the other downstairs areas - our master

 bedroom is on this level - is more cohesive, easier to clean and makes

 the first floor appear larger than when chopped up by different floor coverings.  

Only the kitchen floor is different.

I popped into our local AT HOME store yesterday afternoon for
a quick look at rugs. OMG what a selection - that home store requires a 
week at least to cover every department!
Bob insists on a throw rug on his side of the bed now the carpet is
history.  This is the one I brought home to try and I love it. 
It's so soft, non-slip, and the colors are perfect with the flooring, 
Do you agree?
Just enough of that terra cotta shade I mentioned before when thinking 
about adding color with accessories, along with greys, creams, and the 
darkest background shade matches the flooring. For just $30 I think it's super.

st

The south facing front door has also been refinished as it was faded from the

 sun and heat. Sanded, two coats of stain, a good sealer. . . .it looks like new.

 Now a word or two on stained wood! 

Yes I know many people are painting every piece of their woodwork

white these days, especially if new construction. We sometimes check out

 the million dollar plus new homes being built all around us and are

astonished that there is very little real wood used for trim, doors etc.

This house is now thirty five years old and we've been the only owners. 

I won't say I wouldn't enjoy painting all the wood - well having someone

 with a stronger shoulder, younger knees, and more patience than myself

doing such a huge, expensive job - wood trim, crown moldings, chair rails,

baseboards, six-panel doors etc. . . . . BUT, and it's a gigantic 'but', 

the cons far outweigh the pros at this point for us!

Natural wood is beautiful, all oak here, is a good fit in this cottage-style

 house. . . . . . and, believe it or not, the darker paint colors in a couple
of areas really work well, giving it cottage warmth plus sophistication.

I'm happy with the outcome of my project - dreaming about the 

next one will keep me out of trouble!

Sweet dreams returning later. . . . . .

. . . . . . it's said we should make the bedroom feel like a comfy retreat or an

 oasis from our often hectic modern day lives. I totally agree.

I love this glimpse into a bedroom of an obviously much-loved older house.  

It's in England and found in one of the several UK magazines I buy. 

I have many folders of clippings from these decorating publications, with

  the beautiful UK Country Living being my favorite. 

Being English, growing up on the Devon coast, and with the countryside

 "just up the road" from my childhood home, I'm comfortable in rural settings.

 Villages and hamlets full of thatched cottages were all around, so living in a

 smaller cottage-style home here in the USA, I find all I could ever really want in

 those magazines when it comes to decorating ideas . . . . . 

 . . . and I always look through them first when planning a makeover around the house.

My dresser - part of the bedroom set purchased many years ago when I was

 really into country cottage and Shabby Chic - thank you Rachel Ashwell. 

The entire set has gone to the bedroom of our neighbor's teenage daughter. 

I hope she will love it as much as I did. She'll definitely have plenty of storage

 for all those colorful, trendy teenage fashions!

Moving out the furniture required assistance.

My painter was grateful to have a perfectly empty room

to work in. . . . . . and carpet where any paint drips wouldn't 

matter as it is to be removed!

Meanwhile the two of us are squished together in the guest room, the

 third bedroom being our office, living out of boxes piled high, . . . . eagerly

 awaiting the completed master bedroom project.

Lovely colors similar to which I embraced for the project. 

The 'granite' shade is close to the Chelsea Gray now on the bedroom walls. 

The 'slate' blue grey in a paler hue - Stonington Gray - is in the walk-in closet. 

The dark, rich 'charcoal' - Kendall Charcoal - is in the entry hallway off the 

bedroom. All Benjamin Moore colors.

The bedding, curtains etc. are all a creamy white or natural linen and will
 remain for the time being. The new furniture color is 'hazelnut'.
There is also the loveseat which fits into the window bay and is slip-covered
in creamy white matelassé.  

I will try to find an accessory in the muted terra-cotta shade - perhaps a pillow

 for the loveseat, a bedside rug, or a beautiful painting to hang - maybe even 
all of those!

As I said - nights with sweet dreams will return. . . . .and soon I hope.

Let's Paint. . . . . . before the snow falls!

The choices are overwhelming!  
You have probably gone through it yourself. 

Choosing a new paint color for your walls.  

Visiting a paint store will start your head spinning. . . . . . . there are literally
 thousands of colored paint chips, cans of sample colors, and piles of 
brochures showing awesome photos of room settings in every colorway
 under the sun.

If you want grey, don't pick this one - it's very blue!

I needed three colors for bedroom walls, walk-in bedroom closet and

 the entry hallway.

Above was my first choice - below is what I ended up with.

This strip made all that searching and buying expensive sample cans 

(Benjamin Moore's are $7.99) much easier (though I did buy four and

 will have little pots of paint to use for other projects!). 

 Being able to run with a coordinated paint strip, once I set my sights

 on the Chelsea Gray for for the bedroom walls, was great.

Before - the greenish blue walls - quite pleasant for many

 years - with the much disliked popcorn ceiling (a hex on whoever invented

 that 80's dust-catching, impossible to re-paint, finish!).  All the ceilings

 of the cottage are now smooth thankfully.

Carpet will be going, hopefully tomorrow when the new floor is laid. 

Snow is forecast for tonight - our first of the season. 

This late in February is quite a surprise, and this being the south

 the city is already going crazy with early school closings, and

the run on the grocery stores began last night!

During - first coat. Chelsea Gray, described as "a sophisticated dark warm gray". . . and

 I'm in love with it!  

Note ceiling now scraped smooth and freshly painted, such a huge difference. 

New ceiling fan installed last evening.

Bruce, who has done most of my painting for many years, rolling the

 first coat, a second coat done later made the color richer and even.

Here's the finished paint. I realize some screens may not show the color
perfectly - but hopefully you get a close idea.

Will share more before and after shots another time. 

As mentioned, furniture is on its journey across country. . . . . . .

taking the scenic route I do believe!

This means plenty of time to do good spring clean. . . . . . . 

after what I'm hoping will be a white wonderland when I awake

tomorrow. I will pull on my boots and bobble hat and go outside

to photograph the birds.  Bob is filling the feeders as I write!