Little Visuals That Lift My Spirits

It's not a great time of year for me. I miss Harvey a little bit more than usual so to lift my spirits I have to look around me and appreciate what I have. I suppose being a designer it would be little visual delights that do it, like the sight of fresh basil, tomatoes and olive oil in the kitchen

Bright flowers in the centre of the dining table

Some presents wrapped for our grandchildren

The grass on my landscape rug

The sight of the wreaths I have finished for the Village Hall Xmas Party

Mine Still Looks Shit

I love a bit of rough luxe. That mix of totally shabby and pristine. However shabby the walls this spiral staircase looks amazing as does

 this beautiful lounge.

Peeling paint in the French sunshine is always a winner but

my wall on the terrace outside my cottage just doesn't hit the mark even when

the sun is shining. I need to paint it as it just looks shit.
Click images for links

Making It Mine Part 2 - My Table and Chairs Makeover

It's a long while since I originally painted my table and chairs.They are family heirloom from Harvey's parents so they not going anywhere. They weren't a good advert for Ghost Furniture.

I painted the side chairs and table base in a pale grey

and the 2 carvers in brilliant white. The seats I re-upholstered with a pearlised taupe faux leather. They look amazing when the sun hits them.

 All in all I am very pleased but most of all

they have brightened up my dining area no end. RESULT

Making It Mine

 About a month ago I decided I need to make this ancient cottage of mine into MY home not OUR home. 

I have kept only the items Harvey owned that meant a lot to both of us. Some are being passed on to the children but I had no intention of throwing memories away. 

We did have similar taste but that masculine side of the lounge that was his is not my style. Not that I wanted totally feminine but I did want more light. 

The corner he used to work in has now been opened up and an old Corinthian pillar (one of a pair) has been added. It's all a lot more feminine than masculine. 

I have dyed and waxed the leather on the banquette and thrown a Gotland Sheepskin over one end. I don't think he would have been keen on the pink. 

I couldn't bring myself to take down the D and the H from the mantle but I did give them a new look. 

I have re-painted the glass cabinet in the dining area and placed our pigskin chairs in the windows. 

All in all I am happy with what I've done up to now. It's all part of the process of moving on. I don't think it's healthy to live in a shrine I'll keep that in my head.

Country Living - Rural Rage

I was never a country girl in fact I should not really be here especially now I am on my own. I live in one of the most beautiful places in England, the Northumberland National Park and as much as I love and appreciate it I am useless at living with nature. For a start I am scared stiff of all creatures great and small. If something can't speak to me then how can I trust it?

 It's Spring and everything around me is awe inspiring. Last night I went outside to photograph a beautiful sky and there were bats flying around having their in flight meal of midges.

Don't get me going on midges those tiny things that can eat you alive.

I live on a gated road and sometimes I have to get out of the car to open a gate and shoo huge cows away. If one of them happens to be a bull I turn the car around and go the long way.

Last year I had lodgers in the form of mice. They squatted in my ancient stone walls and came out of the tiniest of cracks to use my cottage as a toilet and a snack bar. After filling every visible hole with wire wool and boarding up the back of my kitchen cupboards I called in the cavalry. My next door neighbour has an arsenal of mouse traps, these aren't just any mouse traps they are designer mouse traps. She kindly set them for me whilst I ran away to Dubai for 10 days. On my return she reported the death toll at five. Considering three had been caught previously I had had eight lodgers. Think how much I could have earned if they had come via Air bnb.

Last autumn I had a crow attack on my cottage. I returned from a holiday to find the west wall of my cottage had turned black and white and I couldn't see out of my windows. You can guess what is black and white and falls out of birds. I had to have the whole wall hosed down and scrubbed. I have since discovered it happened because I had nothing on the window sills so they were fighting with their own reflections.

My back door is a stable door and in summer on a warm day it's lovely to have the top open but birds fly over the village green, see straight into my 40 odd foot long open plan ground floor and think it's part of the scenery and fly straight in.

Now we are approaching that time of year when huge spiders come calling. I am still trying to find a way of getting rid of them without actually looking at them. Any ideas?

Image Links - 2  3  5  6

The Stanegate Scarecrow Trail

A Straw Dog and a Speed Cop (love the hairdryer in his hand)

 There's a group of villages not far from my home and every year they have a Scarecrow Trail, each year the entries get cleverer. This year I managed to stop and photograph some of them. Enjoy and if you want to see more then visit The Stanegate Scarecrow Facebook Page.

A Fallen Jockey and a Spaceman

A Hunter and a Ship's Captain

A Pole Dancer and a Smoking Granny

 

A Scotsman in the Wind and a Vicar

Mole's Breath Or Not

Farrow and Ball have launched their new paint colours and one such colour is Mole's Breath. Firstly let me say I do love the colour but for me it has connotations of destruction.

Take a look at what moles have done to the village green directly outside the back door of my cottage. Not clever eh?

Farrow and Ball also do a paint colour called Elephant's Breath.

Image via Earth Pics on Twitter
Apparantly baby elephants throw themselves in the mud when they are having a tantrum. I am starting to wonder if it is moles on the green or are they baby elephants?

Clever Ideas For Your Home

I live in a very old cottage, space is at a premium so I have to be a bit clever when it comes to storage and displays. The ground floor of our cottage is totally open plan, nowhere to hide anything, evrything on show. So firstly where to put your wellies, well we have an old trunk under the stairs to hold them out of sight, also handy fr utting your hats on.

We store our Herbs and Spices in magnetic tins, perfect to slap on the side of the fridge ad easy to see what's inside.

 Outside we have an old chandlier with a crack in the glass bowl so ideal to use as a plant hanger when lined with coconut matting.

On to other people's clever ideas - Love this bottle opener with a little ceramic pot for the tops.

 

An old kitchen whisk as a lampshade.

 

Beautiful vintage spoons as cupboard handles.

 

Couldn't resist including this little idea. Any old wellies?

 

Brilliant idea that can be used inside or outside. Add a recessed tray into a table to hold condiments and drinks. Genius.

If you have any old books you don't read anymore cut them into letters. You have to be handy with a hacksaw or know someone else who is.
Click the images to take you to their websites

Branch Out

Here's an idea for you - next time you are driving or walking through the countryside keep your eyes peeled for fallen branches. The possibilities are endless, as they say, from making a fabulous wall installation like

this one,

 use one for hanging lights above your dining table,

or hang your clothes on one. My preference is for painting them white but of course you can

use colour if that is your preference.

 I have a white tree trunk holding an Alessi colander and it also

supports my breakfast bar.
Image links 1 & 2