E is for ........enterprising.

The next room on our "to do" list is the third bedroom, the one Jon uses for his office and the one with access to the loft. Jon more or less leaves colours up to me and I know we have a decent quantity of both grey and white emulsion to hand so no prizes for guessing my thoughts.

I don't buy "Housy" magazines anymore - whilst they were often a source of inspiration and encouraged me to tidy up, inevitably I flicked through them once and found many the same. As we have worked our way through the house more often than not we will visit a showhouse for inspiration and to see what the  current trends are. Last weekend we did just that.

In one showhouse I spotted a desk. As I have been sorting out my various crafty stuff and the piles of paper etc for my card making I have used the big cupboard in the porch to store things away, ever realising the potential the room had to be mult-functional. Yes a porch is great but as we have such a lovely open view of the garden I felt it was a shame not to work in the porch, but not to have everything everywhere, so the desk gave me an idea.

To look at it (yes I bought one on-line) it's not imposing but it's the perfect size for my laptop/sewing machine. When I am working (as I was yesterday) the stool next to the desk is ideal for my printer - as the big cupboard is right next to the desk stuff can be put away when I have finished and the tesk doubles up as a console table.



The view from the desk is inspiring too - yesterday Puss was in her favourite spot for an afternoon nap!

I brought down a wicker chair which is comfortable when working at the desk - when not in use with the desk I just move it against the back wall.

Above the chair I have used picnic baskets for further storage. I am so pleased with these - only costing £5 each from  the charity shops - so much nicer than plastic containers.

Jon is busy at work so I am not sure when we will make a start on his room but in the meantime I am happy to have a place to potter in and keep warm

ABC Wednesday - E for enterprising!

Cupboard, ceiling and curtains.

The porch is now fully painted - I am thrilled with the transformation of the cupboard from what it was.

The damaged ceiling before...

 

and now.

Coat hooks fitted

and now.

I really like the colour of the walls.

Argos sale - lights were £19.99 each.

Now it's just a case of carpet and curtains./blinds.

Curtains for the 5 foot window looking out onto the garden.

Roman blinds for the entrance door & windows.

When I was sorting through stuff I came across this Jane Churchill fabric.

I bought it on ebay for next to nothing a couple of years ago.

I had bought it for the landing curtains.

But then I came across these ready-made ones for £3.50 in the charity shop.
I bought 2 pairs - the other pair are for the final room to be re-vamped, the 3rd bedroom
which Jon uses as an office.
We have booked the final week of March with the decorator- so I have until then to clear the room and strip the old wallpaper.

Watch this space!

A dog, a porch and an icon.

B is for BEACH

We live very near to the beach and make a point of taking our dogs every day.

We like to go at 10 o'clock when we know our friends will be there but if the tide is in there's no beach for the dogs to run - which they love.

At the moment the tide is out around 4pm - I take endless photographs but yesterday I tried to capture the dogs in action. Sadie left and BING on the right.

Whilst this photograph is slightly BLURRED I feel it captured the essence of the moment.

B is for BASE coat. The decorating is moving on and what a difference a few days has made.

The BULBS will be replaced with a bit of BLING!

B is for BARGAIN.

Whilst the room is going to be a grey colour on the only larger wall I wanted a mirror.

Initially I wanted a full length one but as our local hardware shop is having a sale - this one at £12 was just the ticket.

B is for BOWIE.

 I was a fan of David Bowie. Like many people I was saddened last week at the news of his death.

At college between the ages of 16 and 18 a lot of my friends went to a local pub to the college. 

One of our neighbours was a barmaid and would have told my parents if I was drinking in there ie underage, so I didn't - choosing to save my pocket money for records - L.P's. 

The joy of listening to an entire album was always exciting AND I had something to show for my money. Hunky Dory was a particular favourite. My favourite track was "Life on Mars."

For more ABC fun see the link on my sidebar.

B is also for BACK to the Porch!

Interim

This time last week.......

Today. All signs of the hooks ever being there have been well and truly removed.

I am planning on hanging a mirror here.

This was then.......

                                                       

                This is now - not a leopard print effect - 

            just prepared ready for the next stage

Inside...

The wall to the right as you enter from the patio....

No excuse for not using this space.

The hooks are within my reach - as is the shelf.

The horrible ceiling....

Is now ready for the first coat on Monday.

So we lost the old lights........fancying some bling!

Watch this space!

A is for Action Plan.

We have had a leaking porch roof for quite a long time - but we didn't know until last May....

but part of the ceiling needs replacing so we are using the opportunity to revamp the porch and use it as an entrance rather than the kitchen.

The porch as you look down the stairs is to the right.

The door leading in from the hall has been prepared, ready for a paint job.

On entering the porch you are faced with a cupboard. I have never been able to reach the top shelf and so we've decided to have some shelves fixed inside, removing the rail.

It's an ideal storage space for hoover, cleaner and floor washer.

To the right as you come in from the hall are the current coat racks.......above where a radiator once hung.

 


We are re-locating the hooks (and adding a couple more) to the wall to the right on entering from the porch door (main entrance.)

All of the pine woodwork is to be white gloss.

This is the main door entrance adjacent to the kitchen door.

The door blind needs replacing and I may hang curtains - still debating.

The porch has a 5 foot window overlooking the garden.

Again I am thinking about putting curtains up to add warmth.

This window is to the right when entering from the main door - as shown in this plan.

The porch is currently Pale Hound colour but we are changing the scheme to link to the colours from the hall - a grey. I am excited about changing the colour and wonder how brave I will be - will I go as dark grey as I dare?

I find experimenting with colours quite exciting.....watch this space!

A new round of ABC Wednesday - I am using this round to share the home improvements we have planned for 2016. I find before and after photos a great record of what we are doing, what we need to do and what need to plan to do.