/2025
When I am not busy with work (which never happens)
I do extra work on our house.
It’s an ongoing project and will never be finished, which is great!
It's unlikely I’ll ever run out of things to do.
Welcome
The chair and a set of legs going up the escalator are the first things you see as you walk into our house, minus the balloons. They are just some party leftovers.
Kitchen
We have an unusual kitchen layout. L-shaped, but the kitchen lives on the outside of the L, rather than on the inside; try explaining that to a kitchen designer! This time I didn't have to because I was the designer :0) It was just a matter of aligning the levels on both sides of our awkward corner, and then fitting all the appliances in.
Blue room
A sliding door and total colour made this room possible. I managed to find a vintage lampshade with a beautiful green-blue marbling; couldn’t believe my luck!
Airplanes
My friend’s art work has a special place in our house. It took us several years to renovate the hallway so we can finally put it on show. I can’t imagine anything else in this space.
Art work by Haim Sokol
Materials
metal, paint
Size
Each airplane is about 26cm x 19cm x 9cm
I had to have it
I was obsessed with Tulip tables for quite some time. Not the chairs just the tables. Finally, I’ve got one; bought secondhand with a few cracks and scratches, but who cares. I think it’s perfect.
Messy business
If you've been through a renovation you will understand the pain. It was horrific. Everything we had was crumbling; the walls, the floors, and it took some time to put it all back together.
Not sure how the builders do it everyday.
The truth
Do we have white walls? Yes, that’s true we do.
Do we have a white carpet? Yes, sort of.
Do we usually keep skirts in soup bowls?
Art work by
Robert Chaplin
Haim Sokol
Mirror Mirror
We had this Ikea mirror for some time. It was good but didn’t have the right character. I wanted to see an antique/smoky effect in a simple frame mirror. Something that looks contemporary yet has a texture. After experimenting with some chemicals and scratching the hell out of a decent mirror, I’ve got this.
I am pleased with the result. It came out a lot better than I thought it would. It doesn’t make you pretty but gives you age and wrinkles.
The garden
Summer in our garden means lots of daisies and wild strawberries. We don’t have to do much. All these plants are native and don’t require care.
My type of plants.
Vasiliy
Vasiliy (or Vas for short) loves sitting in his chair in the morning when it’s sunny and warm. He wouldn’t get up for anything, even his biscuits.
Fireplace in the green room
This fireplace was completely boarded but I knew there was something there. I wasn't sure what I would discover. I hoped to find a gorgeous, untouched fireplace behind a crumbling MDF, but no.
Well, eBay to the rescue! Search locally, and you will find something in keeping with the age and character of the property. Surround and insert came from two different places.
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Three Chinese wise men
Fireplace
in the Drawing/
Library/Lego room
When we bought the house, we had an odd 60s rockery fireplace in this room. The only picture I have of it is with little Alex taking a picture of something (not sure what).
Now it’s back to its former glory, and this time, I didn’t have to buy anything; I just moved the surround from the living room and added new tiles. The tiles came from Mexico, but they do look much like arts & crafts.
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Two obsessions
Fireplace
in the bedroom
This fireplace was previously boarded. I was pleasantly surprised to find the original tiles and some of the original surrounds under the board. With a few eBay finds and hard graft, the fireplace was restored to its former glory.