Tag Archives: interior decorating

Refreshed and Ready

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You would think I would have had better things to do 3 days before we travel overseas but I decided to make new covers for some cushion pads to go on some stools for the kitchen.

When we first moved to this house I was unsure whether I actually wanted stools to sit at the breakfast bar at the island bench. I felt that they could make the space feel visually cluttered. In the meantime, we decided to utilise the space under the bench to store some of the buckets which hold bulk dry goods such as flours, nuts and dried fruit.

These will eventually be housed in the revamped and extended butler’s pantry but I am really not sure when that is likely to happen due the eternal dearth of tradesmen.

A few months ago I spotted a giveaway of 2 stools that turned out to be in the next street to us. They were in OK condition overall buy the cushions were covered in a faded yellow fabric that was rather grubby from having been stored in the shed. I picked them up and set them aside as a future project.

So, a few days ago I rearranged somethings in the wardrobe in the spare room, relocated the buckets of dry goods to the wardrobe and set about transforming the stools.

The first step was to remove the old covers. Deconstructing items carefully is a great way to create a pattern for their replacement and helps to understand how they are assembled.

Some strong calico from my stash created a neat, smooth base for the new covers.

I chose a lovely vintage cotton paisley print fabric which had been given to me some time ago.

I decided to adapt the design slightly to make the covers removable and the extension flap folds over to the underside of the cushion and fastens with velcro.

I am very happy with the end result.

The stools are exactly the right height for the bench and the backs are low enough that they do not create a significant interruption the the visual lines of the bench.

I also made a new set of tiebacks for the curtains in the family room to match the cushion covers. They replaced the ones that I made when we first moved in.

Easily Distracted

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Today was one of those days where one thing led to another.

After putting a load of washing in the machine I decided to put the recently delivered carton of wine away in the wardrobe in the third bedroom. Yes, that is our wine cellar at the moment.

One thing led to another and I put away the deflated air mattress from when we had houseguests several weeks ago. I put the folded blankets away in the drawers in the base of the guest bed and discovered some curtains I had stashed in there. They are the semi-sheer ones which were previously in the family room. I replaced them when we first arrived as provide neither privacy nor thermal comfort.

There are 8 narrow drops and I decided that I should probably give them away rather than hoarding them, however, GMan suggested that they could possibly be used in the 2 guest bedrooms. They are really a decorative addition as there are already honeycomb blinds. The rods were already in place as the previous owners had taken their curtains with them and just left the blinds.

So, I unpicked the hems and one side seam of each drop, sewed two drops together and rehemmed them to the correct length. I have finished the set for one spare room and am working on the ones for the other room. By sewing two drops together they are wide enough to draw across if desired but in the meantime they definitely create a more finished look to the room.

Multipurpose

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Our house is not huge but there is plenty of space with only 2 of us living in a 3 bedroom house.  We have the luxury of a dedicated guest room which is listed on Air BnB as well as being available for family and friends.  The other bedroom is primarily my sewing and craft room, however, I do have a single bed with a trundle bed in the room.

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The beds are not shown in this photo but are along the wall on the left-hand side.

Yesterday I did some minor rearrangements to turn this room into a bedroom for our 2 granddaughters who a visiting for the last week of the school holidays.

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The sewing table has been moved.  I added a towel rail and a small desk which are normally in the guest room.

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The repositioned sewing table allowed space for the trundle bed.

The girls have their own bedroom with minimal disruption to the household.

Why Did We Wait?

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We have lived in this house for almost 14 years and made various changes to both the interior and exterior of the house.  The kitchen, laundry and bathroom have had major upgrades.  Windows, external cladding, verandah railings and flooring have all been replaced as well as the outdoor staircase.  The entire interior of the house has been painted, floor coverings replaced and built-in wardrobes added.

But apart from buying timber venetian blinds for 2 of the front windows we have never had any window coverings.  It has not really been a necessity from a privacy point of view since we live on a small acreage with no close neighbours.

However, the combined lounge/dining room has quite a large expanse of windows and we do find that it makes the room quite cold on winter evenings and I would love to be able to draw the curtains to cover the glass and make it feel more cosy.

We did not do anything about it initially as we knew that we would replace the old windows.  The upgraded windows are louvres and one section of them is quite close to the slow-combustion heater so I was unsure as to what sort of window treatments would work best.  Hence, winter would come and go each year and still the inertia and indecision remained.  This is a post on the same subject from 2011.

The combination of a few cold nights and some free time once I had finished work meant that I decided to check out a relatively local business, Custom Curtains and Shade at Beerwah.  It is barely a month since we first ventured to the showroom where we discussed a couple of different fabric and colour options  A few days later we had a measure and quote, decided on our choice of fabric and today the finished products were installed.

Here is the result and I really do not know why we procrastinated for so long before deciding to get the Roman blinds for this room.

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After almost 14 years the living area now looks ‘complete’ to my satisfaction.

One Simple Change

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A few days after Christmas we ordered a new lounge suite.  This had been on the agenda for quite some time and we finally found the time to search out what we wanted on the internet and then went to see (and sit in) it in real life.The delivery time was expected to be 10 – 12 weeks but we asked if we could make a bit longer so that it would be delivered after our holidays in April.

One of the reasons we were looking at an extended delivery time was because we knew that there were a few other jobs that we wanted to do before we had a new lounge suite in the living room.

The main priority was to have the vinyl flooring in the lounge, dining room, kitchen, hallway and study re-surfaced.  This had not been done since the flooring was first laid about 10 years ago and was well overdue.  The main problem is that since it comprises such a major area of the house it is a challenge to move all of the furniture out of the way.  This seemed like the perfect time.

So now there is furniture and contents of shelves and cupboards stacked almost anywhere I can find a space.

The guest bedroom

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The front entry

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The floors are not the only area in need of some maintenance.  The kitchen ceiling was in poor condition and was GMan’s list of jobs.  He had already noted that since the living areas of the house are open plan that he would repaint all of the ceilings.

Of course, you paint the ceiling before refinishing the floors.

The kitchen and front entry were done a couple of weeks ago.  You can read about it here.  The lounge and dining room are currently being painted.

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Our bedroom has been completely emptied and GMan repainted the walls today.  The photo is before the painting.  Tomorrow the carpet will be replaced with vinyl flooring which will be much easier to keep clean, especially since we live on acreage in a semi-rural area.

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The bed frame has been dismantled and is in the study.

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We are sleeping on the mattress on the floor in my sewing room for a couple of nights.

Once the bedroom flooring is done and that room can be reassembled things will improve a bit.  The next step will be to arrange for the resealing of the other flooring.

Moving furniture is almost as much of an impetus to declutter as moving house.  We will not necessarily be putting everything back where it came from as we have realised that times have changed and some things that were essentials 10 years ago do not necessarily have a place here anymore.  There is no rush so we will carefully consider everything as we reassemble various rooms.

There will be ‘after’ photos in due course.

A Fresh Look

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One of the benefits of holidays and being away from our home is that sometimes you can take a step back and review things from a distance.

A few months ago I considered buying a new doona cover for our bed since the one we have had for over 10 years definitely does not match the current colour scheme.  It has been like that for about 4 years but it had taken me that long to consider it.  One of the things that was holding me back was why get rid of the existing cover which is still in excellent condition.

While we were away I suddenly realised that the doona cover on our bed would look perfect on the bed in the guest room and then I could justify buying a new one for our bed.

2012-09-21 01Here is the revamped guest room.

On Wednesday we looked for a new cover which proved to be quite a challenge as it is obvious that the colours in our room (Wedgewood blue with cream trim) are  definitely not the latest trend.  Most of the bed linen was either neutrals in cream/grey/coffee palettes or bright geometric designs.  However, I eventually found something suitable.

2012-09-21 02I also bought another cover in a grape colour with a muted floral design.  I will use that during the winter months for a change.  This is the first time that I have ever had bed linen to change with the seasons.  Thanks to the sale prices, I was able to buy the 2 covers for the full price of just one of them.

I am very happy with the results of my rearrangement of the bed linen.  Now I have  the bedspread which was on the guest bed to put away in the linen cupboard while I consider its fate.

Most of our furnishings/colours are relatively classic and are chosen because they are what we like rather than what is this year’s “must have”.  This can make things difficult at times, especially when you are looking for a colour or design that is not ‘in’.

Do you follow the latest trends in interior design or are you happy with what you have?  Any tips for updating on a budget?