I have failed at keeping to my resolution of regular blogging! The front bedroom is coming along slowly, in between work and yet more doggy illness! The receptionist at the vets knows us too well! She even recognises my voice on the phone. Not a good sign. Holly has had a fever and been quite unwell, and despite various tests and overnight stays at the vets we still don’t know why. Fortunately after about 10 days she started to get better and is now getting back to her usual crazy self. It was very worrying though. Luckily whatever it was didn’t seem to affect Bramble, although she wasn’t impressed that Holly was fed special smelly canned vet food and she wasn’t! Anyway back to the bedroom…
Tom and I made Holly a little nest on our bed while we put coving up, painted the ceiling (white) and painted the walls (also white). I can’t enough of the Dulux Trade super matt white paint, it makes the walls look so flat, even though it’s an old house and the walls are very bumpy! It is looking very bright and fresh in there but could do with some finishing touches to make it cosier. The things we still need to do are get the gas pipe that is sticking out of the floor and running along the wall buried, remove the two random fuse boxes on the wall and in the cupboard, move the radiator, move a plug socket, make a headboard out of old pallets (if I ever get round to it), wallpaper the chimney breast, finish sanding and painting the skirting boards, make curtains, and carpet it, phew. I am still keen on the grey and white theme, possibly with touches of yellow if it’s looking too cold or boring.
As money is tight we went for the Ikea Aspelund wardrobe and set of 3 drawers. The drawers were on offer for only £59 and they are quite sturdy. They are a pale grey colour but the handles aren’t the greatest so I am planning on changing those. The matching wardrobe is the perfect size for one of the alcoves, and was also reasonably priced at £139 but that is not sturdy at all, no matter how much we tighten the screws it still wobbles about. However it will do for now as we have much more important things to shell out for like the kitchen. It’s a shame because I like the simplicity of the wardrobe and the colour. It is really heavy as well so has been a nightmare to move whilst painting the room. I am on the search for some vintage suitcases to pile on top. More pictures of the room coming soon when I have got round to doing the skirting boards!
Until then we have a decision to make. Many of my friends know that once upon a time I worked for Laura Ashley in a few of their homeware stores. Admittedly when I started at the age of 16 I wasn’t overly impressed with their chintzy fabric and flowery wallpaper, but over the years I grew to be a huge fan of the brand. I also love black and white photographs so was considering wallpapering the chimney breast in the Laura Ashley Pimlico wallpaper, a selection of photographs from old fashion shoots.
After painting the room all white I have been enjoying the feeling of calm in there so have started doubting my choice. I have always loved the josette wallpaper, especially in the dove grey colour. It has a lovely matt finish and the pattern is a chalky white colour.
Click on either image to go to the Laura Ashley website. Tom prefers the Pimlico, but I am leaning towards the Josette. What do you think?
