Painted furniture, painted bedroom

Hooray, Cecily will be back home from university, for the summer holidays, in just 10 days time! I can hardly wait to see her again and I can't wait to show her the makeover I have done on her bedroom.

Having finally finished painting and decorating her bedroom (which seemed to grow bigger and bigger each time I went in there to do a bit more), I decided it was time to tackle the furnishings, so...
Out with the old bed and tatty furniture that she opted for (or put up with) whilst at school, because I have bought her some lovely painted bedroom furniture from our shop including a French bed (a kingsize so she can stretch out as much as she likes) and new bedside tables.
She's going to sleep in crisp white cotton bedlinen and I've found some really cutesy rose print pyjamas for her. Coo, I love being the clucking mother hen!
Pyjamas available shortly at New Country Quilts
Her bright pink Cecily Rose chair will remain as she got that only for Christmas this year, but I haven't added any other bright pink accessories as I think those finishing touches need to be her choice once she is home.



Well, it's late and it's as dry as a desert in here, so I'm headed off to the kitchen once again, chat soon, Liz

All images and text copyright Pretty Practicals 2006 - 2008 except where stated.

Cool kitchen

This gorgeous kitchen storage unit was created by one of our new furniture suppliers... and I want one for my kitchen. I would also need a kitchen large enough to put it in, but that is beside the point! Our hotpotch of kitchen units have served the house well for many years, but they are almost at the end of their functional life and are decidedly wobbly in a couple of places. The brochures of this company arrived on my desk this week and have certainly given me some food for thought (sorry about the pun!).

Usually any changes to the decor at our home take a long time in the planning; I like to mull over ideas for quite some time before putting anything into action and when it comes to making structural changes (like replacing the kitchen) the planning process can take up to a couple of years. Afterall, if we are going to have a major upheaval at home, I want to be sure that I have got it right.

It's been a busy day and I still have lots to do, so I'm off to make a cuppa, chat soon, Liz

All that glitters...

I am delighted that we have finished the bookwork, for this month at least. I know it's an important thing to do, but it's one of my least favourite tasks at work, so I have treated myself to a yummy flapjack to go with this morning's cup of tea.

I am thrilled that our new gilt range of furniture is starting to arrive with us. When I visited our supplier's showrooms last month, I was really impressed with the quality of these pieces and was pleased to learn that the mahogany used to make them comes from forests which are part of regeneration programmes. This range are all reproductions of antique originals and have a gold leaf finish to the woodwork and use silk and a very pretty damask fabric on the upholstered areas. I rather fancy one of the nursing chairs for our bedroom at home ~ it would be lovely to drape my clothes on one each night and add it little touch of opulence to the room. Our bedroom is decorated with toile de Jouy wallpaper of charcoal colour cherubs on a muted yellow background (not the best description I realise, but it does look nice - honestly!). Dave was a bit hesitant about having cherub covered walls when I first suggested it to him a few years ago, but once he had seen the wallpaper on the walls and realised that it wouldn't be going all around the bedroom, he warmed to the idea. So we now have these heavenly beings on the chimney breast and on two walls above the dado rail and below the picture rail ~ on the grounds that often less is more. One day, when we have hidden the socks, books etc away, I will take some pics of our bedroom to show you how it all goes together.

Ooh, I have just had pics arrive of some new quilts that we will be getting in shortly and I just need to share this one because it is fab. All I have to do now is work out if there is a room I can pop it into! Well, I'm off to do some packing and parcelling... chat later, Liz

Brown paper and birthdays

After taking the day off yesterday and having a half day on Saturday, we have spent the whole day so far packing parcels in preparation for the couriers and post office. I love wrapping our quilts into brown paper parcels ~ I imagine them to be like parcels I've seen old films, where the hero goes off on a train with his parcel of things wrapped in brown paper and tied with string. Good grief, I must be getting nostalgic in my old age (well not so old really, but you know what I mean).
I've had my birthday this week; it's one of those times when I take stock of 'my lot' and this year I felt rather happy with things. I love my work, my family and friends ~ what more could a girl ask for (except more tea and chocolate)? Actually, I would have really liked one of these cards, they are handmade for us, by one of my super-talented friends but I suppose my family thought that I wouldn't want one that I stock in the shop (I'll drop better hints next year).

I have found time since Christmas to get my sewing machine out once again and create a few cushion covers. I love the fabric on this one, I don't know who or what the scene is supposed to be depicting, but I imagine that it could be Bodicea (I Googled the spelling and there are about 5 variations!). If you know the fabric, please drop me a line. Oh, I digress again, one of the reasons that I enjoy working with this fabric is the quality of the linen union that it is printed onto and despite the bobble trim being so fiddly to work with, it does give cushions a lovely finish! Some time ago, I was lucky enough to pop into a haberdashery shop during a sale and I picked up dozens of different colour and length zips, so now I always have the right one just when I need it. Zips in cushion covers are a must for me, I hate finding I can't remove a cover to change the inner pad or clean it, but so many fixed cover cushions seem to be sold, or even envelope back cushion covers ~ I don't know if we sit on our sofa funnily or something, but the inners never seem to stay inside the cover if it doesn't have a zipped closure. Okay ~ cushion rant over!

Our sofa at home is covered with assorted creations that I have made over the years and the wonderful thing about having learnt to sew is that if I get bored with the design of the room; I can make new blinds and cushions and hey-presto, a whole new look!

My plan for my spare time over the next couple of weeks is to redecorate Cecily-Daisy's bedroom. Now she is at uni and only at home during holidays, it seems the ideal opportunity to make it look a bit fresher in there for her. This, however, is not the easy task I thought it was going to be. Working my way around the post-holiday chaos and her walk-on wardrobe (well, that's what Dave calls the heap of clothes she leaves on her bedroom floor) will be the easy bit ~ my dilema is what do I put on the walls?

Cecily's choice I suspect would be a plain pale bamboo paint that she can put posters and momentos onto when she is home. My choice would be a vintage design wallpaper and as it is me who is doing the decorating, guess what she'll end up with? Next problem, which design? Having hoarded Laura Ashley fabrics and wallpapers for years and years, I have dozens of vintage designs to choose from and I can't decide whether to go for my favourite plum colour (we have lots of matching bedding, curtains, cushions etc. so I could create a really good 1970's room for her) or whether to use a more traditional large flowered design on a white background ~ great for making a room look larger, but it's an enormous room already, so doesn't need the help or to go for a 1930's style design and give the room a Bloomsbury look.

Better think on it for a bit longer and go and find a cup of tea instead, chat soon, Liz