Tuesday 22 November 2016

The lounge

Firstly perhaps I should answer some queries from yesterday's kitchen post. Thanks for all the encouraging comments by the way. I'm glad you're enjoying the makeovers.
To prepare the units I sugarsoaped them well, filled any holes (like the extra hole from the handles I removed in the utility room) and lightly sanded any rough bits. I didn't remove the door fronts, but I painted the fronts first with the doors shut, let that dry, then opened the doors and painted the edges, then repeated the process for the second coat. I used a brush to apply the paint and both utility and kitchen needed two coats. In the utility room, I haven't had any issues with peeling or chipping, but in the kitchen the units were handmade and not on smooth runners, so the edges have 'caught' a bit as I open and shut them. As the eggshell is water based, I just touch up any chipped areas occasionally with an artists brush. It dries really quickly too so it's no great hassle - 5 mins effort here and there to keep it looking nice - but as I say, the more modern units in the utility have shaped up very nicely.

And now to today's post ..... The original stone cottage dates back to the mid 1800s. Then in 1906, four rooms were added to the front of the farm house - two generous lounges, that beautiful hallway and two large bedrooms. The front of the house is south facing and all those rooms are naturally light and warm.

Curious then, that the previous owners had decided to decorate one of these rooms in a dark claret colour - not just a feature wall, but all four walls and the section above the picture rail. Although I had nothing against the colour itself, it was way too much and we found the room cold and oppressive. 


Having done so much decorating, we had actually decided to leave it until after the half term holiday when we had multiple sets of visitors coming. But .... Mr D went away for a couple of days the week before half term, so my sister-in-law and I rolled up our sleeves and set about a surprise transformation. On the first day, we painted two coats on the walls (we chose a sandy colour) and three coats of white above the picture rail. As we were finishing up, we had the exciting thought to hire a floor sander the following day.... As you do! So the following day, the floorboards were sanded. By the time Mr D came back, the lounge looked like a completely different room. He was amazed and very pleased, especially as we could show it off to our friends in half term. 
The following day we had the log burner installed correctly - it had been put in with no flue and even had the stack on upside down! No wonder then that they couldn't provide us with a HETAS certificate.

The computer desk will eventually move into the office when we have the extension. The curtains were a free hand-me-down from my sister in law. 

The rug is a treat. I had seen an identical one in Mr D's cousin's house and really liked it. It was an expensive treat but we've done so well transforming the house for relatively low expense. 

Unfortunately there is a hole in one of the floorboards near the skirting presently covered with parcel tape. I forgot about it when I was doing the final coat on the walls, placing the ladder with one leg over the hole. Of course I climbed up about three rungs with a tray full of paint before the leg broke through the parcel tape falling down the hole, tipping me off backwards. BUM!! Nothing broken - just badly bruised and the paint was soon mopped up. A close shave though as my head narrowly missed the corner of the hearth :( 
The floor has been varnished and the one new addition is a stripey rug. (We sold  the other rug for £45 as it didn't quite match the new scheme)
I have to say we all enjoy relaxing in this room now especially with a roaring fire on the go. In fact I'm in there now typing this :) 

21 comments:

  1. Thanks for the information. Lovely transformation above. Maybe the previous owners were colour blind?

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  2. A MAZ ING! I love it! paint is amazing isnt it. It completely transforms a room. It looks so inviting

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    1. Thank you :) paint is relatively cheap, pretty easy to apply and can totally alter a room. It's also easy to change your mind later if you like!

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  3. You are blessed with a beautiful home, such a transformation it looks amazing.

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    1. Thank you. This house has a wonderful aura - a true family home and I consider myself very lucky to live here :)

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  4. It's all looking just beautiful and a lot less pink. You must be thrilled with how it's coming along. You're doing an amazing job. I love your taste. I've only just caught up with your last few posts. My feed seemed to have stuck. X

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    1. Oh thank you. I did do quite a lot of research online before picking the coloyrs, but I do know pretty instantly what I like anyway. :)

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  5. Like many others I am so delighted that you have returned to blogland.
    It is a treat seeing the transformations taking place and I am especially pleased to hear
    of Jet's progress.
    I can imagine how gorgeous your home is going to be for your first Christmas there.
    I am sitting in front of a lovely warm Heta stove at present. The wind is howling but we are snug. Sue

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    1. Thank you x
      Having a stove as a central point is so much nicer that radiators.
      I'm by excited about Christmas too - can't wait to get decorating!!

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  6. It looks lovely. Reading all your posts about doing your home up on a budget has really spured me on to start mine after Xmas. It is in desperate need of redecorating but my eldest son (Autistic) has a thing about picking paint off the walls. I have decided to do it after Xmas when he moves into his own home. I am on a very tight budget and your posts are giving me some lovely ideas. Thank you for sharing. Much Love Maria xxx

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    1. White paint is particulary cheap and many paint shops will add your chosen 'tint' or colour to a pot of basic white, making it cheaper than buying branded paints. Good luck with your decorating when it comes to it :)

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  7. Oh my. There is such a difference between the rooms before and after. Your redo looks light and airy.

    God bless.

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  8. Thank goodness you didn't hurt yourself badly when you fell. The room looks so much better (well, it could hardly look worse, with that frightful colour of paint on the walls, could it? What could the previous owners been thinking of? Were they colour blind? Or perhaps they preferred the bordello look?) The room looks both elegant and cosy at the same time, which is difficult to achieve. I think it's the warmth created by the lovely floorboards and your new expensive rug! A very good choice all round. Praise be heaped upon your decorating skills!
    Margaret P

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    1. Thank you - that's a very kind thing to say. I do love decorating!

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  9. I've been reading all your fabulous makeover posts you are working so hard on your house. I love your kitchen and sitting room. I'm searching for a new rug at the mo with no luck I really like yours. I can't wait to see how you do your Christmas decs your house will look amazing for Christmas.

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    1. Thanks. The rug came from John Lewis. I've never had a striped rug before but it has lots of colours in it so you could team it with all sorts of other soft furnishings. It was definitely expensive but should last a long time and we did make £45 by selling the old one.....

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  10. It looks fantastic ... you HAVE worked hard. No wonder you were missing from blogland for so long!!

    You'd think that claret colour would be warming, but you're completely right it makes the room look cold. I love your fireplace, it's similar to our but much chunkier, which I love.

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  11. A MAZ ING! I love it! paint is amazing isnt it. It completely transforms a room. It looks so inviting


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