Ola again on a Moregeous Monday! I said last week might be worth missing so high five to those of you who gave it the advised swerve as here at least, it didn’t actually exist. Like other normal folk we’ve actually been doing some summer stuff which isn’t even DIY!!! Can you believe it?! Nope, neither can I.
Not only did we go with Niece 1 to the brilliant Carfest North, but Niece 2 and I then powered through gin tasting, tours, ballet and pudding making at the wonderful Lowry Open Day, and me ‘n’ him went treasure hunting at our favourite Arthur Swallow salvage fair. Sometimes we get so immersed in trying to get on with our renovating, and with work, that we forget to just stop, and live, and enjoy life. So, we did some of that and it was fab. However, you don’t want to hear all about me having a rest do you, you wanna see what we’ve actually got done!
The Palm Bathroom is coming on a treat and I’ve nearly finished all the panelling. If by some miracle I can get on top of all the horrible paperwork which is piling up on my desk then a start might be made to tile the little nib walls around the shower. But, and it’s a big but, we have a problem as the shower isn’t draining properly for some reason so a little part of me thinks that I should leave off doing any work in that area “just in case”.
Why is nothing ever straightforward when you’re a DIY renovator eh? It can’t be just us, surely? For as long as I’ve been doing up houses, there’s always a new and never-seen-before challenge just around the corner. I wish they’d just stop inventing fresh stuff and then we’d have dealt with all the ‘issues’ at least once before!
My very clever man made me a surprise the other week, which you Instagrammers will have seen already. My Instafeed, so long full of dirt, mud and Builder Cat, is starting to look quite pretty now and although it’ll never really be as hyper-curated as some, I’m trying to curtail myself and only post the nice stuff as the experts say you ought. I saw some copper bathroom fittings online and was deliberating buying a loo roll holder… then after a long and tiring office day, I came down to find this waiting for an inspection! I love it, even more because Mr M made it for me himself.
Thing is, the minute I knew he could do this, I designed us a huge bathroom shelving system for under the sloping roof, and immediately put him to work on it! Plus, I’m now considering us doing a DIY copper pipe course for people who fancy making their own bathrooms bits ‘n’ pieces. So that’s his own fault entirely for showing off 😉
It’s a good job we’re keeping busy because it’s not exactly warm is it? What on earth has happened to the good old British Summer. I’ve had my thermals on, the wood burner got cranked up last night and we’re even checking out radiators for the bedrooms. Even though the downstairs underfloor heating was fired up last Christmas, the whole system isn’t properly commissioned as I’ve yet to choose the four radiators for the bedrooms. They’re all quite different in look but with the same underlying Edwardian feel and contemporary twist, so it’s highly likely that I’ll plump for decorative cast iron, the question is how decorative and in what finishes. It’s a blog post all of it’s own really, but here I am checking out a firm local to me who make and finish all their own radiators, which totally appeals to my love of shopping local. There’s so much choice!!
One of the radiators will go in this bedroom below, known as the Pavilion to those who’ve seen the botanical headboard. If all the rooms were this decorative then it’d definitely be on the cards to choose cast iron rads with lots of swirls and curls but as it is, the remaining three are less ornate so something simpler is required. This is the first time I’ve taken a picture of this room from this angle, I do love the decorative ‘tin’ tiles peeping through and the shape of the Burlington basin. And I really must finish the base of the shower with tiles or timber. Timber I think, looking at it from here.
At the aforementioned decorative & salvage fair, we made a bit of a discovery in these quite beautiful mirrors made from old sash windows and metal barn frames. I’d seen a few reclaimed doors which had been mirror glazed at salvage fairs but not usually to such a high standard and these were really pretty and very well done. I snapped up the one below, expertly modelled by Gracie, to form the backdrop to the built-in seating in my dining room and arranged to go back Sunday to pick it up in Mr M’s car.
I loved it and talked about it for 48hrs, but then when we went back to pick it up, the maker had brought out an even bigger one made from a steel barn window, so…. I ummed and ahhhhed and ummed and ahhhhed….. and swapped my purchase. I’m so fickle!! It’s a woman’s prerogative, don’t you know. If you like them let me know and I can source one from him for you as there’s not a web-site to share. They are truly stunning up close and come in lots of different shapes and sizes.
Still in treasure hunting’ mode down at the fair, I added a gorgeous new find to my bottle collection. Most of the ones I have are vintage beer or wine bottles, with the odd HP or Bovril thrown in, but this Poison one is ace! The raised dots and embossing were designed to stop people picking up bottles of poison and drinking them instead of medicine but there were apparently still many deaths from accidental poison quaffing.
Is there anyone in my world I’d like to poison? Hmmm. Maybe not today, the sun’s coming out, I have strawberry & cream boiled sweets and an episode of GoT to watch. But if you come here to eat, drink and be merry, and feel strange bumps under your fingertips, maybe wise to check the bottle 😉
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