Decorating, lighting and finished rooms............!

 
......plaster dust - it is a phase you just have to get through!  That fine white dust gets everywhere and this week we have been eating it, inhaling it, sleeping in it and tramping it throughout the house.  We have to check our clothes when we go out for huge, white, dusty smears!  However, great things have been happening and we now have two bedrooms pretty much finished - which is a good thing as my family are starting to come home for the Easter break and at least we can put a mattress on the floor to make a bed.  Carpets are scheduled for next week and then we can move the furniture in and ease the overcrowding in our bedroom. (We have all the furniture, bedding and contents of 4 bedrooms crammed into one)

Newly decorated Bedroom 3

Work on the kitchen goes on a pace and the beautiful Iroko worktops will soon be in place, the lighting is fitted and we are - Oh! so near to being able to use it. 

I have an old 60s light fitting that was over the kitchen table which I have resprayed copper and I hope the electrician can fit it in place over our new table.

Before!

Up-cycling in progress

The lovely hand screen printed lampshades for our bedroom arrived today from Emma Purdie - through www.notonthehighstreet.com   Picture below

The en-suite bathroom and upstairs radiators have also been a major project for the plumbers this week.  Look how tiny those bedroom radiators are - I hope our heat loss calculations prove to be correct!  

Teeny new radiator in new bedroom 3

Great progress in the en-suite - we have had to put in a new bath because we couldn't get taps for the 1960s cast iron one which we had hoped to re-enamel. 

 Throughout the house, in line with our Reduce, Re-use, Recycle mantra,  we are re-using bits of the hardwood fixtures that we have removed during the build.  We love wood, so in the kitchen there will be two shelves and  two doors on the central island, the window seat and two long shelves over the sink.  In the en-suite we will have a mirror trim, shelving and bath panels that take the wood theme through - and, of course, we have re-used that lovely panelling in the master bedroom.  In the lounge/garden room my desk is installed (made from a playroom table and some wood from the old kitchen) - just the shelves for my library to finish and a see through, shelved room divider that we are in the process of designing. 

my new desk - it looks a bit small here but it isn't in reality

 

This is the sort of thing we are hoping to create from recycled wood

 Next week sees the fitting of the wood burning stove so our chimney has been swept in anticipation by Roger - see links panel.  We also expect to have the hot water tank replaced with one that connects to solar thermal panels on the roof - Oh - so that will be no hot water for a little while then....!