Well, there’s quite a bit happening at Garrendenny HQ this week but nothing is finished as yet!  The children learned how to paint!

Brian has made the irons for Kate’s new ‘old antique oak bed’ and will be making the frame for the mattress before Friday!  It has been primed and undercoated and will be finished before Friday!

This chair has been stripped and will be painted but not re-upholstered by Friday!  In case you are wondering what there is such an emphais on Friday, it is a certain little girl’s 6th birthday party and I’ve promised I’d have her bedroom finished bar curtains and such other inconsequential details!

Will’s tub chair has just gone to be re-covered in this fabric and I’ll be working on his bedroom next week.

2 Aga Men have called to discuss flue, connecting to hot press etc and I have definitely decided to go with a reconditioned Aga in the kitchen but I think the decision over the colour will require a blog post all on its own!!

We have had an addition to Garrendenny Farm – 18 chickens that are 2 weeks old. The intention is to kill, pluck and eat them ourselves. The only thing is they won’t be free range as there are too many predators (our dog, farm cats and a neighbouring fox with cubs) around to let them out until Brian has had time to build a run.

And we have even had a little bit of time for some socialising. Sheila from the Australian Folder of Ideas  blog has been holidaying in Ireland and came down to see us with her 2 sons. The children got on great and the eldest two are going to write to each other as penpals.  Sheila and I covered lots of topics too,she’s doing an interior design course at the moment and her blog is always full of lots of inspriration.

At last my energy levels have returned to what they should be and we have eventually commenced decorating!  We had a slight problem with the tiles on the floor of the downstairs loo but I will reveal that story when it is finished and I have some pictures to show you.

We’ve started on Kate’s bedroom.  I have given in and am letting her have pink walls in the hope that having to sleep within pink walls for a couple of years will eventually steer her in the direction of some vivid teals and greens which look fab with her red hair!

So, it is going to be Designers Guild’s Petal on the walls.  I had thought about getting full length eyelet ready made curtains but our windows are very wide, over 100 inches/250 cm and the 90 inch curtains would be too skimpy and I couldn’t find anything I liked in the 106in.  Then, I reckoned she’s be putting toys/storage under the window so decided to go with Mulberry Walk fabric.  We can’t do roman blinds as it is to the front of the house and would look naff from the outside so made to measure curtains it is but just to below the cill.

Mulberry Walk curtains

The Mulberry Walk has just enough green in it to keep me happy and enough pink for her so all is well

She has decided she has outgrown her homemade castle bed.  I have an antique oak single bed – headboard and footboard but without the irons – that I bought at an auction over 10 years ago and we have never used it.  So the plan is to paint it and Brian will connect it somehow to her bed.  And we will finish it off with some Mulberry Walk bedlinen.  I’m also going to let her choose some of the Mae fabric wall stickers when they arrive – all in the name of research, you understand!

We started painting it yesterday evening and the children were painting the lower edges with 2 tiny little brushes and some paint in a jar and they did so well and enjoyed it so much.  Okay, they wouldn’t win decorator of the year but I gave it the occasional brush stroke to brush out the harsh edges or any excess and it was fine.

Pics of the actual room coming up soon then – hopefully!

As you all probably know, the wallpapering of a feature wall has had its day, particularly in sitting rooms and bedrooms. Yes, it is still popular, partly because people feel wallpapering the whole room is expensive, it could overpower the room, they are dreading removing all that wallpaper sometime, the room is too small, too large …..

I feel it still works in some rooms depending on their shapes.  As you walk into my hall, the wall opposite the hall door is the only one wallpapered  and because of the shape of the room it does work although I am starting to ponder other ideas.  However, part of my reason for not wallpapering the rest of the room is down to practicality – the children always seem to run their hands along the wall as they walk up the stairs so the stairwall (and hence the rest of the hall, stairs and landing) has to be repainted every 18 months or so – and it is much easier to repaint than to rewallpaper!

I want to use wallpaper in our new bedroom and have been considering ways to use it.  It is an L shaped room, not that large with asecond door in it which leads to the ensuite. It has a large window which almost takes up one wall.  Our bed is antique and has a high headboard and footboard.  I would like some drama on the walls so I don’t want a subtle wallpaper but I know a drama-inducing wallpaper is going to be so overpowering if I wallpaper all four walls and I am not going down the ‘feature wall’ route.

I had thought of doing some panelling and wallpapering within the panelling but then discounted that idea. Why did I discount it? Well, I am doing that in the downstairs loo as it is and don’t want to get bored of seeing the same idea, plus I may do it in Kate’s bedroom.  Plus, the shape of the room makes it difficult. The only wall that is uninterrupted by doors or windows is the bedhead wall and as the headboard is so high, I would have to do a considerable sized panel and it would just end up looking like a feature wall again!

Here’s a couple of lovely ideas I came across. The first is from the lovely Ish and chi blog and features Viv’s master bedroom:

Created with simple Ikea frames and 3 M strips, and featuring Sanderson’s Finches wallpaper – doesn’t it look fabulous?  I’m thinking of doing something along these lines in Will’s new bedroom.

Here’s the large wall panelling idea: From Apartment Therapy

This works as the perfect backdrop to the sofa – in perfect proportions.

Also from Apartment Therapy – this is lovely and has a very classical feel to it, would be lovely in a Georgian house with high ceilings.

And for those of you who are wondering how I am getting on with my new year’s resolution to decorate a room every six weeks – don’t!  I made that resolution when I was on steroid injections which gave me loads of energy – I’m now on the ‘come-down’ from them which is apparently the reason for my sluggishness! Hopefully work will start on our ‘half-burnt house’ next week so that will keep me busy over the summer along with the garden and the exterior of this house so decorating will resume on the interior in the autumn

I have been searching for the perfect oil cloth for months and my poor table has been begging me to protect it from the rigours of my children.  The problems were that the diameter of our round table is 54 in and most oil cloths are either 54 in or 48 in wide whereas I needed one at least 60in.  The other problems were that I couldn’t find the pattern or colour that would co-ordinate with my roman blinds. 

I loved this oilcloth from Greengate but it just wasn’t available in the right width.

I liked the fun aspect of this cupcake one (and apologies, I can’t remember where it is from) but I decided it wouldn’t help my figure at all as I would be ‘forced’ into baking every day!

But I digress, I won’t keep you in suspense any longer. I eventually found exactly what I was looking for at The Blue Door in Naas and they offer an online service too.  Their oilcloths are wider than normal at 145 cm so are ideal for what I was looking for.  They have a lovely selection of Oilcloths and the one I picked is Mona.  They are not the typical oilcloths with the shiny surface but a matt surface that can be wiped clean and can be washed at a low temperature in the machine. Now I did query the amount of wiping as I must have the messiest children in the country but they assured me that if spillages are wiped as soon as possible, they will come out.  Now I have had to put it into the machine once already and it is due to go in again so I am either an extremely tardy mother or I have incredibly messy children, but it washes fine.

And I am also incredibly disorganized as I can’t find the photo I took of the whole table, elegantly set with lovely crockery.  Here is one from Mother’s day when I was presented with lovely school made badges, cards and homepicked snowdrops – you can just about see the oilcloth!!

This week is shaping up to be pretty busy so there may not be any more blog posts until after the bank holiday, I hope you all have a lovely weekend, x

Designers Guild paint can now be ordered from Garrendenny Lane Interiors’ showroom.  Lots of gorgeous colours available in Floor paint, Water based eggshell, Oil based eggshell and Matt Emulsion.

And I will soon be able to show you photos of some rooms in my house painted with Designers Guild paint! Do you remember my new year’s resolution whereby I planned to decorate a room every 6 weeks or so?  Well, I made that resolution when my energy levels were very high, I had just had 5 steroid injections in about 6 weeks in an attempt by my consultant to reduce my IGE levels – as a result, my eczema cleared up, my skin felt great, I was able to stop taking anti-histamine, I had loads of energy, I felt like I could take on the world. Unfortunately, having steroid injections regularly isn’t necessarily that good for one’s health and I have recently felt the results of having them wear off – in that, keeping the house, keeping a business going and looking after the kids seems to consume my energies. I did hack the tiles off the floor of the downstairs loo and Brian removed the loo and I painted the ceiling and then it stopped for 3 weeks – partly due to my low energy levels and Brian’s lack of sleep with cows calving but I am determined to get it done by the end of March.

I’m definitely getting old – I even fell asleep watching the Late Late show the last 2 weeks, while waiting for Jonathan Ross to come on!

Why not get a decorator in? I hear you ask!  Because I love decorating!  I actually find it quite relaxing and refreshing to spend an afternoon or evening painting – not so relaxing when it involves multi-tasking keeping 2 kids amused and getting them to bed I must admit but I do enjoy it. Having decorated a number of houses in the past too, I would consider myself a woose if I didn’t do it!  So hopefully I will have some pics for you soon.