Our antique headboard and more interior house photos

 

The antique "headboard" for our replacement bed arrived yesterday by courier from Taunton.  It is carved oak and we think probably came from a tester or 4 poster bed originally, or even from a church - anyway,  exactly the sort of thing we were looking for.  We have to wait a couple of weeks for the bed base to be made and delivered, but at least we are sleeping off the floor now!   Then our pine bed will go into the Guest Bedroom and can be made up and another space-gobbling duvet and pillows and some bedding and a quilt to dress will give us more storage space too.

Kitchen bits and bobs now hanging from the piece we bought back in November, and which adds character to what was a rather bland kitchen.  The clock with butterflies on is one we bought on eBay, and cheers a blank wall up. The windows next to it let light in from the Utility and there's another set to the right of the dresser below, lighting the stairs.

    The white dresser came with us (though I did try to sell it to antique dealer friends).  I have cut right back on the china on the shelves (yes, really!) although some random bits have gone on the top temporarily and will be rearranged/changed when I have time.   I made room for Tam's cookery books whilst mine are in the Library next door.  The dresser needs repainting - probably white, and in a satin finish rather than the chalk paint used before.

    The blue paint on the walls will probably be yellow when we redecorate and we are looking at Moroccan style blue and white tiles for when the old kitchen is ripped out and the new one installed.  Not for a while yet - the bathroom will be done first.

Next to the dresser is my little poker-work cupboard with the small bits of Torquay pottery on it.

    Finally, this is the Guest Bedroom, with its lovely big window, facing south.  The corner basin is there because there is an en-suite with an elderly shower one end and even more elderly toilet the other and no basin.  We put the mirror up so Keith had somewhere to shave (the vendor took the cabinet in the main bathroom with her).  I have been looking a smaller modern corner basins for starters. . .

    Yesterday we got an old mirror of ours up in the main bedroom and altered the position of the loo roll holder which was obviously put there by a man (with an eye to where he would be standing - I shall say no more!)  The one in the en-suite is even worse, as it is on the back wall BEHIND the toilet!)  That will be changed soonest.

    Anyway, I was going through a HUGE suitcase of curtains yesterday - many of which are hopeless for the big windows here - but these old William Morris Golden Lily ones fitted.  Slightly faded on one edge, they do at least dress the window.  We have measured up the wall beneath the dado-rail for matching William Morris wallpaper (and more than winced at the price per roll - ye Gods!) I think we will go for it though as we only need 2 rolls.  Only.  It's a mortgage job to buy just ONE!

    Talking of curtains, I also ordered a pair for the living room last night - from Dunelm, which offers a choice of reasonably-priced curtains.  The French Windows take a BIG curtain and these cost £130, but the alternative is to buy material and make them up and I don't have time for curtain-making at the moment.  The temporary curtains (pale blue) will get put up at another window - hah, probably in the pink bedroom for the moment, but just as a temporary measure.  Easier hanging them than storing them right now! Tam and I liked these when we saw them in store last year, and they have an Arts and Crafts look.

    Lots of little jobs to be done - mending the door between the kitchen and the stairs is first on today's list, as the cats come and go up there at night and we had Alfie banging doors (his speciality) and then he jumped up and opened our bedroom door and spent the night on our bed (Keith not best-pleased but it was at least quieter!)  Several doors up there are on push-ball fastenings rather than with handles.  He has obviously worked this one out for himself!

    Now I had best to some ironing (have a mountain of it) and it will warm me up too.  I have got a bit cold just sitting - I am normally on the move lots.  A lovely day out there with lots of blue sky.  May go for a walk later.