So, I’ve been in my new house for about ten days now and I’m just about beginning to feel more comfortable. It’s strange, I’ve never liked change and always feel out of sorts for a while. Apparently on the day we moved house when I was about six I spent the whole day throwing up, so I guess its ingrained in me. Thankfully that didn’t happen this time and actually the day itself went very smoothly. It broke my heart locking the door to my old house for the last time and saying goodbye to my lovely neighbours but once I was in the car, and heading to my new life, the tears dried and I focused my mind on the future.
The new house was built some time around 1800 and was originally a railway cottage that consisted of only the lounge and the main bedroom. It’s really strange to think that probably an entire family lived in just those two rooms and yet I’m finding it tiny compared to the old place!
It was extended out the back to incorporate a large kitchen diner, a bathroom and two extra bedrooms but the only original feature left in the original part is the old fireplace downstairs. I’ve put my electric ‘wood’ burner in there for now but it needs re-grouting because the bricks are really loose.
The mirror above is one I picked up in a shop in Bristol and, although I love the size of it, it really doesn’t fit in with how I want to decorate the room. It’s going to have an eclectic mix of Art Deco and Mid-Century Modern colours and pieces and yet, the mirror just looks like any other modern mirror. If anyone has any suggestions of what I can do with it I’d be very grateful as I’m struggling at the moment.
The banister on the stairs has all been hand carved and the newel post at the bottom has this gorgeous hand carved cat sat on top of it. I have been told it looks rather creepy in this photo but I think it’s really sweet and certainly was one of the things I fell in love with when I first looked around.
I’ve managed to get my music area set up under the stairs and am so pleased that I can now show this off to people as it was stuck up in the attic room of my old place. You can see my Dad’s old Hacker Grenadier GP45 record player, my 1960s Regentone radio which I picked up at the Shepton Mallet Flea Market, my His Master’s Voice gramophone, which is in desperate need of a service but I can’t seem to find anyone down south and, of course, my modern CD, radio and iPod stereo. I also have all the records I bought when I was a teenager plus some that I’ve picked up in charity shops more recently. There’s also my Dad’s 45s from the 50s and 60s which he used to get given by the local cafe once they removed them from their jukebox and a small collection of gramophone records.
The smallest bedroom is currently full of boxes I haven’t yet unpacked and all the stuff that is to go up into the loft such as Christmas decorations. I can’t put anything up there yet as the electrician needs to sort out the extractor fan in the bathroom first. It’s currently just extracting all the air up into the attic space which of course is just going to make everything damp.
Once this is done I can clear this room and turn it into a walk-in wardrobe and office space. This is a dream for me and something I just suddenly decided on whilst we were looking at other properties. It’s going to have swathes of silk fabric at the window and velvet on the seating. I’m on the hunt for a 1960s kidney shaped dressing table to use as the desk and a vintage tailors dummy to sit in the corner.
This rather bizarre corner of the main bedroom is over the stairwell and the previous owners just used it as a dumping ground. I really want to make use of this peculiar nook and am half thinking about making it into a dressing table area by replacing the worktop with something more glamorous like a mirrored surface and then having a couple of shelves, a vintage mirror and lots of beauty knick-knacks, vintage of course, dotted about. Any other suggestions for this area will be greatly received!
There are loads of other things I want to do, including ripping the kitchen out and putting in a more cottage style one. The one that is there at the moment is very modern looking and not to my taste at all and, the more I use it, the more I realise it’s actually not that well made. So it’s got to go!
The bathroom also needs vamping up. Currently it’s plain white everywhere and absolutely no storage to speak of. The previous owner was quite a masculine lady and I don’t think she really ever went for the whole girly thing like me and definitely didn’t have as many beauty products as me!
There’s a lot to do and I am going to to try to buy vintage, second hand or hand-made as much as possible but things like a walk-in wardrobe will have to be bought from a certain Swedish home store. I know, I should be ashamed of myself.
*Skulks away to hide in a corner*
Have you got a British Heart Foundation furniture shop near you? I’m lucky, in my town (Trowbridge) we have both BHF and a local hospice furniture shop, so there are lots of cheap retro items to be had. You might have something similar in your town.
Turning that bit of stairwell into a vanity table is a great idea! With so much room, you could get a really nice glass dressing table set to go in there.
The closest BHF is in Swindon so I may have to venture in there some time. There are quite a few charity shops here which I am yet to explore because everything closes at lunchtime on a Saturday and then doesn’t open again until the Monday. It’s like living in the 1950s!
You could pile vintage suitcases on the stair top nook. Great storage for scarves, jumpers etc. Add luggage labels so you know what’s in each case.
That’s a great idea, thanks!