What's-Making-Me-Smile Wednesday

It's official!  In an attempt to get back on board with this blogging lark, I am now officially addicted to coming up with alliterative titles!  So as I missed out on Lakota's 'Ta-Dah Tuesday' by doing my 'Tuesday Try-Out' I had to come up with a fitting title for my intended post on our (so very nearly finished) bedroom.

But make me smile it does, every time I go in there.

There are no before photos.  Imagine grubby grey carpet, peach walls, cast-aside clothing and clutter and you'll not be far from the mark.  

But here it is now - shall I take you on a guided tour?

 

The wardrobe doors have had a lick of paint now.  When I started with the Annie Sloan 'Pure' last Tuesday, I almost immediately regretted it.  Maybe the 'orange' doors...

...weren't so bad after all, I thought, about two hours into the job and only about a quarter of the way through the first coat (which was clearly not going to be the last).

But I persevered, and although they are still short of a top coat, I do think that it was worth the effort (even if my wrist is still complaining about the task, a week later).

To the right as you go in is the bookshelf.

Wall colour - Calico from Wickes

I have tried to cut down on clutter by selecting just three things to have on its top...

...shoe stretchers I bought from Trixie of 'The Vintage Bothy', a tiny bobbin keeper from a vide-grenier a few years back, and a tin I acquired this summer at, needless to say, another vide-grenier.

Further over, I now have a mirror with a frame on it, which I got for a mere £15 at the charity shop where I volunteer.

Beside the bookshelves I have placed my wedding shoes.  Seemed silly to have them in a Tesco bag in the top of the wardrobe.

At the end of the bed is my chest of drawers, which was the first piece of furniture I ever bought.  It used to have lots of bits and pieces on it, but again I have tried to have less out.  

Mr U-t-B and I found the ewer and basin at a sale at Farnham's United Reformed Church.  It's probably not to everyone's taste, so it was going cheap, but it looks perfect next to the black and brass of the bedstead.

Beneath the chest of drawers is a little bit more unfinished-ness.  When we took the carpet up, we discovered that there were some Victorian tiles where the hearth would have been.  They had been painted over thickly with quarry-tile-red paint and most are in pieces, but three have survived whole and several others are more than half complete, so we will use these at the edge of the hearth, which shows as the chest of drawers is narrower. We just haven't got round to doing it yet.

 The bed, ah, the bed! 
I have always wanted an iron bed (must be the influence of 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks') and now I have one!  I had planned on getting plain white bedding from 'The White Company' but the set I wanted (Limousin) has been discontinued.  So the much cheaper Ikea bedding 'Birgit', which is lovely fine, 100% cotton, will do.  

Wallpaper - 'Pelham' by Sanderson in Ivory and Linen from John Lewis

I wanted to inject a bit of colour into the neutral scheme, and had been pondering the 'Heidi' quilt from 'Forever England' all summer, before finally succumbing to its charms last Monday.  It arrived the very next day - great service.

It is actually a single bedspread but it is really huge, enough to deliver an extra 2.5 tog when we need it (there's no heating in our bedroom, by choice, but sometimes you need that extra layer!)...

...and it is made up of some of my favourite types of fabric - checks, toiles, textured plains, florals, and velvet...

...with bits of appliqué...

...and a toile reverse...

Snuggly!

The other side of the bed is the alcove which I previously showed, Mr U-t-B's little chest of drawers, a laundry basket, and the magnificently-restored-to-their-former-glory sash windows!

We're short of curtains.  I have decided on the fabric, but need to measure up and order it.  With my teaching for the term beginning next week and continuing till mid-November, we may be watching the trees change colour as we wake each morning till they are bare!

It goes without saying that we didn't expect the job to take as long as it did, but, that said, we know we have done things 'properly' which will make decorating and upkeep easier in future.  

Mr U-t-B has already noticed a marked difference in his ability to wake up in the morning - so getting rid of the carpet seems to have had the desired effect on his dust allergy.  If it continues to improve, the tables might be reversed and he might start bringing me a cup of tea in bed each morning!

But probably the best thing for me is that I now have a decent sized wardrobe, with the rail going all the way across it, plus a drawer section and some sturdy boxes, all magnificently well-organised, a novel situation for me.  I may yet find a hitherto undiscovered interest in fashion and carefully planned outfits (but most likely I will stay as  lackadaisical as ever on this front!)