Sorry not to have posted for a while, but Georgia Willow arrived on the 10th September and has been keeping us rather busy ever since. I will be back as soon as possible but in the meantime here's a picture of our new addition.
Before we started the build, I spent hours trying to persuade the architect that it was a good idea to knock through the back wall of the house into the kitchen, and I am so glad I did. It was an expensive job, costing about £4k alone but it has totally made the room. Jago now has somewhere comfortable to play, all his toys are put away in the built in storage and my husband and I have somewhere comfortable in our living space to sit and have a coffee and possibly even read a newspaper on occasion! I used to spend hours sitting on a hard wooden floor in my old kitchen so to have this space, with the steps down into the kitchen has proved a godsend.
From this... the kitchen before
To this...
To this...
To this...
To this...
To this...
To this...
From this...The playroom before...
The view from the garden back through the kitchen to the playroom
Pig picture, family hand-me-down, side table, Lots Road Auctions, lotsroad.com, light, The White Company, thewhitecompany.com, seashell coasters, John Lewis, johnlewis.com, pictures cut from an art book, frames from Ikea, as before
Otto chaise sofa, sofa.com, cushions, sofa.com and The White Company, as before, mirror, Lots Road Auctions, ink splodge painting, Allposters.co.uk, wall clock, John Lewis, as before
Entertainment unit built by builders, all toys in cupboards underneath, letter tray, Cox & Cox, coxandcox.co.uk, Mr & Mrs Freud light box, a wedding gift from auntie and uncle, from notonthehighstreet.com, blue baskets, from a selection, Zara Home, zarahome.com
Photographs from a street stall in New York, frames from Ikea, as before
Photographs as before
Bar chairs, Overstock.com,
Shaker style kitchen from Magnet, painted in Farrow & Ball colour-matched Cornforth White, kitchen island painted in Farrow & Ball colour-matched Purbeck Stone, cup handles and knobs from Trade Handles, tradehandles.co.uk, worktops in Lyra Silestone from Klynstone, klynstone.com, pendant lights from Holloways of Ludlow, hollowaysofludlow.com, white tray from Zara Home, as before, blue fruit basket, John Lewis, as before, orchid pots, India Jane, indiajane.co.uk, LOVE sign, notonthehigstreet.com
The wall of fame (or shame)... as soon as this was up it felt like home! Pictures printed off on photo paper, frames from Ikea, as before
Utensils pot, India Jane as before, tea caddies, India Jane as before, sugar pot and butter dish and oven gloves, Emma Bridgewater, emmabridgewater.co.uk
Kitchen table and chairs, Lots Road Auctions, as before, wooden flooring, Karndean, karndean.com,
From this...
To this... wallpaper Osborne & Little, osborneandlittle.com, pictures, old postcards, frames from Ikea, ikea.com, white hand towels, Debenhams, debenhams.com
When we decided to divide the reception room into a cosy grown up sitting room and a separate playroom leading to the kitchen, we weren't sure how much use the grown up space would get. But it's actually proved a huge success, and a welcome refuge in the evenings with its fireplace, squidgy sofas and huge footstall. The pictures below don't do it justice, but will give you an idea.
From this...
To this...
To this... Accessorized by a sleeping toddler.
Sofa, footstall and ikat cushions, sofa.com, other cushions, The White Company, thewhitecompany.com, picture painted by my talented sister-in-law Martha Freud
Wooden and porcelain tealight holders, notonthehighstreet.com, silver bowl with lavender, Asprey, asprey.com, wooden horse bought from an interiors shop in Valbonne, France, shelves built by builders.
Sofa, sofa.com, cushions as before, mirror from Lots Road Auctions, lotsroad.com
Frames from Ikea, ikea.com, John Lewis, johnlewis.com and India Jane, indiajane.com, box files from Laura Ashley, lauraashley.com
I
I designed the TV unit myself as didn't love the look of a TV over the fireplace... my builders made some panelling for me and I bought John Lewis lights, johnlewis.com, fireplace from Stonewoods, stonewoods.com, candle holders from an antiques market in Norfolk
Window seat made by builders, cushions as before, shutters from April Blinds, aprilblinds.com
Despite the builders surprising me with a return visit this morning, it is such a joy to be able to enjoy some peace and quiet in the new house before our imminent arrival. Our bedroom in particular has a lovely calm feel to it, in part due to the neutral palette and the way it floods with natural daylight through the bay window. I have also attached pictures of our en-suite, one of the rooms I was most worried about. After a wonderful night at The Savoy I had decided to try to recreate their hotel bathroom on a budget but until they grouted the tiles I was worried I had made a terrible mistake and that the whole room looked cheap and naff. Now I am thrilled, it feels very simple, sophisticated and tranquil.
From this...Not a lot of work needed, but all windows needed TLC, new wardrobes were made and fitted and a lick of Farrow & Ball Ammonite perfectly offset the white ceiling detailing.
To this..
To this...Landscape pictures, charity shop find, large gold mirror, Graham & Green, grahamandgreen.co.uk
Curtains a wedding present using fabric from Nicole Fabre Designs, nicolefabredesigns.com, desk from Lots Road, chair from Lots Road, picture frames from India Jane, indiajane.co.uk
Round mirror from Graham & Green, as before, bed from a Norfolk antiques market, bedspread from Laura Ashley, lauraashley.com, white cushions from a selection at Zara Home, zarahome.com, bedside tables, Graham & Green as before, bedside lights, Lots Road
Chest of drawers, Laura Ashley as before, dressing table mirror, Graham & Green as before, mirrored bird hooks, Graham & Green, mannequin, a gift, coral jewellery holder bought from a boutique in Barbados
From this... a large en suite divided into dressing room and smaller en suite
To this... chimney breast removed and dividing wall put in
To this...Wall tiles, Tile Mountain, tilemountain.co.uk
Bath Mat, John Lewis, johnlewis.com, parquet flooring, Karndean, karndean.com
Bathroom unit, made by builder, orchid pot, India Jane, indiajane.com, lights, John Lewis, as before, hand towels, John Lewis, as before
Just five days before my due date, the builders have finally moved out, and much as I grew find of them over the months, to have the new house to ourselves is total bliss. It's not completely finished, and there is a snagging list as long as my leg, but I can sit back and finally relax. It's been two of the most exhausting weeks of my life, as the removal men couldn't help us unpack and my husband had to head back to work, it's pretty much been a solo effort with a wonderful builder to help me put up pictures and my wonderful mother looking after Jago. I'll give you the grand tour over the next few days, starting with my son Jago's bedroom and the spare room. I hope you like.
The calm before the storm in Jago's room
The chimney breast was removed, and struts put in place to support the very old roof whilst the loft conversion was done.
Framed original Peter Rabbit print, a gift from auntie Pidge, Jago's footprints at five months, Sammy Duder, sammyduder.com
Jago name print a gift but find similar at notonthehighstreet.com, shelving unit from Great Little Trading Company including star storage boxes, white wicker basket, Debenhams, a selection of toys including those from Jellycat and Pirate pillows from Gisela Graham, giselagraham.co.uk
Toddler bed from John Lewis, blue and white throw and red life boat ring from The Little White Company, thewhitecompany.com, bedside table from Gisela Graham, as before, horse felt rug, sewheartfelt.co.uk
Ikea castle tent, a bargain at £12, ikea.com
Jago wooden clown letters, and an elephant cut out from some very expensive wallpaper I could only afford a sample of...
The Little White Company light house light, GLTC storage unit, various toys, owl picture painted by my very talented artist cousin Lilly Palmer
Spare room just after it was built, twelve week wait for the windows!
Bedspread The White Company, as before, white bedding The White Company, pillows made from Cabbages and Roses fabric, cabbagesandroses.com, bed from sofa.com, bedside table, Graham & Green, grahamandgreen.co.uk, bedside light, John Lewis, art work hand-me-downs
As before, and curtains Cabbages and Roses as before.
It has been a quiet week on the blog front due to the fact we moved into the new house and don't have internet until the weekend - I also have not left new house, in a desperate bid to try and create some sort of home for my family having moved in to a total bombsite! We were reassured again and again by the builders that it would be 98% ready but unfortunately that proved to be pretty far from the mark. The day before we were due to move I went to the house and took myself off to a quiet room for a good sob before working out some sort of strategy with the builders and removal men of how to actually get everything in.
We ended up putting almost all the boxes in the kitchen and working from there, but because we hadn't gauged what a terrible state the house would be in, we only packed an overnight bag so had no idea where food, bedding and so on was amongst the 80 or so boxes! The first night was spent in a hotel, my son stayed with my mother in the countryside and the next day my husband and I came back and cracked on. And so it has been for the last week! The kitchen should be up and running by tomorrow, we finally have hot water and electricity in every room and it is all starting to come together rather beautifully. I have been looking at the same swatches of fabric for the curtains and upholstery I have chosen for the past five months so it's lovely to seem them all almost in situ and how they work together (which is ok thankfully, I don't trust my judgement so much when I am pregnant!). And on that note, my advice to anyone would be, don't move house a month before you are due, especially not into a building site!
A little taster of what we have chosen... ammonite for the walls, cornforth white for the kitchen units and purbeck stone for the kitchen island. A feast of greys but so soothing especially in times of stress!
My much pawed fabric and wallpaper swatches from Osborne & Little, Ian Mankin, Sofa.com and Roger Oates. More pictures to follow asap.
As we haven't even exchanged on our house and are set to move into the new place on Thursday morning, I have retreated to the countryside to escape from it all at my mother's cottage in West Sussex. I'll head back on Wednesday night before the big day, when, at eight months pregnant I am not sure how much help I will be, but it will be good to oversee the removals.
The new house seems so far from ready it's hard to imagine us being in there on Thursday but again my project manager (newly brought onto the job and a total godsend) has assured me it will be 98% finished by then.
The upstairs landing and stairs still need carpet - a friend is doing this for us and is very patiently coming back a third day for when the rooms are finally clear for him to complete the job. The bannisters they are staining and varnishing to match the original one that came with the house - they look pretty good considering they were only put in a matter of weeks ago.
Our new radiators have finally arrived - they are a little more rustic than I imagined but I love them and with a lick of white paint they will be just what I had wanted.
The parquet has been fitted in the en-suite bathroom, it looks fantastic considering it is Karndean and not wooden flooring at all. It's reassuring to see at least one of our bathrooms looks like it might be finished on time.
The kitchen units from Magnet have started to be fitted, and the people from Klynstone are coming to measure up for the worktops which will be fitted on Friday. The units need to be sanded and painted in Farrow & Ball colour-matched Cornforth White and Purbeck Stone for the island - it has been very hard to choose colours for the units without having a sample of the worktop so fingers crossed it works! New brushed chrome cup handles also need to be added to the units too.
Those clever people at Talking Tables have added a very jolly summer collection to their range of design-led party accessories. As now, alongside your paper plates and pom poms, party hats and favours you can now get these charming food stands for everything from pop corn to ice cream to guarantee your garden party goes with a bang.
Talking Tables Street Stalls, £16.50 www.talkingtables.co.uk 0207 627 6767
It seems extraordinary that in just nine days we will be moving into our new house, especially judging by the photos below! I arrived on site today and my builders looked very weary, with ten of them working twelve hour days to try to get the work done in time. We have been assured that 98% of the house will be finished in time, I just wish I shared their confidence!
The loft room - ready for the installation of the radiators, spot lights, dimmer switches and new carpet
The second loft bedroom - again new carpets, radiator, dimmer switches and spot lights
The shower door, toilet, wash basin, radiatior, floor tiles, spotlights and dimmer switches need to be fitted
The new stairs up to the loft extension awaiting carpet and the bannister to be stained and varnished
Jago's bedroom - the fitted wardrobes in their early stages
The en suite, with cheap and cheerful tiles from tilemountain.co.uk - now they have white grouting in they look fine, before that we were a little worried!
The nursery fitted wardrobes - the room also needs new carpet, spotlights, dimmer switches
The master bedroom - the fitted wardrobes awaiting drawers, shoe racks, rails and doors - the room needs carpets, dimmer switches, spotlights, and some serious attention to the bay window
The garden - we are having easigrass put down, and paving from Homebase - the builders have put in a low wall around the flower bed which will be painted white, and we are replacing the fence panels
If you're looking for something unique for your home look no further than New York-based lifestyle brand Jonathan Adler’s new Notting Hill boutique. Spread over 3,000 square feet, the double-fronted store on the corner of Portobello Road and Westbourne Grove, can't be missed. You'll find everything from home décor and furniture, rugs and tabletop collections to bedding, gifts and candles. And the ingenious Jonathan Adler gift bar which features a monthly rotation of inspired gift ideas for a variety of recipients and occasions.
Visit Jonathan Adler at 287-289 Westbourne Grove, London W11 2QA, for more information visit UK.JONATHANADLER.COM
