ENSUITE BATHROOM

BEFORE

(above) This is the bathroom as it was when we brought the house and before we changed it into an ensuite to the main bedroom.  What you're looking at is the north side of the house.

Our bedroom (main bedroom) is situated beside the right hand side wall. 

(above) Looking the other way.  The bathroom had a door in from the hall.  

There were two bathrooms in the house and funnily enough opposite each other. You can just see the other one through the door. We realised one of these bathrooms could be accessed from the main bedroom if we knocked a hole in the wall and add a door.  This would then make a great ensuite to our room.

(above) The bathroom was six stairs lower than the bedroom beside it.  This meant the existing ceiling needed to be removed and a new one (with lots of insulation) was added. You can see the ladder is stood up against the loft that we took out.

(above) The bathroom/ensuite is in the part of the house from the Regency period and probably built around 1840's. You can see the remains of a lathe and plaster ceiling, this was the traditional material for a period property of this age.  It was usually three coats of plaster onto timber lathes nailed or screwed to timber supports.

A bird's nest dangles from the ceiling.  I wonder how many years that was up there?

(above) Old floral wallpaper hidden behind the pine clad frame.

(above) This shows the original door into the bathroom/ensuite that was bricked up.

(above) This photo was taken standing on a platform looking south to where the original door was and now bricked up with grey breeze blocks.  The height of the ceiling would have been between the red bricks and where the plaster butted up too.

(above) Looking north again, the wall has been knocked through from our bedroom and the platform for the staircase has been installed.  The two windows on the left have been removed and plaster board has been added on the walls.

(above) This photo was taken in the same position looking down onto what will be the walk-in shower. It shows the glass frame in position, the drain, first fix for pipes, plaster board added and recess shelf.

AFTER

 

The simple glass screen is secured into the floor; shower head and hose installed. The tiles around the shower and on the floor are tumbled marble.  They look more grey than in this photo - I will have to update with new ones. The remaining floor was raised allowing all drainage to be hidden underneath and a reclaimed wooden floor fitted then painted white.  

After much debate - should we have a reclaimed enamel bath or not - we chose an acrylic one with ball and claw feet, which made it easier to match to the white on the enameled toilet and sink.

This room has gone from a dark, cold and uninviting space to a light, airy room that is a pleasure to go into each day.

CLOCKS GO FORWARD

In the UK, the clocks go forward 1 hour at 1am on the last Sunday in March. That's this weekend.......yeah!

This means more daylight in the evenings and a longer day.  

Daffodils from the orchard.......have a happy weekend.

FLOWERS FROM A FRIEND

A friend popped round today and brought us these gorgeous flowers.  They are in the kitchen on the trunk that sits with our white tub chairs.  

Thank you kind friend for adding this pop of colour to the room.

HERB POT

My very clever sister makes handmade pottery pots.  She was very kind to let us have this beauty....

It's sitting on the kitchen window sill with some gorgeous fresh basil in it.  I love the simple, rustic feel to the pot; the natural colour as well.

Have a happy weekend.

BLACK PENDANT LIGHTS FOR THE DINING ROOM

We're turning to the dark side........

and going blacker in the dining room.  

After buying nine chairs for the dining room at the local auction a few months ago, we've now restored them with black paint and upholstered the seats with old grain sacks that have a coordinated black stripe running through the centre.  It made perfect sense to then add two black pendant lights above the table that the chairs were to sit at.

Returning from Swinderby Antiques Fair today, we were so lucky to have found the exact light fittings we were after. (above) These are the two rather lovely enameled black industrial lights, 'hot off the press' salvaged from France yesterday. With no time for cleaning, the sellers rushed them to sell today. 

The one on the left has been washed and scrubbed by myself.  It shows the black enamel which is in perfect condition. The one on the right shows the underside of the other light which once washed, reveals the white enamel. It also shows the original light fitting, which we will have to adapt to English electrical specifications.

(above) The underside of one of the lights, in the sink being washed and cleaned.

A top tip for cleaning these enamel lights and anything like them  ...... is to use Fairy Snow washing powder.  It has magical properties, that seems to shift any amount of dirt. I'm forever grateful to the friend who suggested using it in the first place.

I will update this post, when these lights are in position above the dining room table. Fingers crossed, that should be soon.

HALL TABLE

The hall table is finished and back in it's original place by the front door; sanded down and freshly painted. I'd been wanting to re-paint it for a long time but could never find the correct colour.  Luckily, a flick through Farrow & Ball's colour chart revealed 'Light Gray', the perfect mix of grey with beige.

above - The table before it was re-painted.  It was originally painted to fit with the theme in our previous house; a much lighter cream.  It shows the peeled paint on the top which was damaged by over watering a plant.

FLOWERS IN THE ORCHARD

 

Our orchard is showing the first signs of life after the winter months.  A stunning carpet of white snowdrops mixed with yellow aconites (below).

 

Purple Cyclamen (above) and yellow crocus (below).  Soon there will be daffodils of all varieties in yellow and white.

APPLE TREE BLOSSOM

It's amazing how a few days of warm weather brings everything on.  The apple tree blossom in the orchard has begun to open.