Sunday 24 November 2013

Long way round

So I haven't been able to spend time on the blog as I have moved house into a temporary place as our second attempted house purchase has fallen through. On to buying our third!

Via a trip to New York we have been mad busy. But lots of exciting blogs to come and so many new ideas up my sleeve.

Watch this space!

Monday 14 October 2013

Dream kitchen ...the research starts!

Okay, it's a bit premature but I am indulging myself by researching ideas for our kitchen.
As real foodies my other half and I get so much joy out of cooking and we would love a space that we could while away the hours in. The thought of having a space that would be exactly what we want is very exciting indeed.

Research time!

First port of call was Pinterest where there is an incredible amount of inspiration,  check out my Pinterest 'kitchen' page for idea of what I am thinking (hopefully you will find it inspiring too) in the meantime here's a screen shot of the page.

Inspiring or what?



Then I sat back and enjoyed an old fashioned method of research - magazines! I love, love, love Living Etc. Its a fabulous magazine packed full of wonderful houses and fab ideas. And ok I admit I am over organised and I used colour coded post-it notes for ideas!! My magazines are well thumbed with sticky notes all over!

After seeing an advert in a magazine I sent of for the Fired Earth Kitchen catalogue...yummy! Fired Earth was founded in 1983 in an Oxfordshire barn and began as a specialist Terracotta supplier. Over the last few years they have added a stunning collection of bathrooms, beautifully crafted kitchens and a carefully researched paint palette. Fab!  Click Here for their website. They also have some lovely paints .....hopefully something we will get to use in our new house!


Lovely kitchen catalogue! 

Sunday 6 October 2013

The Art of not losing it!

We are in the middle of moving house.
I say middle as we have just about sold ours, a beautifully 1880's terrace. But we were gauzumped on the property we were buying.
Initially I was heart broken but it made us reevaluate what we wanted in a house and we eventually realised that a 'project' could be the best option for us.

After looking at all the remaining houses on the market we went to see the house that was last on our list, a terrace currently in flats.
Well something happened when we walked through those doors and the untapped potential jumped out at us straight away.

After a sleepless weekend and countless conversations we decided to put an offer in. Eventually a couple of hours and numerous phone calls later we agreed a price.

So where are we now? Well playing the waiting game. We need the house to pass its survey without too many issues. In the meantime I am researching, learning and gathering as much information about renovation as possible.

So have I learnt the art of not losing it? Nearly, would be the answer but I now understand why they say buying a house can be the most stressful time of your life.

Watch this space who knows what will happen next!

Wednesday 18 September 2013

The Sledmere Carboot

This Sunday I attended my first Carboot as a seller. Though this was not for selling anything I had made or created I still was very nervous and excited.

The 6am alarm, grey blustery skies and bleary eyes did not quash the excitement! Though the increasing wind speed was something of a worry, great British weather hey?!

The Carboot that I attend was at Sledmere Hall a beautiful stately home in East Yorkshire. This particular Carboot is renowned for attracting discerning clientele, hence why I packed up all ,y better things that I know longer wanted!

My mum, sister and I shared a stall and with the help of some bunting, floral oil cloth and a good eye we created a rather smart looking stall.


Super fun was had by all and tempting though it was I didn't not purchase anything and not only that I made a nice amount to put into savings! In fact I enjoyed it so much I am already planning my next one, maybe at this one I will dare to sell something I've made! 

Friday 13 September 2013

The wonderful world of twitter.....

Since I have set up a twitter account linked to the blog a whole new world has been opened up for me! There are some seriously amazing shops, crafters, magazine editors and collectors out there.

Twitter allows you to not only find out who is doing similar things near by to you but also contact with others from around the world!

It's also great to see what people are creating and what trends are coming up.


One of my favourite things I found on twitter this week was this lovely blog  Sprouts House 

I'm currently following over 845 amazing people who are inspiring me every day and creating an online creative hub for me to link into

Thanks twitter!

Wednesday 4 September 2013

Project chair part 2

The lovely wooden chair that I acquired is now fully painted but not yet waxed. I absolutely love the Aubusson Blue as a paint colour and am hoping that some old mustard yellow curtains that I have will make for an excellent seat. Though I am still undecided on which fabric to use, something yellow or with yellow within it would be my first choice. 


I am considering not distressing this as I love the finish and think that the matt, fresh will look great! So once I finally decide whether or not to go with the mustard yellow the chair will be finished.

Quickest Upcycle ever!

This candle is a fixture on our dining room table and makes for a rather romantic atmosphere when lit. It looks great but also is the easiest upcycle ever and looks better with age as the candle drips down the bottle.

I would recommend using the coolest looking bottles you have. I love this one as it reminds me of our Californian road trip.

Happy Upcyling!






Monday 2 September 2013

Vintage finds in Glasgow

Trips to city's are never the same once one has caught the up cycling bug. Or if you have a passion for antiques and vintage.

This weekends trip to Glasgow to visit friends was mostly spent chatting and catching up but Saturday afternoon allowed some time for seeing what hidden gems could be found in the city!

Due to lack of space in the car and high prices nothing was purchased but I did get lots of ideas.

Here are a couple of photos of the places and things we found!





Glasgow is a fab city but no luck this weekend on my mission to find bargains!

Tuesday 27 August 2013

Project Chair

My test run with the chalk paint went quite well, the stool is nearly done but I am still not 100% happy with it. Before I put the final photos up I am going to try a couple of other things out. In the mean time I'm starting on my next project.

I've had this chair in my garage for the past couple of years. It's a lovely shaped chair but it had some awful fabric on that I ripped off months ago.

So this is what it looks like now.....



I've decided to paint the chair in the Annie Sloan Aubusson blue,  this should go really well with some floral printed fabric that I picked up at the Hull vintage fair in spring.

It will be the first chair I've reupholstered so its going to be something of a learning curve!

Watch this space as this is what Hattie is doing next.

Saturday 24 August 2013

Oh Annie

My mission to do my next house up as cheaply as possible has lead me to upcycling furniture.

I've been a woman on a mission searching for pieces of furniture for as little of possible and I now have a growing collection of mismatched and unloved pieces all in need of some TLC!.

This is where the wonderful Annie Sloan comes in, she has produced the wonderful chalk paint that I am going to use to spruce up the furniture!


Chalk Paint is a unique decorative paint developed by Annie Sloan in 30 decorative and historical colours made specifically for painting furniture, painting floors, and for giving walls a completely matt, velvety finish.Chalk Paint  sticks to just about any surface... wood, concrete, metal, matt plastic, earthenware and much more, inside and outside the home. 

I'm looking forward to seeing what I can create and improve with this wonderful paint! 



The first colours I've invested in are English Yellow and Aubusson Blue. 


On the Annie Sloan website there is a little write up for each colour: 


The colour is named and designed after the beautiful deep grey blue found on the classic 18th and 19th century Aubusson rugs from France. It is an elegant colour that works well with many colours as it is a dark neutral but in particular it works with Paris Grey . It is also a colour found in Scandinavian painted furniture 

So this is the stool just after I started painting, it's incredibly easy using this paint. It goes straight onto the wood, no sanding or primer!! Amazing!  


First stages ........

  











The other rooms...

Our little house has two bedrooms. The master bedroom was the first room that I decorated when I first moved in 4 years ago. This room has a natural theme with leaf patterned curtains and butterfly cushions.



Last year we decided to add a bit of colour to the spare room. I'm not a huge fan of too much colour on the walls as I often find the furniture, accessories and wall art give your room all the colour it needs.
We went for a fresh green colour,  which luckily the paisley duvet set that I had found in a sale, matched really well!




Photos by Oliver Hudson

Wednesday 21 August 2013

Learning from other bloggers

The web is incredible, there is so much out there! I've been learning about blogging through blogs that are solely set up for that very purpose! I am also spending lots of time reading other blogs similar to what I hope this can become and that's amazingly useful.


Here are some blogs that I think are great and well made

1. The House That Lars Built

This blog is seriously yummy! Brittany Watson Jepsen has a great eye for style and has some beautifully creative ideas. This girl knows her florals and her paper flowers are stunning. 

2. And then we saved

'Saving where we can, so we can spend where we want'
This blog is packed full of money saving tips and ideas to make your money go further. I love the design of this blog and the colours and graphics that the use! Informative and inspirational.

3. Heart Handmade UK

This blog started in 2010 by Claire Donovan. The blog is packed with craft inspiration, interior design inspiration and fun projects that you can get involved with. The sherbet colours and beautiful photographs make this an utterly delightful blog and its great to get inspiration from a UK blogger!

4. Life In Eight

Gaby describes herself as an obsessed, compulsive and fearless DIYer! This blog is full of clean lines and great ideas.

5. Love Chic Living

Created by Jen Stanbrook this blog is seriously packed with tonnes of great ideas. There is a great variety on the blog and lots of affordable ideas, something important to me.

I think that I will be adding many more blogs to this list. Now, though I need to get reading!

Freecycle

Nothing in life is free - or maybe it is?

I have recently joined my local freecycle and everything is free!

Freecycle is a grassroots movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns. Freecycle groups match people who have things they want to get rid of with people who can use them. Their goal is to keep usable items out of landfills and what a great idea that is! By using what we already have on this earth, we reduce consumerism, manufacture fewer goods, and lessen the impact on the earth. A win, win situation!

If you want to know more then click here.

I am receiving daily emails from my local Hull group with what is on offer. You can also put wanted requests on there, in the hope that someone, somewhere has what you need. Many people may think its junk and not realise its something that someone else needs!

I will upload anything I get from freecycle, I have my fingers crossed for a big old dining table!

Tuesday 20 August 2013

The BIG Move

So our little house is on the market and we are planning on moving to a bigger place.
Prepping our home for sale led to a debate between myself and my other half over the bathroom. It was not a place that you would want to spend much time in and that's something I love to do! Our debate was around how much we should do to spruce the bathroom up. Not to gloat but my debating skills were a little better than my OH's and we decided to completely redo the tiles, paint and replace the bath and hand basin.

I love greys so we wanted to include that and during a rummage around one of our favourite shops (tkmaxx) my OH unearthed a lovely grey mirror and we matched the paint for the bath side to the colour of the mirror.

I really love the addition of a big plant in a bathroom and its a great final finishing touch.


Photo courtesy of Oliver Hudson 



Monday 19 August 2013

Here are a couple of photos from my current home. Most things were either free ( like the coffee table) or very cheap like the red sofa that was third hand bought for £50 from my little sister!

I really enjoyed doing the house up and have learnt so much on the way. The biggest lesson I've learnt is that money doesn't guarantee style and in fact lack of money often means that you're more creative!







Dining Area 
Photo credit: Oliver Hudson

Sunday 18 August 2013

The £3 charity shop bargain!

This bargain piece of furniture was found at a local charity shop reduced from £10 to a tiny £3! I think it has tonnes of potential! I may paint all of it or some of it, I've yet to decided but a neon pink top is appealing to me at the moment! 



Starting a blog

As a recent convert to Pinterst I have been amazed and inspired by the blogs that are out there. They are creative hubs of ideas and information.
This got me thinking was this something I could do?
Could a blog be a collection point of all my ideas and thoughts? Something of a creative brain drain.
We are currently in the process of selling our starter home and move up to a bigger house where I am planning to do it up on a shoestring!
So this blog will track that and how it devlops as well as food, bicycles, travel and style. All my favourite yummy things all in one place.
Hopefully other people will find things interesting and inspiring and that there is space in the blogosphere for one more blog!

Hattie x