A Lighter Shade of Blue

We've just finished redecorating our bedroom. When we first moved into the house, it looked like this....

Walls - note "grid effect" and picture rail

"Shower cubicle" and cupboard frames

Eeeeekkks!!!

We quickly stripped the pointless (and crooked) picture rails, trashed that dodgy blind, got my dad to make some cupboard doors (the previous owner just had some half-arsed bamboo rollerblinds acting as doors on the frame) and obliterated the walls (coated with some weird varnish-on-paint effort no doubt inspired by "10 Minute Makeover") and everything else with emulsion.

The room was liveable after all that....but we were never really happy with the colour and the finish. It was a couple of shades darker than we'd planned, plus the previous owner had used some weird stain (I suspect kreosote) on the cupboard frames, that soon leeched through the paint we'd used and stained the surrounding areas a nasty, dirty-yellow. Unwisely, we'd painted all the cupboards and doors and well as skirtings with the same emulsion we'd used on the walls....not a good idea, as emulsion is not tough enough to stand the abuse these areas of the room tend to experience, and the paint was soon chipped and damaged. Then earlier this year, we replaced all the radiators in the house, which left the front wall of the bedroom looking patchy and in desperate need of redecoration.

We decided to remove the shower cubicle as we never use the shower (it's piddling and badly plumbed and most likely the source of the stain in the lounge ceiling below that took a lot of paint to hide)...and converted the space into a much-needed storage cupboard.

The walls have been repainted with "Alfresco Sky" silk, with gloss white for the cupboards, doors and skirting.

Light My Fire

I've always hated our 1970s gas-radiator-in-a-wooden-box fireplace but didn't think we would ever get round to getting it replaced. However, spurred on by the recent radical transformation of our hallway and stairs, I decided earlier this year that the time had come to give the awful contraption the hoof. First step was finding a reliable gas fireplace fitter...this being the UK, this means you have to have a Gas-Safe (previously Corgi) registered dude... here's where HandyMan stepped in to recommend a friend, which took half the stress out of the process. GasMan promptly came round, inspected the offending article and immediately disconnected it as it was ever-so-slowly leaking gas into our lounge....not a comforting thought! Armed with the knowledge imparted by our trusty GasMan, I then spent many hours on the internet researching our options and getting to grips with the techno speak. We'd decided early on that we'd prefer a gas stove, and had priced several attractive cast iron models... but did you know that this would also entail investing in a rear closure plate and spigot extension? Ha...

Before - note the "lovely" wall paint details

After - steel closure plate to be painted black

Before and After

B and I are gradually overhauling our house.... it's a 1970 semi-detached, 3-bedroom house, previously owned by a lady who can only be described as "a right bodger". We think she must have been a fan of the "10-minute makeover" type of TV show as no room escaped her clumsy, "half-arsed" attempts to redecorate. It's taken us the best part of the past 4 years to eradicate her bunglings by stripping peeling wallpaper, painting over dark, dingy colours, replacing badly laid laminate flooring with wool carpets and refurbishing the bathroom. Realising our own limitations on the DIY front, we've recently enlisted the help of a local handyman, who's great at woodworking and "generally making good". With his help, we've overhauled our hallway and stairs - I think the pictures speak for themselves:

Stairs - before

Stairs - after

Upstairs landing - before

Upstairs landing - after

Stairs - before

Stairs - after