Sunday 21 May 2017

IT'S SUNDAY SO LETS CHAT

Well last Sunday I was having a lovely breakfast with doll friends before getting ready to have a few last photos and then get on the road home. The week's gone so fast!

Before I left we'd put the dresser in place and I'd wiped it down and started the process of transferring things from the wall cupboard onto the dresser. Then of course went off to the SCW and then it was not until I was off work again on Tuesday that I was able to continue emptying the cupboard and at the same time decide what I was going to keep.

Only a few things didn't make the new dresser. So here it is dressed :)


It is still a work in progress as they say! The two teapots I want to put on the very top but there is a lip. so we need to add a piece of wood to make it level.


It's so nice to be able to put out all my small jugs, mugs and cups by Emma Bridgewater.


I'm very pleased with the size although like anything I thought i'd have loads of room to store extra things in the cupboard but of course that was not the case!


It's just taken the glass and china from the wall board. However we may cut that cupboard in half and put it back to the side of the fridge freezer and then the glasses can go back into there and we'd then have some extra space between the two.



With the kitchen table with cloth.


Without the table cloth showing the Pine table and chairs match the dresser.




You may remember that I said I bought another item I'd always wanted at the same time as I bought the dresser.

It was another piece of old furniture which is no longer in fashion.


It was an old oak bureau. It was being sold by the same seller as the dresser, so I made an offer which was accepted and it only cost a couple of pounds extra for it to be delivered at the same time.



It's well made with some nice details and could be from the arts and crafts period.


Now if it was in perfect condition I would leave it as is but it's not, It's had some repairs and also the back panel's been added, it would have had a part panel probably from the top down to the desk area but a piece of timber's been added to one of the lower shelves and the back continued down.


I made Paul help me bring it inside before we went to the Sasha C Weekend as I didn't want anything happening to it, so at present it's filling up the hallway! I have no idea where I am going to put it! It was very much a too good to pass up purchase !


It's missing it's inner sections but that won't be hard for Paul to rebuild for me.  So because it's seen better days I'm going to up-cycle it but only slightly.

I'll make the outside as nice and original as it can be but I want to add a little style to the back panel.


 I'm going to add some William Morris wallpaper to the top of the panel here and also inside the cupboard. I'm trying to decide if I should stick to just one piece of wallpaper or use a patchwork of different WM wallpapers , what do you think?

Then once that's all been done, I need to find it a new home somewhere in the house or maybe in my Studio!

After a fabulous weekend at the SCW it was home to all the rainy weather, much needed for the garden but a little more wanted all at once. But between those showers, the sun shone and a warmth was felt! I always find this time of year gives me ideas ( I can hear you groaning Paul! ) and the need to start getting things done and changed etc.

Plus it's amazing how buying just one thing can have a big knock on effect! And that's whats happened with getting the dresser. All the china has now been moved and the cupboard emptied, so I finally looked for and found a fridge freezer I liked and ordered it.
It's due to arrive on Friday, now that sounds , oh nice but what it really means is ..... a big knock on effect.... the cupboard now needs to come off the wall, the worktop needs to be cut down,the cupboard next to where the ff will go may need to be moved over slightly , which has made me look at the area and decide we need to continue the paneling round the wall to the kitchen door ! And in truth the whole of the kitchen cupboards could do with repainting......Sorry !  did the door just slam?.... hold on...... ( Opens front door... Paul where you going? .... Paul.... ) Mmm now where was I ? Oh yes , the kitchen needing painting! It does but not until we finally decide when that wall's coming down.... see what I mean ..a big knock on effect all from the purchase of a longed for dresser..... But hey once it's all done it will be fabulous darling!! :))

The one big pain in all this is when you take down any brickwork/wall the dust and dirt gets everywhere! If someone could invent something that stopped that happening and contained it , they'd make a fortune!



So we've ( that's the royal we've by the way,) spent the morning  removing the old china cupboard, pulling out the other cupboard , discovering as we thought, that we'll need to tile a part of the floor that was under said cupboard and then discussing changing the position of cupboard and F/F and or another cupboard!



Almost all gone!


Tiles now need laying, just three full and three part, luckily we kept a few from back when the floor was tiled.

And I have to say that I love it! I love changing things and giving the place a new look etc, Not so sure about Paul who does the vast majority of the work.

Elsewhere, the Wisteria that was hit by the frost and lots of the buds destroyed  that were high up has flowered lower down.



These buds were much larger when the late frost hit and more sheltered being lower.


So we still have a lovely display after all, you can just make out the frost hit buds up on the right.

All this as meant no time for Sasha play but I am in the process of changing some of the girls , they just need some shoes and socks and then I'll be able to take some photos for the blog next week.

I did take a photo of Winter in her change of clothes as she is ready to go outside and play.



She's wearing a Ruth Hartley dress with Rosie Bloomfield shoes.

Thanks for stopping by I promise to put more Sasha related things on this week. I hope the week ahead is all you want it to be.


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20 comments:

  1. Oh, Dee! Amazing furniture and the dresser shows off your china so beautifully. The bureau certainly looks to be from the Arts and Crafts peiod and it's a great idea to use the WM wallpaper. I think I like the light blue design best as it contrasts well with the darkish oak, but there is a touch of what looks like orange on the flowers, so........could you live with that?

    Paul....all the(slaveryxxx)ehm .... enjoyable work that Dee puts you through certainly seems to be keeping you slim and healthy! And you are so good at these things. I'd be delighted if you began a blog along the lines of Them Jobs Wot Dee Decides On, Claims To Have Helped With, But Leaves Me To Do By Myself. It might give a certain mowing-sheep-shearing-henhouse-cleaning-tractor-repairing fanatic a clue as to the new hobbies he could take up....???

    A big hello to Winter as she's looking gorgeous in her summer gear. Love the wisteria - the late frost has killed both ours, so it is nice to see one in bloom.

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    1. Thanks Jenni :) I am very pleased that I decided to buy them both. I think I'll probably use whatever wallpaper we get for the hallway as that way I will have enough for what I need.
      I glad you can see that I am letting Paul do all this enjoyable work! ;) I'm just too kind :)
      Was so happy we did get some wisteria flowers making it through the frost!

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  2. The new dresser looks wonderful! I love the grape carvings and the honey colored wood. It fits the space perfectly too. I also like the desk, and definitely would not have been able to pass that up either. I like your idea of using William Morris wallpaper in the back. The garden is looking good. We tried a Wisteria (supposedly hardy), but sadly it doesn't appear to have made it through the winter.
    Steve

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    1. Thank you, the grape carvings were the clincher on it's purchase. I'm looking forward to getting the desk sorted and finding a place it can stay in.
      We've lost a wisteria to frost once , it was a beautiful blue one and it was killed off even though it was about five years old.

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  3. So, not only a woman's work is never done. But the dresser looks so great with all the pretty china inside. You'll certainly find a good place for the bureau too. It's so lovely you couldn't pass it by!

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    1. What can I say! It's good for their healthy to keep them busy ! ;)
      I'm glad you agree about not being able to pass it by :)

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  4. I love the new dresser and your china is showed off to perfection. We had an old bureau, but not with the top cupboard as you have. John sanded it down to remove the old varnish and then varnished it with clear yacht varnish. It was a few shades lighter, not much. I lined it with paper, put wicker baskets on the shelves and inside, and it was fab. Unfortunately I no longer have it; it was so much admired we were pressured into selling it! I look forward to seeing how your restoration turns out :) x

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    1. Thanks. I did consider stripping the oak back and lime washing it to lighten it but it would be a lot of work and I don't mind the colour it is with it's aged look.
      Your one sounds very nice, no wonder people wanted to buy it! :)

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  5. Great dresser and desk units. I like the idea of the WM wallpaper backing - the purple or green would be my choice - but depends where it will be I suppose. <3

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    1. Thanks Tricia. If I could find a long enough piece of wallpaper for next to nothing I'd be prepared to do the darker ones but to buy a roll costs about £50!

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  6. You new dresser with your china collection looks brilliant, it certainly works in that position. The bureau will be an interesting project and I'm sure you'll find the right place and use for it. More things for Paul to do I see!

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    1. Thank you :) I'm looking forward to doing the bureau and being able to sit and use it, once a place is found.
      Paul's list is long and never ending.. mainly because he ignores most of it! :)

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  7. Gosh! You do make Paul work so hard! But it will be so worth it. And I love the kitchen dresser so much, and I love how you have the china displayed on it too. I wish I had room for a dresser in my kitchen.
    Good luck finding room for the other cabinet now.
    And Winter looks fabulous in the May sunshine!

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    1. I hope he's not reading all these comments, he'll go on strike! and I have too much for him to do! ;) lol
      I'm so pleased with my dresser, I get a buzz just seeing it! :)
      I'll be needing luck to fit my bureau in this house but I just had to get it!
      I need to get some photos done of Winters sisters in the sunshine!

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  8. Poor Paul!!! He does work hard for his keep, doesn't he! ;) I love the dresser though, I will have to show you mine, it's a mishmash of china and stuff but I like it that way. I like all your knickknacks on yours, very nice. And the new bureau too is great, I think one type of paper maybe, but I'm sure a patchwork would look equally as nice.
    :) xx

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    1. Not another one! Poor Paul! I'm keeping the man focused and helping him fight off old age with all these jobs! :))
      I so love my dresser too! lol I'd love to see yours when you are next home , I've used my Emma Bridgewater china but may chop and change with my other china, It's a work in progress! :)
      I may use same paper we get for hallway on the bureau back , the patchwork idea is because I could get some free samples to paste on as a roll of WM paper costs £50 ! :) xx

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  9. Your new dresser is both beautiful and practical - just as it should be. It looks stunning with the table and chairs. The desk is definitely Arts & Crafts and a beauty at that. Both are beautiful additions to your home.

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    1. Thank you , I do so love dressers :) I'm glad you agree with me that the desk is Arts and Crafts, the detailing gives it away I think. :)

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  10. The new dresser looks fantastic showing off your Emma Bridgewater china collection to perfection.

    I love collections and especially when it provides such an interesting talking point. (I always encouraged my school pupils to start a collection of something {pencils, rubbers/erasers, rulers, key-rings, perfume or medicine bottles, marbles etc. There were also collections of toy elephants, ladies hankies, hand held paper fans and soaps that had already been started.}}if they hadn't already got one (My Sasha Dolls displayed around the bungalow have always provided me with mine here but before that it was my HUGE (must be well over a thousand) collection of leather book marks displayed on felt covered pin boards! Unfortunately that couldn't happen here as there wasn't enough room and it made this smaller home look too dark and cluttered.

    I just adore that desk, so detailed and what FUN storage it's going to provide. So many ideas that the mind just 'boggles.'
    Those two 'Ws'(Wisteria and Gotz No-navel, Winter look as equally stunning here as your two new pieces of furniture.
    (Don't know what YOU would do without the wonderful Mr.DIY, PAUL!)

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    1. Thank you Kendal I'm just loving my 'new' dresser. Having always from a very young child been a collector this dresser is just perfect for displaying this China collection.
      When I was a child I collected magazine and newspaper photos of the royal family and had scrapbooks for each of the royals, I also collected and still do on occasion, bookmarks, I collected key rings, rubbers and lots of other things, once a collector always a collector :) a hard habit to break !
      The desk is just great and I am so pleased I decided to get it along with the dresser, just need to find that in house space for it!
      ( I too don't know what I'd do without the wonderful Mr DIY Paul, which is why I treat him so well letting do things for me ;) lol )

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