Feeling rather daring …..!

Yes, in a small way, this weekend I am indeed feeling rather daring!  The spring sunshine has exposed the dusty corners that went unnoticed all winter long and so I have been indulging in an orgy of dusting, hoovering and (ahem!) cobweb removal.  Then, feeling very enthusiastic, I have decided to start redecorating my bedroom at last.

Since I moved here in June I’ve gradually been changing my little cottage to suit my own tastes.  It is around 250 years old, with thick stone walls and smallish, deep-set windows that mean the rooms can tend to be a little dark, particularly during the winter months.  The previous owners had kept it beautifully, but preferred deep, rich shades, embracing the darkness rather than my own preference for painting everything light and bright, bringing as much light as possible indoors.

I didn’t want to decorate my bedroom in the winter as I planned to paint in the mornings, then allow the room to air with the windows wide open for the rest of the day so all the paint fumes would have time to dissipate before bedtime. (this would have been a little chilly in January!)   Instead I have been planning my scheme …

For many years I have had a blue and yellow bedroom – but now, feeling rather daring, I find myself moving more towards soft pinks.  My bed is a lovely duck egg blue so I began with that as the basis for my new scheme.  I chose my curtain fabric when I first moved into my cottage, and it will work beautifully – it’s Dandelion by Vanessa Arbuthnott.  Following the fashion for painted furniture I have begun to paint my wardrobe – not white – but Pink Slip, whilst the walls will be First Light (both by Little Greene).  My rabbit cushion sits on my bed, and my Alice in Wonderland hoops on one wall.  I will enlist the help of my wallpapering assistant (Rosie’s husband Dan!) and paper one wall in Sanderson’s Swallows wallpaper.  So far so good – but now I need some help please ….

For quite a few years I have proudly displayed my first quilt on my bed.  I am still proud of it – though parts are rather wonky and there are some odd joins on the back (I was experimenting with quilt-as-you-go).  But I think it’s time for a change – for one thing the colours are all wrong for my new scheme ….

I have acquired a small bundle of lovely French vintage fabrics from ebay and would like to incorporate them into my new quilt …

There won’t be enough for a whole quilt though, and I’ll need to include more – so please can anyone help me with suggestions for any currently available quilting cottons that will work both with this fabric and with my new colour scheme as a whole?  I would really appreciate some help – and thank you so much for any suggestions you may have.

Meanwhile, totally unrelated to my bedroom redecorating, I thought you might like to see my new “plant house” from Ikea.  I think it looks really good on my kitchen windowsill …..

And was an absolute bargain (like most things from Ikea).   I am also pleased to report that for almost the first time ever I managed not to get lost going around the Ikea store.  Rosie still loves to remind me of the time I went to fetch a trolley for all our marketplace purchases, took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up going down the escalators, out of the store and coming back round again!  I do find their layout rather bewildering I must confess!

The final most daring thing I’ve done this weekend is to extend our special offer on Magazine Annual Subscriptions.  Our accountant lady didn’t think this was a good idea, but I do so love sharing.  (and she won’t be back in her office till Monday so won’t realise I’ve extended our best-ever offer haha!)  To find out more please just CLICK HERE to visit the annual subscription page.