Goood morning everyone!

I'm loving this slightly eerie feel that the weather has taken, being a little bit more  foggy and chilly outside!  It reminds me that my favourite times of the year are about with Halloween, Bonfire Night and Christmas and New Years!  I've been planning some great little treats and can't wait to share.

However, in the meantime I'm decorating my bedroom and this is sharing the next phase of the redecorating with you guys today. 

So let me talk you through to where we've got to....

We finished glossing our skirting boards and the final product looks magnificent!  They are gleaming and glossy and white.  We then decided to start doing the wallpapering.  I previously explained briefly that we'd be lining our wall doubley because they aren't very straight and we completed this process in our living room and hallway and got great results.

We lined with the 1000 grade paper (that we bought from Wickes) firstly in a horizontal manner.  So instead of running from ceiling to floor, we ran the paper from wall to wall (i.e. left to right).  This means that when we layer the 1400 grade thicker lining paper over the top, it doesn't leave any unsightly lines underneath.  The finish is smooth and  flawless. 

I can honestly say that this part of the process is my LEAST favourite and I absolutely cannot get along with stupid wallpapering.  My husband and I have been bickering all weekend trying to finish the paper, however it was only last night that we decided enough.  We haven't finished putting the final layer of paper up on the one side of the room and decided to get some professionals in.  We're getting a real good deal because of having a professional as a family friend.  So as soon as it is done on tuesday, I'll show you the final product.

Some pics....

The finished and double lined wall to the side

On this wall we've only done the first layer of lining and it is awaiting the second coat of lining

We've cut a small star-shaped hole for our socket wires and we'll enlarge this hole only slightly before placing the socket cover over it.

This is a socket with cover on already that also has this small star-shaped hole and this won't have to be enlarged as it allows enough space for the wires to sit freely and unencumbered.

Then on to the next part...the accent wall's paper: 

We decided on liking two different prints so we got two small pieces to compare and decide what we liked best.

This was the first paper...we decided that this would be too dark.

This is the second paper...we really liked this classic design. 

The two papers next to each other

This is the paper against our wall

Both the papers in our bedroom

This paper has a slight sheen in the white, we really like it and decided that this will be the one.

We've bought two rolls from our local Leekes store in Coventry, it was £23.99 per roll

We've been eyeing up these two colours of paint for our bedroom, we've decided they are both too dark and won't match the paper.  It is a no go, back to the drawingboard.

Close up of the sheen in our paper

These two colours looked great but it is too dark

The top colour is called Dusted Fondant and the bottom 'grey' colour is called Pressed Thistle ( both are Dulux paints)

Dusted Fondant

Pressed Thistle

Just a last picture of a bit of gorgeousness in Leekes, I love the crytal accessories and the guilded table. 

So basically I've decided whites, silver and greys will play a large part of my colour pallette, but I'll bring colour in with my accessories and stuff.

Let me know what you guys think of this... and if you have ideas for paint, I'd be delighted to hear it.

xoxo,
Angelique

Bedroom Renovations

Hi everyone!

Boy, what a day!  I'm really sorry for not managing to post early this morning as per usual, but I've been having real issues trying to upload my pictures of the rennovation of our bedroom. 

Finally I've got a decent connection and can add all my little pictures.  So exciting.

So here is where we've got to so far:

Firstly we ripped out the old cupboards firstly, they were horribly old fashioned.  Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of the old cupboards, but managed to get pictures of the new wardrobes, which I'll talk about in more detail next week.

We had our ceiling skimmed by a plasterer, and then painted it white with matt emulsion by Dulux.  This brought the old carpet into question, and we ended up ripping that bad boy out.  It was horrible and stained from years of neglect!  So it took quite a few trips to the rubbish tip to get rid of all the underlay, carpet, old wardrobe (mainly chipboard) and all the grippers.  We also removed the skirting boards and in certain areas had to remove the lining paper.

Basically our bedroom has a few walls that aren't extremely level or straight for that matter, and some of the walls aren't beautifully flat and flawless.  This made us decorate all the walls with a double-layer wall paper design.  We initially horizontally papered the walls with a standard 1000 grade lining paper, and then went over this lining with vertical strips of 1400 grade paper which is much thicker.  This gives you a wonderful surface to work on and paint on.

We haven't finished all the wallpaper lining but will endevour to finish that by this or next weekend.  Primarily all the work is undertaken on weekends and the progress is slow.  BUT this past weekend we went to our local timber yard and bought our new skirting boards.  They were much cheaper than the DIY stores like Homebase and B&Q. 

My husband took the correct measurements and cut the wood to fit perfectly in the gap.  He then drilled holes in strategic areas and screwed the board to the wall.  In the corners we had to make a slanted cut for the boards to create a corner and it can be pretty tricky.  If you want more info on this just email me or leave a comment.  The drilled holes were then filled in with a generic filler, and sanded down to smoothness once dried.  Then we corked around the upper edge where the skirting meets the wall.  Corking is a white substance that looks like filler or silicone in a bottle, it is purely decorative really and gives the skirting a beautiful look to just finish off the skirtings. 

The skirtings were then painted with a wood undercoat, sanded down and glossed with white gloss from Dulux. 

SOOO, with all that being said we've still got to do the last bit of lining wall paper, the wall paper for the back "feature" wall, and buy a carpet.  We bought our light fitting from B&Q for approximately £40, and decided that this fitting would be perfect because it doesn't dangle from the ceiling (it is fairly low and we'd hit out head) and it has 12V Halogen bulbs in and this means it is cheaper to run than the normal bulbs. 

Join me next week to discuss the next steps and then the fun bit of decoration and furnishings :)

This is what our room looks like at the moment, note we've fitted the new wardrobe (Ikea) and the skirtings.

Here you can see the area where we'd like to make a feature wall.

This shows the area where we've had to create a corner and had to cut the skirtings in a slanted manner.  Also notice the corking at the top of the skirting (meeting the wall).  It ensures that there is no gaps between the skirting and the wall.

Corking up close.  Sorry about the yucky floor :)

This is the PAX wardrobe we chose from IKEA which is 3 metres long and includes glass doors.  More to follow on this shortly.  You can also notice our overloaded pasting table hehe.

This is a look at our very smooth ceiling (which was previously artexed) with our new light fitting.

This is the spiral light fitting that we chose from B&Q for approximately £40.

Just a random shot of the room.

This is the Satinwood Gloss that we used on our skirting boards.

We used this Dulux Undercoat in white (this is oil based).

Haha, sorry that this is upside down but I couldn't get it the right side up.  This is the 1000 grade lining paper that we bought from Wickes for £7.99 for 40m.  Good bargain.

This is the more expensive Red Label 1400 grade lining paper (unsure of price but will let you know soon). This gives a brilliant finish and is great for your paint.

Unfortunately on this spot the plaster had blown, so my husband chipped it off and filled the spot in with Pollyfiller.  I wouldn't recommend this method as the best finish is without a doubt browning and plaster.  He was lazy though :)

We noticed after removing the window dressings that our window wasn't sealed properly and my husband strategically placed foam into the gaps, cut the extra off and filled any holes with browning and plaster.  This made a huge difference and the room is warmer now.

That is an example of the browning he used to fill the gap around the window.

My husband removed the plug socket as it was in the way of the new skirting board.  The old skirting board was slightly shorter.  We'll keep the plug socket off until we've finished the papering.  I'll be showing you how to paper around a plug socket soon.

Sorry that this was such a long post with loads of pictures but I've had to explain everything before continuing on with any more stuff I'm planning on showing you.

DIY'ing overload,
Angelique :D

Cheap and Cheery

Hello beautiful friends!

This week has been one that could be described as depressing and joyous all at the same time.  The United Kingdom's news has been filled with two matters, each sitting on opposite sides of the scale.  The first topic which has been depressing, is all about the double dip recession that the UK is facing at the moment (the longest for over 50 years) and the happy joyous topic is the fact that the UK is hosting the Olympics!

With this in mind, I've been thinking about ways of saving money, especially when it comes to fashion, hair styles and beauty.  So I've looked all over the internet for great ideas for DIY projects that will not take very long or cost much money.

Let me know if you find any great little ideas, and share.  :-)

Have a pair of shoes that need to perk up?  This is the perfect solution, adding a dark toe!

Fab headbands for next to nothing!  It ticks all the right boxes for SS'12 with neon and metallics.

Use cute brooches/trinkets and ribbons to make bookmarks with a difference!  Great gift for friends.

Another fabulous idea to perk up your shoes.  Bejewelled - you can never have enough bling!

If you are bored of all the high street flip-flops, it might be time to make your own unique ones!

Cute idea for cheap invitations like Hen Nights/Birthdays/Thank You Notes? I love it.

This idea tickled me, I think it is fun and cheaper than those expensive garden centre  ornaments.

Need some new jewels for a night out?  How about making it yourself?  This would make a thoughtful gift too. :)

Another amazing idea for flip-flops.  Super cute!

Cute bows for using on anything from brooches/hairslides/gift decorations and more!

I really can't tell you how to make this, but I love the look of these!  Tell me if you find a recipe, please?

Bridal shoes DIY?  Or perhaps just something for a plain sandal to change the feel of them?

Cute ballet flats changed in a cost effective way to look unique!  Another fab idea.

And lastly, just something that looks too cute not to share!

If you have found any great ideas via Pinterest or any other sites, feel free to share it with me or my blog readers.  The majority of these pictures were found on Popular Pix.

Have an amazing thursday!

xoxo,
Angelique