tulips from sweden

Despite my post about the planned update for the dining area, the update never took place. What I mean is, we never got round to replacing the chairs etc. I think it was somewhere between the plumbing intervention and sanding the bedroom floors! Maybe that was a good thing though because the more inspiration images I collect, the more I notice that they have a certain thing in common ... the Saarinen tulip table. It is completely out of our budget but I love it all the same. This image is my favourite set up, the tulip table with Eames DCM chairs.

Enter ikea with their glorious erm ... knock off, the docksta. This table is smaller in size than the tulip, and much smaller in price (at £109). Our current table seats 8 and the docksta would be tight for 6 but realistically we only really have up to 5, and the majority of the time we have 4 at the table ... you can tell that I am deep into convincing myself mode and here is why:

I love these images, and the simplicity of the table is beautiful. Personally, I think that it works best with white chairs as in the third image from skona hem. I also love the aqua and orange combination of the last image from _tris_'s photostream.

bedroom update ... the details

Finally! Our bedroom update is complete and I thought that I would take the chance to show you some of the details of the room. I have to say that we absolutely love it. It is our little cool, calm retreat after a very busy day at work!

Mark worked so hard sanding the floor and the numerous coats of primer and paint are absolutely worth it. Our house is old so the floor has taken some wear and tear over the years, as has the rest of the house, so we didn't want to paint completely over the history and we left some of the rather rustic details in the floor. I think that the result is brilliant and has a nice homely effect rather than being too pristine and clinical. We also unearthed the solid hearth for the bedroom fireplace which we painted black, this looks great against the white flooring and of course I am on the lookout for a lovely cast iron fire surround to finish it off.

We replaced the light fitting with the medium leran pendant light from ikea. It looks lovely in the day and gives a really soft light at night time. It was really easy to install, Mark did it in no time.

We are really pleased with the wallpaper, it is beautiful. We couldn't take it across the chimney breast as originally planned because the wall there is not great and the paper was so heavy that we couldn't manipulate it to go round the curve. However, I'm really pleased about this because it means that when I find the perfect fire surround it will have centre stage on the wall. Speaking of centre stage, this is our bargain find for the room. A theatre style light for just £20! It adds a bit of fun to the room ... and to the daily routine of getting ready for work.

colour madness

We are still in the middle of our bedroom makeover, these things certainly take more time than anticipated. I think amongst the white walls, woodwork and floors I am craving colour, thank you LivingEtc gallery for these vibrant shots!

The floor in the bedroom is nearly finished, once dry we can hang the wallpaper and move our furniture, and ourselves back in. The kitchen on the other hand is another matter, thanks to the insurance company this is going to be a long process. Oh well, one more colourful shot by Stefan Thurnmann, just because I'm greedy!

summer holiday ... sort of

I have been forced to take a bit of an impromptu break from blogging due to a very unexpected leak in the kitchen. Our plumbing under the kitchen sink decided to turn itself into a bit of a water feature, soaking everything in its path. Base units, plinths and floor have all suffered the wrath! As such, kitchen improvement plans have had to step up a gear. We have had some very helpful tradesmen and a very unhelpful insurance company and despite that I'm still a little confused about what exactly it is that I want!

Along with this we were making really good progress in the bedroom. All the walls are prepared for painting and while I was on a hen weekend to London poor Mark painstakingly sanded all of the floorboards. I'm amazed how good they look considering the layers of soot and dirt that had to be removed to reveal that they are, as expected, wood. While doing the room we removed all of our (large) furniture from this room and have rehomed it in our two spare rooms which means that we have one big empty room and two smaller rooms full to the brim.

With most of the rooms in the house currently out of action my kind mum has taken in our little family while we work on finishing the bedroom and getting things sorted for the kitchen. More blogs to come soon about the bedroom update and of course what I actually decide to do with the kitchen!