Light Book and thrift shop find

I just love our new lamp, designed by Hervé Langlais. It's just perfect for my book tower as it's held in place by just placing a pile of books on top of it.

Last time we went to our favorite second hand shop, Alain saw this chest of drawers.

It had just arrived in the night before and we were lucky enough to be there early and grab a bargain for 80 euros. I did think about just cleaning it and not painting it, but we've got a bedroom that hasn't got much colour (apart from red curtains and orange bedside tables) so I thought once again I'd use some Charlotte's locks to give it a bit of spunk.

I didn't like the handles at first, but they're growing on me

Finally, mudroom finished

After fifteen months of living here  I am happy to announce that we have finished our mudroom. You'd think that a small room like this  just wouldn't make a difference to the  organization in our home, well that's what I thought, but no.  Now we have freed up the entrance, no more muddy shoes to trip over, everything  has its place, it's so much tidier too.  

I have commissioned Gaby to complete a canvas (see above) that depicts what one might find in a mudroom and when she's finished it will be placed in front of the electricity meter which is rather ugly.

The two trail shoes here were drawn by Marie-Kate, Gaby wasn't too happy when MK actually smeared some soil from a plant pot below them, but in reality it looks great.

Gaby's work a long with a mouse that she says is a rat.

This is the door to the MR that's leads off the entrance, a lick of Charlotte's locks to liven it up a little

I used chalk board paint so we could write memos down, especially for stationary shopping as the children always need stuff and tell me after I've been shopping!

I bought some sky planters for the window (see the blinds have gone), I really like these.

I made the coat rack you can see, initially I wanted to just an old pallet (I think I talked about this in another post) but in the end opted for new wooden planks, two different sizes that are screwed onto a wooden frame.  I used all of my left over Farrow and Ball paints (Charlotte's locks, Arsenic, Brinjal) and one yellow paint

And I bought some new plastic baskets for gloves, hats et cetera...

This is where the children hang their coats, unfortunately coatless today as they're all at school

There's a door behind those shelves that we never use, but rather rush and block it completely, we've insulated it and put some tongue and groove in front and then shelves.  I need to find a little mirror or something for the space above the last shelf.

Next to the shelves is cupboard where we keep all the backpacks (for now), the doors have been painted with chalk board paint too. If you turn after the plant, you'll find a welly rack and then the door for the basement.

Well that's it, our tiny 5 square meter mudroom finished and crossed off the to do list.

Time for me to rest, I'm sick with a sinus infection and am feeling very sorry for myself.  I did manage though, before becoming ill to run 8 kilometers, it was really muddy and very cold. Alain came too and I used a i phone application called Runtastic that is great and for one of my split I ran an average of 19 km per hour, this is fast for me.

Tuesday in the Mudroom

I've almost finished screwing and nailing the tongue and groove wood, this proved to be difficult because of the walls and angles.

I have put up a shelf (that's straight) below the window.  this will be painting in Farrow and Ball's Skimming Stone along with all the wood, mainly because it's the only eggshell paint I have enough of left (I'm going to try and paint the room just with paint colours I have left.

Now I have three F & B colours left for the wall leading into the room and I think I prefer Charlottes' Locks (the orange one) although the Hardwick white is fine too.  But the Brinjal looks too dark I think.  And yes my Charlotte's Locks is only in estate and so that would mean I'd have to buy a 2.5 liter pot.
(5.30pm update 3 children prefer the orange and Gaby's vibrant and colourful friend loved the purple.  Just Oliver and Charlotte to ask, I bet that Oliver choses the grey and Charlotte ...not sure, depends on her mood, and that changes all the time.

I found via Shelterness this coat rack and if I can find a pallet I shall do this with it  for sure

Mud Room...bit of progress, just a bit though

This room is the second smallest room we have in our house, and it's proving to be a hard room to get done, it's such an embarrassment now, that we have to finish it and quickly. 
Here's a view from above the room, half the window is on the first half landing and the other half in the dreaded mud room.
I probably won't keep the blinds when the room below is finished.

 Last week I starting filling in all the cracks in the walls (still not finished) and yesterday Alain started the wood that you can see here.  We *I am going to carry on the wood under the electric counter and then stop.

 This is the wall look up and towards our entrance, the marks you can see are where I've filled in many holes with plaster.  I was thinking when it's done to paint it in Charlotte's locks and then put this coat rack here, see below (yes why here?  well my kids are lazy, and I reckon that there's more chance they'll hang their coats up just inside the mud room, than having to go down 3 stairs and walk half a meter.

I find this rack pretty awesome, it's called "slastic" and was designed by Ana Mir and Emili Padros and what is so good about it is that you are allowed to draw on the walls with it, well when ones hangs ones coat, thanks to the five colored pencils it comes with.

Here's a close up so you see what I mean.  You can put a sheet of paper behind on even a canvas...I try in with paper first, and when a lot of mess has been made (which won't take long, as they are going to just love it) I thought I'd take in down and then get them to complete it,  then frame it.

Back to the hard reality of this room...this is the wall and door that leads down to our basement.  No photos, it really is worse than ever with all the mess that's been stashed away down there.


* I'm on my own this week (as of this morning) Alain has abandoned ship and flies off to South Korea this lunch-time....the question is, am I am to finish it on my own?

Landing wc finished

A very small room, our downstairs wc, well on the first half-landing is finished at long last, yes, I had been procrastinating about finishing the painting for months but last week I decided to take the bull by the horns and finish it before December arrived.

We kept the tiles, the sink and the toilet and just bought a couple of things from Ikea.

With some Sophie Blackall prints, a 1945 Alexandria water colour (that's been on the top of my wardrobe for ages ...lots more to frame where this one came from) and one of Marie-Kate's paintings the room is so much nicer. I used White Tie on the walls and Down Pipe behind the shelves and on the door.

Now I've attacked the mud room and I've got my work cut out in here. I am doing it now as I've enough paint left over from other rooms, it's going to look good I hope, painted in Skimming Stone and Charlotte's Locks.

Home Alone

For the first time in over a decade, we are home alone. Unbelievable, no?

Oliver is visiting the west coast of the US (Los Angeles, San Fransicso, Yosemite National Park......et cetera

Charlotte is having a whale of a time in Corsica, and next week Sardinia. She on holiday with at least 15 boys and only 3 girls, what a group.

Gabrielle is down in the south of France, staying in Cassis and only a 20 minute drive away from our old home in Sanary

And finally Alexis and Marie-Kate are with their grand-parents in Brittany.

While we've been at home alone. We did plan on a hiking holiday, but the weather has been capricious, so we took a raincheck on that one, and instead haven't done much at all, which has been wonderful.

We have managed to eat out once, despite the pouring rain in Paris at a good bistro called Le Vin de Soif.

And visit the Rodin Museum which wad just fantastic.

We bought few books, including this one

and have been cooking and eating recipes from it

This split pea and ham soup was just so good

and some cheese souffles, yummy

and an onion tart before going into the oven. Unfortunately, it got a little burnt, but was still good

And yesterday, we went to Ikea and bought a couple of things, including these spice pots and metal board. No more bending down now.

Yesterday I started painting oliver's room (he didn't like the colour I chose...before I discovered F &B, and I agree with him) So I am doing the room in Charlotte's Locks and white tie, but have been stalled as I have run out of the latter. So I'll carry on with that next week sometime, because we have far more interesting things to do this weekend.

Wednesday's Art

Most Wednesdays we try to do a little art, this usually ends with someone unhappy because their picture/painting hasn't worked or they didn't want to work to a theme

Today, Alexis and Marie-Kate made some cityscapes using newspaper for the buildings, and fabric for the doors and windows. Alexis had a hissy-fit over his and stormed off. The problem is, if you try and give either of them a suggestion, they just hate it and will do the opposite, then to often regret it.

Last week we worked on monuments and Gaby joined in after seeing MK's picture of l'Hotel des Invalides that she drew using a ruler, well Gaby hates rulers as it takes too much time, so this is her picture that took all but five minutes to draw (found it again this morning and just added it to the collection).

The photo at the top is one of the two doors in our kitchen, one is orange (Charlotte's locks) and the other, this one, is almost back (railings). Here, there are old and new pictures, the old ones being self portraits by Oliver and Charlotte from way back, when they were at nursery school in the UK. The biggest picture is of a Manga character drawn by MK. She only learnt to read this year and is already an avid Manga reader.

Entrance with the sun kind of shining

still have to do something about the lock system, it's ugly and I haven't painted it(on the right hand side it's an original metal lock that enters the floor when secure, whereas on the left, Mr H has it changed for an more modern and rather ugly model and as for the handle I loathe it

Our house has a north south exposition. The front door is a round the back, north facing, but we do have south facing sitting room window which is in-line with the door, so we do get lots of light providing the sun actually shines.

I took a couple more photos of the work in progress, still have woodwork to do again and lights..and I would love to change the tiles...but not possible right now....why did so many people do so many stupid things with houses in the 70's, I bet there was a lovely oak floor before..:(

As you can see, on each photo the color comes out a little different, or so it seems. We are going to use this color again on the first floor landing which is quite a good size, an area with the same configuration as it's just above.

I love our front door, the little windows open via a latch (nice in summer perhaps), but I have noticed it's really drafty at the bottom, middle and top. Going to have to find a way to keep the cold out, maybe a nice curtain on one side...black, blue, red.....we'll see)

Gliimpse at entrance/hall

view from kitchen

I was really apprehensive about using Charlotte's Locks and Elephant's Breath together after testing them in-situe, but I decided to give it a go, and my first impression is one of relief, the colors seem to work. I have a lot to finish, and these photos were taken just when the sun was setting, even if we never actually saw a glimpse of the sun today.

Charlotte's Locks

charlotte's locks, masking tape and all

We have been busy being lazy, watching Fringe, Monk and House. The children have been playing in and out (especially a new Dance game on Xbox), going to friends and just generally chilling out. No homework has been completed (or started for some).

Alain and I went again to Paris on Saturday, again to the Conran Shop and Farrow and Ball.

I started painting the cornices in the entrance yesterday in Charlotte's locks, and a second coat this morning, I think it still needs another coat, maybe later today and then tomorrow I shall paint the walls. Charlotte's Locks is fairly bright and funky and I just hope it looks good with the other colors we have chosen, it certainly makes a change from blanc cassé, the color we painted our whole house in Sanary in, to sell it quicker.

On the subject of selling houses that are colorful, does this really put people off? Gaby has a friend who lives in an enormous house in a nearby village and it's for sale. They haven't mentioned it, but me who loves looking at interiors of others, especially when renovating, found their house on a real estate site.

I'd just been to pick Gaby up from there and I just loved their orange tv room but, on finding the

very same room on internet, I was baffled to see not only the orange but stripes of white in

the room that I have no recollection of seeing, since then I like it less. The house is wonderful

though, and if you've got 2million euros to spare, you'd get a 7h garden, 11 bedrooms,

100m2 sitting room and two cottages thrown in.

a tiny glimpse of the tv room (found on internet..hope they never see it)

The house has left such an impression on one of Gaby's friends, that now, she's too embarassed to invite this group of friends to her house, that I find sad. They have an English assignment to finish and I thought, they'd end up back at the big house again, but no I was wrong, they are all coming here, into our seriously in renovation house, with our yucky 1970's kitchen and that's fine by Gaby and I, what counts is friendship and not appearances, right?