As is typical, it's only available in the US (so far) but I figure it would be easy enough to do a DIY version with a bit of creativity.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
I want an eNook
I think this eNook is a great concept... basically, it's a narrow cupboard with storage nooks including charging plugs for all the electronic detritus of modern life. It hangs on a wall doubling as a bulletin board, only folding out when you need. I can imagine this kind of thing could be great in the kitchen or entrance hall.
As is typical, it's only available in the US (so far) but I figure it would be easy enough to do a DIY version with a bit of creativity.
As is typical, it's only available in the US (so far) but I figure it would be easy enough to do a DIY version with a bit of creativity.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
should we have a metal roof?
Last night we watched an episode of Grand Designs which featured a house in Devon with a copper roof. The house itself I didn't much like but they showed samples of how the copper would age over time. After a few months it would go a lovely mottled browny red, and after a few years it would start to take on a green patina. I can imagine it being gorgeous.
Which raised the question - should we consider having a metal roof other than the traditional 'colourbond' sheets? Copper is probably way too expensive for us but there might be other options... for example, this is an example of a house with metal shingles.
Besides the look, there are also apparently other benefits. According to this article, they last longer and are more fire resistant.
Which raised the question - should we consider having a metal roof other than the traditional 'colourbond' sheets? Copper is probably way too expensive for us but there might be other options... for example, this is an example of a house with metal shingles.
Besides the look, there are also apparently other benefits. According to this article, they last longer and are more fire resistant.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
videos from our first visit to the farm
One of the reasons for my sporadic posting to this blog in recent months has been because I've been busy converting videos. I only have so much spare time and for various reasons, I've ended up with the task of digitising family home movies. Sometimes there's crossover though - recently I found some footage from the very first visit I made to Amherst, a few months after we'd bought it.
It would bore you stupid - not to mention make you seasick thanks to my wobbly camera technique - to watch the full thing. But I created a couple of compilations, complete with cheesy music, that will give you a flavour.
To begin, let me introduce our nearest town, Talbot, via a 1 minute drive through the main streets. I think sleepy would be the most appropriate adjective to describe it, but notice that there's some lovely old buildings and a thriving pub! Plus a great farmers market once a month. :-)
But the piece de resistance is the footage from my first visit to the farm. I went with my parents and filmed a huge amount so I could bring it back to London to show Dave. Unfortunately, the filming was incredibly wobbly but to help disguise it I sped it up to 4x speed, pausing every few seconds to let you catch your breath! I expect most people will only be interested in the first few minutes, arriving at the farm, driving up past the dam to the old house and then wandering around it. As you'll see it was extremely derelict when we found it, although that didn't stop my Dad setting up a makeshift camp in one room! The bulk of the film is walking around the land. I've deliberately kept it all in even though it gets a bit repetitive as it's a reminder of the distance... I still can't get over that it takes a good 10 minutes to walk across!
It would bore you stupid - not to mention make you seasick thanks to my wobbly camera technique - to watch the full thing. But I created a couple of compilations, complete with cheesy music, that will give you a flavour.
To begin, let me introduce our nearest town, Talbot, via a 1 minute drive through the main streets. I think sleepy would be the most appropriate adjective to describe it, but notice that there's some lovely old buildings and a thriving pub! Plus a great farmers market once a month. :-)
But the piece de resistance is the footage from my first visit to the farm. I went with my parents and filmed a huge amount so I could bring it back to London to show Dave. Unfortunately, the filming was incredibly wobbly but to help disguise it I sped it up to 4x speed, pausing every few seconds to let you catch your breath! I expect most people will only be interested in the first few minutes, arriving at the farm, driving up past the dam to the old house and then wandering around it. As you'll see it was extremely derelict when we found it, although that didn't stop my Dad setting up a makeshift camp in one room! The bulk of the film is walking around the land. I've deliberately kept it all in even though it gets a bit repetitive as it's a reminder of the distance... I still can't get over that it takes a good 10 minutes to walk across!
Feedback on new house plans (at last)
We got the most recent iteration of the plans for the new house from Eric back in August. Then life intervened and it hasn't been until yesterday that we had time (and the right frame of mind) to properly dissect them and discuss. Here, at last, are our thoughts on the final round of tweaks we want to make before progressing to the next stage of design.
Let's start with the ground floor.
Just to recap, this is what the plan from Eric looked like (click to make it larger):
Overall we really like it, so rather than enumerate all the things we like, I'm just going to list the things we want to alter, room-by-room. To minimise the extent of the changes (so as not to affect the outside shape) we've tried wherever possible to keep within the existing dimensions. This house is already bigger in terms of floorspace than we'd first envisaged, so we didn't want to make it worse!
Entry hallway
We'd like to have a place to sit to take off dirty shoes, coats, etc. One idea to achieve this is to 'steal' some space from the lounge area, so there's a seating alcove on one side of the table in the hallway - ie:
This would give us a place to sit and help imbue an arts & crafts feel. I'd envisage the seat being a simple bench with a liftup lid for storing things, with a hat rack and shelves above. On the opposite wall I'd envisage there being coat racks.
Utility and Mudroom
We've always wanted to have a toilet downstairs so you don't have to go upstairs all the time. In Eric's plan, this was positioned off the central hall area, but we didn't like that for two reasons. First, it felt like it would be uncomfortable having the toilet so close by if we were using the central hall area for parties. Second, Dave was worried that it wasn't close enough to the outside, so he'd traipse mud through all the time. Which is a very good point, as that would drive me nuts!
So, we decided to move the toilet to the Utility and Mudroom area. This solves the problems, albeit sacrificing a sense of formality. It is also very practical in that part of our justification of having the "Library" wing is that we could convert it to a third bedroom if ever needed. If this happened, we'd want to put an ensuite in part of the mudroom area; so by putting a toilet and basin in we're already partway there.
We experimented with many alternatives for making this change. We wanted for the toilet and basin to be enclosed but not stupidly cramped. We also wanted the mudroom to still be a nice shape. This was the best layout we came up with:
We could perhaps put a window in the wall above the WC sink looking onto the hallway. It could be obscured glass, or the type that's mirrored on one side and see-through from the other? Or, perhaps one of the stained glass panels? Either way, it would help make it feel less enclosed and let in some natural light.
The washing machine and dryer (on a shelf above) sit in the alcove between the outside wall and the back of the toilet. The laundry trough and bench tuck into the wall near the verandah door. There's still a nice big cupboard on the other side of the door for all my hobby and cleaning things. So, overall, the mudroom still has all the key things I wanted albeit a little more squeezed.
If ever we wanted to convert to an ensuite, we'd simply build a wall across from the verandah door to the toilet door. A shower could be put in the space where the cupboard is currently and voila, an ensuite. Hopefully we'll never need to do this but it's a useful option to have.
Lounge
There's not much to say about the lounge. At one point we thought about changing the bay window to be more rectangular, but on experimenting we realised the curved layout looked a lot nicer. So, the only change we have to the lounge is to steal some space to allow for the alcove in the entrance hallway, as described above.
Central hallway
The only definite change we want to make is to remove the toilet and add an alcove for a bar. (See kitchen section for more details).
Overall, we like this space but are having trouble envisaging it. I'm guessing there will be space for big storage cupboards under the stairs (suitcases, Xmas decorations, etc), a bench perhaps, a grandfather clock in the centre, and so on, but I can't fully picture it in my mind. But, we're very happy with the concept of this space. It'll be wonderful for parties and entertaining, and even for everyday it'll be handy for working on hobbies where you need to spread out and want to leave it in situ for a few days, without it being in the way.
UPDATE: We'd also like to ensure there's a place for this sideboard somewhere in this central hallway. Perhaps it can go against the wall underneath the stairs?
Kitchen
Initially we loved the kitchen. But then, on reflection, we started to imagine what it might feel like to have to go into the pantry every time you wanted to open the fridge! Plus, it felt so big...
We've got some ideas to solve it though. First and foremost, the fridge. We want it to be fairly central and - now that we've decided to go with mains power as a backup - we'd like to have one of those large American style double door fridges (or at least plan in for the option!). We've found space for it in what was previously the downstairs WC. This also has the advantage of giving us a bit extra storage in the pantry, plus a roomy cupboard off the central hall which we could use as a built-in bar:
We've also toyed with the idea of adding in some kind of island bench or butchers block on a trolley, perhaps even with a built in tub for washing vegetables (can easily empty the water into a bucket and toss onto the garden). This could live at the end of the table, perhaps, and be wheeled around as needed. Overall, we want to make the kitchen work areas feel a little smaller and closer together.
We also had the thought of making a kind of breakfast bar area, with two stools tucked under the bench, looking over the front window. I'm envisaging that the cupboards in this stretch could have glass doors, so it can act as a display area, and also to differentiate it from the "working" part of the kitchen. This could be where we store dinner sets and nice pots, etc - ie: things that you don't use everyday but that you'd use a lot more often if you had them easily to hand! Perhaps the corner could also function as a kind of kitchen "desk" area, like so many design books seem to recommend.
Screened porch
For everyday, we're more likely to have this set up as a kind of conservatory / informal lounge area than as a dining room, but that's just furniture. The only thing we want to change, as shown in the picture above, is to get rid of the cooking area. For outside cooking we'll use the BBQ so there's no need for this anymore. I can imagine myself filling this room with plants, to give it a feel of a real garden room.
Now moving on to the first floor. This is what it looks like overall in the plans at the moment (click to make it bigger):
Master bedroom
Overall we really like it so it's mostly just tweaks rather than anything major.
In terms of the balcony, at one point we wanted to make it more rectangular than curved. But now that we're keeping the curved bay downstairs we think it'd be better to leave it alone. We're not sure how big the balcony is. If it isn't already, we'd like it to have enough room for a few potplants, perhaps even a small chair (although the latter isn't that important).
We also thought it might be nice to add in another balcony area, a kind of narrow walkway above the middle verandah:
There are already windows on both sides - one in the bedroom, one in the study. We would suggest leaving it as a window in the bedroom, but perhaps making the one in the study a glass door, or a sash window that slides open enough that you can easily climb through. Among other things, this balcony could have the telescope and serve as a kind of "tower room" in spirit. We'd like it to be wide enough to have a small chair - I'm envisaging it being about the width of a footpath.
Study
Overall, we really like the way the room is shaped. It's got a nice feel, and would be fairly easy to split into two smaller bedrooms if it was ever needed. At the moment it's called a reading room but now we have the library this doesn't make sense, so we'd like to re-christen it as the Study. To reflect this, in the drawings we'd like to replace the double bed with a large desk, and perhaps also add some cupboards instead of only bookshelves (as we'll need somewhere to hide away all the computer stuff). Of course, it'll also still double as a guest bedroom, but we'll achieve that via having a sofa bed rather than a dedicated sleeping area.
Bathroom
Last of all, the upstairs bathroom. This is one of the most important rooms and the one we want to alter the most. There are two key things that are wrong about the current plan - the toilet needs to be in a separate room (I hate having it all in one), and there isn't space for an armchair. It sounds crazy I know but I've always wanted one... a comfy place to sit while chatting to whoever's in the bath, and also a place to put things, to sit while you're doing your hair, whatever. We struggled with this but finally came up with a layout that seemed to work, without taking up any more space:
The shower area has now moved to a smaller corner, and in practice would be open as a kind of wetroom rather than an enclosed cubicle. I'm envisaging that we might have glass bricks, or perhaps even some of the stained glass, as the partition between the shower and the toilet, so that light can still get into the WC area. Alternatively, perhaps there could be a skylight in the WC. There's a nice big basin with plenty of bench space beside it and a big mirror in the space where the toilet used to be. Importantly too, the symmetry of the upstairs landing is maintained, with the doors to the WC and the bathroom mirroring each other (and deliberately opening outwards to maximise the space in the rooms).
UPDATE: we now have another idea for the bathroom, inspired by Mum's comment, which I think I like better.
This layout has the advantage of a more spacious WC with it's own outside window and still gives us a nice shaped bathroom. The dotted line would be a solid wall but maybe made of glass bricks or (even better) stained glass panels?
The only downsides are small - we sacrifice part of the bedroom walk-in closet (but it's still pretty big) and have less bench space around the sink. As before, I'd envisage the shower area as being a wetroom alcove rather than a cubicle.
Note also the addition of two extra little windows - one in the WC, and then a matching one over the sink to make it appear symmetrical from the outside. I think provided we made these a different shape to the other windows (eg: diamond, circular?) it wouldn't ruin the outside appearance of the run of windows... it'd just be like punctuation marks either side of the big bay over the bath.
Let's start with the ground floor.
Just to recap, this is what the plan from Eric looked like (click to make it larger):
Overall we really like it, so rather than enumerate all the things we like, I'm just going to list the things we want to alter, room-by-room. To minimise the extent of the changes (so as not to affect the outside shape) we've tried wherever possible to keep within the existing dimensions. This house is already bigger in terms of floorspace than we'd first envisaged, so we didn't want to make it worse!
Entry hallway
We'd like to have a place to sit to take off dirty shoes, coats, etc. One idea to achieve this is to 'steal' some space from the lounge area, so there's a seating alcove on one side of the table in the hallway - ie:
This would give us a place to sit and help imbue an arts & crafts feel. I'd envisage the seat being a simple bench with a liftup lid for storing things, with a hat rack and shelves above. On the opposite wall I'd envisage there being coat racks.
Utility and Mudroom
We've always wanted to have a toilet downstairs so you don't have to go upstairs all the time. In Eric's plan, this was positioned off the central hall area, but we didn't like that for two reasons. First, it felt like it would be uncomfortable having the toilet so close by if we were using the central hall area for parties. Second, Dave was worried that it wasn't close enough to the outside, so he'd traipse mud through all the time. Which is a very good point, as that would drive me nuts!
So, we decided to move the toilet to the Utility and Mudroom area. This solves the problems, albeit sacrificing a sense of formality. It is also very practical in that part of our justification of having the "Library" wing is that we could convert it to a third bedroom if ever needed. If this happened, we'd want to put an ensuite in part of the mudroom area; so by putting a toilet and basin in we're already partway there.
We experimented with many alternatives for making this change. We wanted for the toilet and basin to be enclosed but not stupidly cramped. We also wanted the mudroom to still be a nice shape. This was the best layout we came up with:
We could perhaps put a window in the wall above the WC sink looking onto the hallway. It could be obscured glass, or the type that's mirrored on one side and see-through from the other? Or, perhaps one of the stained glass panels? Either way, it would help make it feel less enclosed and let in some natural light.
The washing machine and dryer (on a shelf above) sit in the alcove between the outside wall and the back of the toilet. The laundry trough and bench tuck into the wall near the verandah door. There's still a nice big cupboard on the other side of the door for all my hobby and cleaning things. So, overall, the mudroom still has all the key things I wanted albeit a little more squeezed.
If ever we wanted to convert to an ensuite, we'd simply build a wall across from the verandah door to the toilet door. A shower could be put in the space where the cupboard is currently and voila, an ensuite. Hopefully we'll never need to do this but it's a useful option to have.
Lounge
There's not much to say about the lounge. At one point we thought about changing the bay window to be more rectangular, but on experimenting we realised the curved layout looked a lot nicer. So, the only change we have to the lounge is to steal some space to allow for the alcove in the entrance hallway, as described above.
Central hallway
The only definite change we want to make is to remove the toilet and add an alcove for a bar. (See kitchen section for more details).
Overall, we like this space but are having trouble envisaging it. I'm guessing there will be space for big storage cupboards under the stairs (suitcases, Xmas decorations, etc), a bench perhaps, a grandfather clock in the centre, and so on, but I can't fully picture it in my mind. But, we're very happy with the concept of this space. It'll be wonderful for parties and entertaining, and even for everyday it'll be handy for working on hobbies where you need to spread out and want to leave it in situ for a few days, without it being in the way.
UPDATE: We'd also like to ensure there's a place for this sideboard somewhere in this central hallway. Perhaps it can go against the wall underneath the stairs?
Kitchen
Initially we loved the kitchen. But then, on reflection, we started to imagine what it might feel like to have to go into the pantry every time you wanted to open the fridge! Plus, it felt so big...
We've got some ideas to solve it though. First and foremost, the fridge. We want it to be fairly central and - now that we've decided to go with mains power as a backup - we'd like to have one of those large American style double door fridges (or at least plan in for the option!). We've found space for it in what was previously the downstairs WC. This also has the advantage of giving us a bit extra storage in the pantry, plus a roomy cupboard off the central hall which we could use as a built-in bar:
We've also toyed with the idea of adding in some kind of island bench or butchers block on a trolley, perhaps even with a built in tub for washing vegetables (can easily empty the water into a bucket and toss onto the garden). This could live at the end of the table, perhaps, and be wheeled around as needed. Overall, we want to make the kitchen work areas feel a little smaller and closer together.
We also had the thought of making a kind of breakfast bar area, with two stools tucked under the bench, looking over the front window. I'm envisaging that the cupboards in this stretch could have glass doors, so it can act as a display area, and also to differentiate it from the "working" part of the kitchen. This could be where we store dinner sets and nice pots, etc - ie: things that you don't use everyday but that you'd use a lot more often if you had them easily to hand! Perhaps the corner could also function as a kind of kitchen "desk" area, like so many design books seem to recommend.
Screened porch
For everyday, we're more likely to have this set up as a kind of conservatory / informal lounge area than as a dining room, but that's just furniture. The only thing we want to change, as shown in the picture above, is to get rid of the cooking area. For outside cooking we'll use the BBQ so there's no need for this anymore. I can imagine myself filling this room with plants, to give it a feel of a real garden room.
Now moving on to the first floor. This is what it looks like overall in the plans at the moment (click to make it bigger):
Master bedroom
Overall we really like it so it's mostly just tweaks rather than anything major.
In terms of the balcony, at one point we wanted to make it more rectangular than curved. But now that we're keeping the curved bay downstairs we think it'd be better to leave it alone. We're not sure how big the balcony is. If it isn't already, we'd like it to have enough room for a few potplants, perhaps even a small chair (although the latter isn't that important).
We also thought it might be nice to add in another balcony area, a kind of narrow walkway above the middle verandah:
There are already windows on both sides - one in the bedroom, one in the study. We would suggest leaving it as a window in the bedroom, but perhaps making the one in the study a glass door, or a sash window that slides open enough that you can easily climb through. Among other things, this balcony could have the telescope and serve as a kind of "tower room" in spirit. We'd like it to be wide enough to have a small chair - I'm envisaging it being about the width of a footpath.
Study
Overall, we really like the way the room is shaped. It's got a nice feel, and would be fairly easy to split into two smaller bedrooms if it was ever needed. At the moment it's called a reading room but now we have the library this doesn't make sense, so we'd like to re-christen it as the Study. To reflect this, in the drawings we'd like to replace the double bed with a large desk, and perhaps also add some cupboards instead of only bookshelves (as we'll need somewhere to hide away all the computer stuff). Of course, it'll also still double as a guest bedroom, but we'll achieve that via having a sofa bed rather than a dedicated sleeping area.
Bathroom
Last of all, the upstairs bathroom. This is one of the most important rooms and the one we want to alter the most. There are two key things that are wrong about the current plan - the toilet needs to be in a separate room (I hate having it all in one), and there isn't space for an armchair. It sounds crazy I know but I've always wanted one... a comfy place to sit while chatting to whoever's in the bath, and also a place to put things, to sit while you're doing your hair, whatever. We struggled with this but finally came up with a layout that seemed to work, without taking up any more space:
The shower area has now moved to a smaller corner, and in practice would be open as a kind of wetroom rather than an enclosed cubicle. I'm envisaging that we might have glass bricks, or perhaps even some of the stained glass, as the partition between the shower and the toilet, so that light can still get into the WC area. Alternatively, perhaps there could be a skylight in the WC. There's a nice big basin with plenty of bench space beside it and a big mirror in the space where the toilet used to be. Importantly too, the symmetry of the upstairs landing is maintained, with the doors to the WC and the bathroom mirroring each other (and deliberately opening outwards to maximise the space in the rooms).
UPDATE: we now have another idea for the bathroom, inspired by Mum's comment, which I think I like better.
This layout has the advantage of a more spacious WC with it's own outside window and still gives us a nice shaped bathroom. The dotted line would be a solid wall but maybe made of glass bricks or (even better) stained glass panels?
The only downsides are small - we sacrifice part of the bedroom walk-in closet (but it's still pretty big) and have less bench space around the sink. As before, I'd envisage the shower area as being a wetroom alcove rather than a cubicle.
Note also the addition of two extra little windows - one in the WC, and then a matching one over the sink to make it appear symmetrical from the outside. I think provided we made these a different shape to the other windows (eg: diamond, circular?) it wouldn't ruin the outside appearance of the run of windows... it'd just be like punctuation marks either side of the big bay over the bath.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
recent Ebay finds
In recent weeks we've made a couple of other Ebay finds, ultimately destined for Amherst, including a lovely piece of fretwork, a clawfoot bath and some more chairs.
First, this is the fretwork which is among the nicest patterns I've ever seen. If it fits it may well end up being used in the old house restoration. Best of all, it was already in Australia, only 15 minutes drive away from Mum's house!
"This was part of an original 1890's house. This piece of hallway fretwork requires tlc to restor it back to its original beauty. Paint would need to be stripped. It measures 1400w and 900h. The bottom left hand section is missing and right hand bottom section needs repair where timber has clean tears".
Next, an unusual wooden chair with a fretwork back. We've put a cushion on the bottom and it is surprisingly very comfortable to sit on. I love the look of it too. It came from a small town in Scotland. We're probably going to keep this here for a while as it fits well in the conservatory, but ultimately I can imagine it looking wonderful on a verandah.
"A lovely old arts and crafts style nursing chair with pierced splat back and solid seat. it is probably constructed from oak. This chair probably dates to the first part of the 20th century. The chair measures 29" tall with a seat height of 9". The seat measures 20" across the front and 17" across the rear. It measures 18" front to back. The design of this chair is in the arts and crafts style being relatively simple in terms of decorative detail. The pierced splat back is of a flower design. The seat of this chair is solid wood and would haveprobably had a cushion at one time. The overall condition of this chair is good. It still remains stable and firm with only signs of wear consistent with its age. This remains a very stylish if understated chair".
Next, an original clawfoot bath which - best of all - is already in Melbourne. This came indirectly via Ebay - in the listing they'd said if it didn't sell they'd throw it out. I emailed and said that seemed a shame, that I'd save them the hassle and take it away for them, to stop it going to landfill. It didn't sell so that's what happened. It is apparently an original from the early 1900s, is in "good" condition and is 169cm long, 56cm high, 75cm wide.
This is the description from my Dad's email after he'd picked it up:
"It has been painted inside, and I believe it will strip down very well. It is actually in pretty good condition and will be easily brought to a usable condition without reenameling. It is an authentic clawfoot, and really quite wonderful. You will be proud of it. There are a few little rust spots, which are likely exaggerated because of sitting without being disturbed so long. I expect the spot size will reduce considerably once the cleaning begins. It is a great find, in the same league as the Rayburn when an "old" item is what you want, not a refurb or brand shiny new item is wanted. It will fit admirably in the old house loft bathroom, or you can save it for the new house".
Finally, a fantastic Lloyd Loom bedroom set in pristine condition and still with it's original paint. The lady we bought it from said it had been in her family since it was purchased and that she'd grown up with it always around.
"A pair of Lusty Lloyd Loom items originally purchased from Phillips of Northampton in the late 1950's. Both items have been well cared for in a non-smoking household and their present condition shows only minor wear, commensurate with their age. Both have original labels attached"
When we went to collect them she also threw in for virtually nothing (£5!) a blanket box which although it isn't officially part of the same set, is of similar enough colouring to pass for it. The blanket box is also in original condition and the only work needed is to replace the fabric at the top. It too has its original paint, which makes a difference on Lloyd Loom furniture as the more coats of paint, the less defined the weave. It's a wonderful size, just perfect for storage in our study here in London and it doubles as an extra seat too:
First, this is the fretwork which is among the nicest patterns I've ever seen. If it fits it may well end up being used in the old house restoration. Best of all, it was already in Australia, only 15 minutes drive away from Mum's house!
"This was part of an original 1890's house. This piece of hallway fretwork requires tlc to restor it back to its original beauty. Paint would need to be stripped. It measures 1400w and 900h. The bottom left hand section is missing and right hand bottom section needs repair where timber has clean tears".
Next, an unusual wooden chair with a fretwork back. We've put a cushion on the bottom and it is surprisingly very comfortable to sit on. I love the look of it too. It came from a small town in Scotland. We're probably going to keep this here for a while as it fits well in the conservatory, but ultimately I can imagine it looking wonderful on a verandah.
"A lovely old arts and crafts style nursing chair with pierced splat back and solid seat. it is probably constructed from oak. This chair probably dates to the first part of the 20th century. The chair measures 29" tall with a seat height of 9". The seat measures 20" across the front and 17" across the rear. It measures 18" front to back. The design of this chair is in the arts and crafts style being relatively simple in terms of decorative detail. The pierced splat back is of a flower design. The seat of this chair is solid wood and would haveprobably had a cushion at one time. The overall condition of this chair is good. It still remains stable and firm with only signs of wear consistent with its age. This remains a very stylish if understated chair".
Next, an original clawfoot bath which - best of all - is already in Melbourne. This came indirectly via Ebay - in the listing they'd said if it didn't sell they'd throw it out. I emailed and said that seemed a shame, that I'd save them the hassle and take it away for them, to stop it going to landfill. It didn't sell so that's what happened. It is apparently an original from the early 1900s, is in "good" condition and is 169cm long, 56cm high, 75cm wide.
This is the description from my Dad's email after he'd picked it up:
"It has been painted inside, and I believe it will strip down very well. It is actually in pretty good condition and will be easily brought to a usable condition without reenameling. It is an authentic clawfoot, and really quite wonderful. You will be proud of it. There are a few little rust spots, which are likely exaggerated because of sitting without being disturbed so long. I expect the spot size will reduce considerably once the cleaning begins. It is a great find, in the same league as the Rayburn when an "old" item is what you want, not a refurb or brand shiny new item is wanted. It will fit admirably in the old house loft bathroom, or you can save it for the new house".
Finally, a fantastic Lloyd Loom bedroom set in pristine condition and still with it's original paint. The lady we bought it from said it had been in her family since it was purchased and that she'd grown up with it always around.
"A pair of Lusty Lloyd Loom items originally purchased from Phillips of Northampton in the late 1950's. Both items have been well cared for in a non-smoking household and their present condition shows only minor wear, commensurate with their age. Both have original labels attached"
When we went to collect them she also threw in for virtually nothing (£5!) a blanket box which although it isn't officially part of the same set, is of similar enough colouring to pass for it. The blanket box is also in original condition and the only work needed is to replace the fabric at the top. It too has its original paint, which makes a difference on Lloyd Loom furniture as the more coats of paint, the less defined the weave. It's a wonderful size, just perfect for storage in our study here in London and it doubles as an extra seat too:
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
we now have a thatched fence
OK, that's a bit of an exaggeration... we have a garden edging made out of sticks that is about a foot high. This is what we did last weekend and it took nearly 8 hours(!)
Doing this served several purposes.
First and foremost, it provided a way to use up all the branches and trimmings leftover from the "great cherry tree pruning" done at the start of November. We had this done professionally as the tree was so big and, perhaps stupidly in hindsight, I asked them to leave all the branches in a pile so I could use them in the garden. The tree is still huge and so I can't quite believe how much was left. The pile was fence high and engulfing an entire section of lawn! It couldn't remain so we had to get busy.
We invented this notion of fencing on the fly. We used some bits as pegs, to mark out an area for the sticks to go in. Then we put down some of the bigger branch cuttings to form the framework. Finally, we threaded through smaller twigs etc to create a kind of layered thatchy stick effect.
I'm really happy with how it turned out. Not only did it use up all the cuttings, it'll be great for insects, stop the C's from rampaging (hopefully) and it helps to make the back part of the garden have some more structure. It was looking particularly dreadful this year since the grass had turned into mud so there were no defining features. (I'm not panicking about the grass yet - we reseeded and top dressed and aerated but then it didn't get a chance to grow properly before it got suddenly cold so we're stuck with a mess for winter!) By having these little fences, not only are the garden bed shapes outlined, but it'll make it easier for Dave to mow without fear of destroying plants.
Doing this served several purposes.
First and foremost, it provided a way to use up all the branches and trimmings leftover from the "great cherry tree pruning" done at the start of November. We had this done professionally as the tree was so big and, perhaps stupidly in hindsight, I asked them to leave all the branches in a pile so I could use them in the garden. The tree is still huge and so I can't quite believe how much was left. The pile was fence high and engulfing an entire section of lawn! It couldn't remain so we had to get busy.
We invented this notion of fencing on the fly. We used some bits as pegs, to mark out an area for the sticks to go in. Then we put down some of the bigger branch cuttings to form the framework. Finally, we threaded through smaller twigs etc to create a kind of layered thatchy stick effect.
I'm really happy with how it turned out. Not only did it use up all the cuttings, it'll be great for insects, stop the C's from rampaging (hopefully) and it helps to make the back part of the garden have some more structure. It was looking particularly dreadful this year since the grass had turned into mud so there were no defining features. (I'm not panicking about the grass yet - we reseeded and top dressed and aerated but then it didn't get a chance to grow properly before it got suddenly cold so we're stuck with a mess for winter!) By having these little fences, not only are the garden bed shapes outlined, but it'll make it easier for Dave to mow without fear of destroying plants.
inspiration from Lyvden New Bield
A few weekends ago, when we drove up north to collect the armchairs, we stopped off en-route at Lyvden New Bield.
This is a National Trust property that I've wanted to visit ever since seeing it on an episode of 'Hidden Gardens'. It consists of a very atmospheric ruin over 400 years old - except it's not a ruin, it just was never finished! It's designed full of Catholic symbolism in the measurements, carvings, etc. Quite extraordinary.
There is also an Elizabethan garden, one of the oldest gardens in England. It has huge spiral mounds, laid out in a grid and surrounded by rectangular waterways to make a sort of moat.
These mounds are seriously big! They were built from scratch using the earth from digging the moat. To give you an idea of their scale, this is me standing halfway up one.
Overall, the garden had an interesting feel to it - unnatural and yet organic combined. In an odd way, it reminded me a bit of Casa Battlo, the wonderfully unusual apartment designed by Gaudi in Barcelona. (by the way, the photos don't do Casa Battlo justice... I hated it in photographs but standing in it I fell in love)
I was curious to see this garden in person because it's a very different sort of garden to the most. It uses earth shapes as much as plants for effect. The only other garden I've heard of like it, which we're going to attempt to visit in May (on the one day each year it's open to the public) is the Garden of Cosmic Speculation. I'm intrigued by the idea of creating giant sculptures out of earth; it might be interesting to experiment with something like this at Amherst.
This is a National Trust property that I've wanted to visit ever since seeing it on an episode of 'Hidden Gardens'. It consists of a very atmospheric ruin over 400 years old - except it's not a ruin, it just was never finished! It's designed full of Catholic symbolism in the measurements, carvings, etc. Quite extraordinary.
There is also an Elizabethan garden, one of the oldest gardens in England. It has huge spiral mounds, laid out in a grid and surrounded by rectangular waterways to make a sort of moat.
These mounds are seriously big! They were built from scratch using the earth from digging the moat. To give you an idea of their scale, this is me standing halfway up one.
Overall, the garden had an interesting feel to it - unnatural and yet organic combined. In an odd way, it reminded me a bit of Casa Battlo, the wonderfully unusual apartment designed by Gaudi in Barcelona. (by the way, the photos don't do Casa Battlo justice... I hated it in photographs but standing in it I fell in love)
I was curious to see this garden in person because it's a very different sort of garden to the most. It uses earth shapes as much as plants for effect. The only other garden I've heard of like it, which we're going to attempt to visit in May (on the one day each year it's open to the public) is the Garden of Cosmic Speculation. I'm intrigued by the idea of creating giant sculptures out of earth; it might be interesting to experiment with something like this at Amherst.
Saturday, December 03, 2005
the next shipload is ready
This weekend we are packing. The conservatory has gotten way too full and we need it cleared so we can set up the Xmas tree! So, we're sending another batch of furniture, books, china, etc back to Australia to go into storage there.
We've been planning it for a while, ever since we got the sideboard and teddybear chair. But, while Dave was arranging it, I took the opportunity to gather a few more things too - basically I was on the look out for anything I really liked that I could pick up very cheaply on Ebay!
So, also going are two armchairs which we got for £10 each:
From the description: "This is a pair of great 'his and hers' late
Victorian / Edwardian / Arts and crafts easy chairs. They are in good
sound condition, have been in regular use. Covered in what can only
be described as a yucky brown fabric. Would look fabulous recovered
or loose covers made"
and from the same seller a side table which has in-built angled magazine racks:
"this is a reproduction ornate and unusual
mahogany sofa end / sofa back table. It is a magazine rack,
the top is great for a lamp or display. It has been in storage
and gained a few tiny marks, is perfectly usable. It measures
36" wide x 16" deep x 34" high"
In reality, this isn't as nice as I'd hoped, because I don't like the colour of the wood. But we only paid £6 for it and it'll come up wonderfully painted another colour, say a deep blue to go in a sunroom or something. It doesn't work as a replica period piece, but shabby chic style it'll be perfect!
We also picked up some amazing old carved pillars, which we're planning to use as decoration either side of a window or doorway:
From the listing:
"a pair of beautifully carved arts and crafts pillars, lovely colour,
probably originally on a piece of furniture, not sure. Two on the
sides have cut outs in them, one side plain and one side beautifully
carved with ivy leaves and stems. Just a small amount of old worm and
the bottom edges have some damage. Not sure how they could be used
but they are such nice pieces they deserve a new life.
Measurements are 41.5" long and 2.25" square"
We've been planning it for a while, ever since we got the sideboard and teddybear chair. But, while Dave was arranging it, I took the opportunity to gather a few more things too - basically I was on the look out for anything I really liked that I could pick up very cheaply on Ebay!
So, also going are two armchairs which we got for £10 each:
From the description: "This is a pair of great 'his and hers' late
Victorian / Edwardian / Arts and crafts easy chairs. They are in good
sound condition, have been in regular use. Covered in what can only
be described as a yucky brown fabric. Would look fabulous recovered
or loose covers made"
and from the same seller a side table which has in-built angled magazine racks:
"this is a reproduction ornate and unusual
mahogany sofa end / sofa back table. It is a magazine rack,
the top is great for a lamp or display. It has been in storage
and gained a few tiny marks, is perfectly usable. It measures
36" wide x 16" deep x 34" high"
In reality, this isn't as nice as I'd hoped, because I don't like the colour of the wood. But we only paid £6 for it and it'll come up wonderfully painted another colour, say a deep blue to go in a sunroom or something. It doesn't work as a replica period piece, but shabby chic style it'll be perfect!
We also picked up some amazing old carved pillars, which we're planning to use as decoration either side of a window or doorway:
From the listing:
"a pair of beautifully carved arts and crafts pillars, lovely colour,
probably originally on a piece of furniture, not sure. Two on the
sides have cut outs in them, one side plain and one side beautifully
carved with ivy leaves and stems. Just a small amount of old worm and
the bottom edges have some damage. Not sure how they could be used
but they are such nice pieces they deserve a new life.
Measurements are 41.5" long and 2.25" square"
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