If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. My parents instilled that in us as children. It seems they did a fairly good job of it because I have succeeded in convincing the Bavarian that we need a new floor. It has only taken me eight and a half years of trying. Really,… Continue reading On Bad Laminate and Good Skirting
There’s lots about this house of ours that made us fall in love with it. Little quirks like two staircases, hidden character, and slanted ceilings. When we bought the house there was a lot that needed improving. The wood chip wallpaper painted peach was one of the first victims of our restyling, along with the… Continue reading Installing a Vintage Sliding Door
Generally speaking, tiles would not be my choice of flooring for anywhere other than the bathroom. Even at that, I found it very hard to find tiles I really liked when we renovated our bathroom a couple of years ago. We settled on these wood-effect tiles in the end and I am still very happy… Continue reading What Lies Beneath
Our house was built in the mid 1950s, a time when Germany was still receovering from the second world war and when people had to make do with a lot less than nowadays. This house, like most of the houses on our short street, was built as a small house with a good-sized garden… Continue reading In Search Of Hall Doors
If one was to spend the better part of the afternoon urging and cajoling a very stubborn child to please finish their homework and stop acting the maggot, and if one was then to take a small child along into the bathroom and try to clean the bathroom and if one was then to get… Continue reading Sudden and Unanticipated Changes to the Bathroom
Several months ago I wrote a post about my two restoration projects for Number Three’s birthday. Unfortunately only one of them, the rocking horse, was completed in time. The other, the little old-fashioned shop, remains in the garage and makes my conscience cringe with guilt every time I see it sitting there unfinished. Bad mother,… Continue reading Toy Grocery Shop Restoration Project
Chalkboards are in, apparently. I didn’t really realise this. Since we moved into our house five years ago I have wanted to paint one on the kitchen wall. But The Bavarian wasn’t so keen. I still bought the paint and I renovated two old blackboards, one for the kids and one to hang in the… Continue reading My Long-Awaited Kitchen Blackboard
You may or may not already know of my love of bringing new life to old furniture. Sometimes I take it to extremes, taking something that really doesn’t have a lot of potential, hidden beauty or any other redeeming features and making something out of it. The Bavarian despairs of me when I refuse to… Continue reading Coat Rail Makeover with Mini Door Knobs
Back in May, I announced my intention to renovate a shabby, wobbly old nag of a rocking horse as a present for Number Three’s first birthday. I was full of inspiration and enthusiasm and had a baby who slept for about 90 minutes mid-morning, so I got off to a good start. But in mid-July,… Continue reading Horsey, horsey, don’t you stop….
I *may* have mentioned before that I have a thing for salvaging furniture. A few weeks ago I think I reached a new low. It was pouring rain and I should have been driving directly to Kindergarten so as not to be late. But it was Sperrmuell day on part of your route. Sperrmuell is… Continue reading How to Make a Window Mirror – An Upcycling Tutorial
