Books for a Penny!

I love nothing more than putting my feet up with a cup of tea and a pack of custard creams a biscuit or two, and a lovely interiors book to flick through. I recently showed you my stash of interior magazines but my collection of books is also growing with a little help from Amazon.

Some of you may already know this, but for those who don't you can buy used books from Amazon and the prices start at just 1p. I was a little dubious at first thinking the pages would be tatty and torn but I have ordered quite a few and they have all been great. One book was a used library book with the library tag on the spine but I don't mind that, it even had somebody's library ticket inside so I have left it in as a bookmark. Obviously there is p&p to pay on top but still a bargain and still cheaper than some magazines and will last longer.

Here are my favourite buys so far:

The White Home - Caroline Clifton-Mogg

Pure Style - Jane Cumberbatch

The Relaxed Home - Atlanta Bartlett

Country Style - Judith & Martin Miller

Pure Style Outside - Jane Cumberbatch

At Home with White - Atlanta Bartlett

So, next time you buy a book on Amazon, check out the used price first. Lots more book can be seen on my Amazon Wish List here! Have fun shopping :)

Thank you for reading xx




My Reading Wish List 2014

Before and After ~The Downstairs Loo

Our downstairs loo is tiny, its so tiny I hardly ever go in there. We have thought on many occasion about taking it out and having a nice spacious area at the bottom of the stairs - maybe with a desk in or a nice comfy chair and make it a reading area? However we found that it proved to be invaluable during potty training so for now it remains!!

So, as it is staying it has also been turned white along with the rest of the house!

We had a not very pleasant green carpet going from the hall, up the stairs and onto the landing that was there when we moved in - and it was also in the downstairs loo! I hate carpet in bathrooms so I pulled it up, and wish I had done so sooner as these lovely floorboards were under there!

 

I pulled up the gripper rods, sanded them, filled in any holes with wood filler, sanded again, undercoated with Farrow & Ball Wood floor primer & undercoat in white & light tones, and then gave it two coats of Farrow & Ball Floor paint in Cornforth White.

 

It was well worth the effort! Really pleased with the result! Also, love the metal basket from Sainsburys - perfect for the downstairs loo! The skirting is painted in Farrow & Ball eggshell 'Strong White' and the walls are painted in Crown emulsion 'Sail White'.  

As you can see I have gone for a coastal theme, not very original I know but very pretty :) The ceramic bowl was made by my Partner, we have a matching one in the bathroom which you can see here.

 

 Charity shop mirror painted in Annie Sloan 'Old White'.

 

 

As well as painting the floorboards in the downstairs loo, I have also painted them in the Hallway but will save that for another day! The stairs are next eek!

 

Thank you for reading xx

 

 

 

 

Today I am linking up with:

The Dedicated House ~ Make it Pretty Monday

Unusual containers for planting

I love to fill my garden with unusual planters filled with flowers, much nicer to look at than ordinary pots from a DIY store and also a lot cheaper. I have been collecting them for a while and wanted to share them with you:


Belfast Sink

 

 

Galvanised metal containers:

Food can

Watering Can - has a hole in it so doesn't function as a watering can but going to make a great planter - watch this space!!

Chimney Pot - needs a smaller pot (its on my to do list)!

 

 

I have picked up the pots from car boot sales and markets pretty cheaply. I get my Partner to drill a few holes in the base and then fill the bottom with stones, broken tiles or anything I can find for drainage, then fill with multi purpose compost and plant!

 

 

 

I saw this picture on Pinterest and am now saving the Kids wellies :)

 

 

 

 

 

See here for my garden planter makeover.

 

What do you think? What do you use as planters in your garden?

 

Thank you for reading xx

 

 

 

Crochet ~ The Beginning

Do you remember I told you about the Knit & Stitch group I go to on a fortnightly basis? Well, we try to work on joint projects as well as our own things. Previously we did a knitted patchwork blanket which was donated to the East Cheshire Hospice. Now, we are doing a crochet granny square blanket. I was a little nervous when they suggested it as the only crochet I have done is the edging around my Daughters blanket but that didn't involve any counting so was quite simple.

Here is the start of my first Granny square (which took me nearly two hours to do):

 

Before and After ~ Chairs and Stools

I can't resist a challenge so when it was a challenge which involved re-loving a piece of furniture I was very excited! Any excuse to get my paintbrushes out!

The challenge was set by Emma at Frugally Peachy, see more details here.

We were recently given two dining chairs and two stools which had belonged to Jonny's Grandma. I had painted the chairs and re-covered the seats but hadn't got round to doing the stools so this challenge was my chance. The stools come in really handy around the house: opening the loft ladder, changing light bulbs, hanging curtains, extra seating etc etc. But they are just not to our taste so a lick of paint means they will still be useful but look good too!

Here are the stools before:

After, transformed with a coat of Annie Sloan 'Old White', two coats of Farrow & Ball 'Dove Tale' and the seat pad re-covered with spotty oilcloth.