Let's back peddle though, as upon realising I was not going to risk my usual garden venue for the quilty reveal now it is sheathed in leaves and windfalls, but opt for the guest room instead, I realised this redecorated room hadn't had its ta-dah moment either. Two-for-one Tuesday!
Sadly, this was a room we had already decorated since moving here but had to be redecorated as part of the remedial building works. I know some of you have spotted the wallpaper, well you're about to see a lot more of it!
So there good old Mr HenHouse found himself one Saturday, paper hanging gear in hand. We make a good team, Mr HH and I: he's the muscle, I'm the ideas. (He may not see it this way!)
We stuck to a similar colour for the walls and let the decorators get on with the "Borrowed Light" by Farrow and Ball. It's a little cold looking today in the Winter light but it's a pretty colour I love. We had previously papered this one alcove and it is a measure of my trust in Mr HH that I let him put up my beloved vintage wallpaper. Generous, eh?
I was in my natural environment, just patchworking with paper instead of fabric.
I did also paste the squares. How's that?
Before long, he had the job superbly done and I love, love, love my patchwork wall! I collected the wallpaper pieces from Etsy, they came from America and date mainly to the 1930s and '40s. LOVE. Oh, I think I said that?
For some, it was not proving to be a particularly active day. Never a good idea to leave the duvet on the floor round here whilst you're changing the bed.
Mr HenHouse wasn't done yet. Being tall is another of his good points and the lucky man got to arrange the eidys on top of the cupboard. Now I know they are safe from the furry friends and I can admire them from afar.
Meanwhile, I retreated to my Den to play with bits of fabric. Golly, what a mess my table is. I usually think I am uber-tidy. (We'd just come back from France and I hadn't yet sorted out my goodies. Honest!)
It all started to look quite fetching.
The gorgeous Durham quilt over the chair came from good old Bridport street market for a bargainous £30.
I never use this dress form as sadly, she is now many sizes smaller than me (she obviously doesn't like chocolate as much as I do). I bought the '30s satin bed jacket many many years ago back in the days when there used to be moochy house clearance shops around. I don't think anyone in delightful Catford really saw the beauty in satin bed jackets and this was pennies. Their loss!
EIDY LOVE!
The other side of the room is looking quite inviting, too.
The patchworky squares on my messy cutting table. What of those?
Oooh golly, could I love this more? I raided my stash of all my favourite heavier weight vintage fabrics that I have been hoarding. Barkcloths with 1950's roses, satin-faced chintzes with pastel posies from the 1930s', Liberty-esque waffle weave florals from the '40s. I don't usually use these that often as they are not the right weight or texture for quilts, they come into play for lampshades, cushions and bags.
And covering blanket boxes.
This one came from Bridport for about £20. I have seen many of these Lloyd Loom-type ottomans over the years, very cheaply at boot fairs and so on. I find them very useful and have them at the foot of most of the beds. I haven't come across so many in recent times so I parted with my £20 cash, a bit more than I'd have liked, but didn't feel too gutted at doing so once the end result was revealed.
Did you spot the headboard on the bed in that photo up there? This is an Ikea bed, not one I'd ever have chosen myself to be honest, but it was left here when we bought the house and barely used. I taxed my handy man (yes, that's Mr HH) with making a wooden frame to cover that nasty black affair, set to with some foam and my staple gun, et voila.
The fabric is a gorgeous Cath Kidston linen which came from the outlet store at Bicester for a thrifty £12 per metre. (It was £35 in the high street shops and I love it, so sad it was discontinued so soon and wishing I'd bought more...)
So there you have it, a pretty guest room.
And the quilty reveal? Do you remember those divine 1930's floral French and German fabrics from a few weeks back? They've worked into a delightful quilt. I patchworked this "free and easy", just picking up random squares, sewing two together, then pairs together and so on. I wasn't going to make it this big but it kept growing!
Sewing with used vintage fabrics gives you a gorgeous soft and snuggly quilt. Some are cotton, some are flannel, a bit tricky to piece together as the flannel is quite loose weave but actually, it went together really well.
It's backed with yet another old candy striped flannelette sheet and bound with a pastel polka dotted white cotton. Another for the stockpile; mine that is!
Thank you for reading through today's ta-dahs, well done, now reward yourself with a cup of tea and a nice slab of cake, preferably from under a snuggly quilt in a pretty pretty room.
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