One of the Family

Meet one of the family!  This is our dog Darcy (yes, I am a BIG Jane Austen fan, the boys threw their eyes to the sky when I suggested this name, they wanted something more rugged like Spike, Scruffy or Scamp - but he was Darcy to me).  He's a rescue dog and he's settling in very well but sometimes he is naughty! He raids the bin and barks at people walking past the house and takes washing - socks in particular off the clothes horse and into his basket for a good chew.  Most of the time he's good and just follows me around the house 'helping' me with my jobs.   Today he 'helped' me paint the bathroom, he sat on the upturned lid from the tin of paint and then he 'painted' the floor with his cute little Farrow & Ball bottom! But he is so affectionate and cuddly that I don't stay mad at him for long, he's just too cute!!

Silhouettes

 

Browsing around a second hand furniture shop the other day I spied this little lady lying on a shelf dusty and forgotten.  Beside her under some plates I found her sister. . .

 

Their frames were a little wonky but I thought they were cute.  So I bought them for the princely sum of €1.50 each (bargain!) and brought them home and cleaned them up.  Still need to fix the frames and find the perfect spot for my 'Ladies', maybe my office or the downstairs bathroom (which is getting a much needed makeover at the moment!)  but I'll find somewhere for them because they're small and go anywhere kind of pieces.  I love finding little treasures like these in second hand shops, even more so when the price is so good!  It's so true - one man's junk is another man's treasure!

The Office

This is the view from the Living Room into my new office.  I wanted to put something nice on the back wall so that when the double doors are open they frame the view beyond.   I'm really happy with the way its turned out so far.  It's a small space but its my own little sanctuary!  I'm looking forward to lots of happy hours in here squirrelled away, writing, reading and dreaming!  I've just got to sort out some more books and file away some paperwork and then I can show you the rest of the space, so more photos to come! 

The Living Room

Before. . .

These are photos of the Living Room from the estate agents brochure:

 

We viewed ALOT of properties that Summer.  I had my heart set on buying a period property but the minute I saw this place I knew it was the one.   It's a timber frame detached house built in 2003, but for a newly built house it did have some character, e.g. timber windows which I loved.  Also, being a new house it had those lovely practical things such as hypoallergenic insulation, modern plumbing and geothermal underfloor heating! Eco friendly and efficient!  so hubby was happy!!  We fell in love with the location, in the countryside just outside a small village, with views of the forest and the valley and only one mile from the beach.  We were sold!

This is the Living Room on the day we moved into the house back in September 2009.

At the time our baby was just 1 year old so this place was perfect as we felt we weren't taking on too much.  Really it was just a matter of putting our own stamp on it as it just needed a few cosmetic touches.  The interior and exterior of the house just needed painting and decorating and the grounds some landscaping and a little finishing - the fun bits!

We moved into our new house in September 2009 and since then we've gradually been putting our own stamp on the place and turning it into our home.  The first year the priority was repainting the interior, putting up light fittings and bedroom storage.  Then last Spring we moved to the outside and concentrated on landscaping.  After the Summer, thoughts turned once more to the inside of the house and getting rid of the carpet became my number one priority.   So last October we started our Living Room Project!   (We're big on 'projects' in this house!)  The living room was a fine, large room 13' x 28' but it felt a bit long and narrow and as I needed an office space I had a brainwave!  This involved carving off the end of the Living Room with a partition wall and double doors thereby creating a smaller room (my new office) with the dual benefit of now having a much better proportioned main Living Room area!! 

Here you see the new wall going up with an opening for double doors which leads into new office.

 

 We then put down a lovely oak floor (engineered oak to match the rest of the downstairs flooring).  I was so happy to see that carpet go!  After that a little plastering and painting and some new trim around the windows and it was finished  (Well, almost, just a few finishing touches still to do!  I'm still moving into the office, but more on that later!)   At least the Living Room was ready just in time for Christmas - phew!

After . . .

Welcome to La Vie en Rose!

Happy New Year!!

This being the first day of the New Year, I thought this would be an appropriate day to start my new blog.  New Year, New Resolution, New Blog!  I first stumbled upon blogs when I started searching for pictures of the kitchen from the film 'Somethings Gotta Give' and came across Cote de Texas, a brilliant blog which I still read, which in turn led me onto other blogs.  What a revelation!  There were other people out there who were as obsessed about homes and gardens as I am!!  I enjoyed reading these blogs so much that I thought it would be fun to share my own story.  So here goes!  Hope you enjoy your visit!