La Vie en Rose . . . Before and After . . .

I am very, very happy to announce that La Vie en Rose has been shortlisted for the Blog Awards Ireland 2012 competition for the Best Lifestyle Blog!!!!!!

The finalist list will be out September 29th with the awards being held in October.   I can't quite believe we were shortlisted!  I am THRILLED!    I've been thinking a lot lately about how far I've come in such a short space of time.    I started this blog on January 1st 2012 in my pj's as it was on my New Year resolution list to start a blog.  I was SO nervous writing my first post.   I remember going over every word to make sure it sounded ok!  When I got my first comment I thought I would pass out with excitement!!!   And I almost wore out the refresh button checking to see if anyone new had 'visited'!!!  Since then, I've met some of the nicest people ever who have become dear friends and who brighten my day with their blog adventures and are always there with words of support and encouragement.    One dear friend, Paula from The Hill House Diaries  commented on one of my posts that I should "open a shop - NOW" - which was the spark I needed to open my own shop.   I did!   I still can't believe that I actually opened it.  Sometimes I look around and pinch myself as it's hard to believe I've come so far so quickly - all thanks to my blog!!   We've been open 7-8 weeks now and it's flying!    and now my blog has been shortlisted!!!   I am SO happy.  So thank you to all my blog readers, those who comment and Paula!!  Without all of you there wouldn't be a blog! Thank you!!!  So thought you might like to see some before and afters . . . 

La Vie en Rose . . .

  

 The minute I set foot in the unit I knew I was going to take it!  Sometimes, you just know!!!

Even though it needed a LOT of cosmetic work, I knew with some paint and some love it would look cute.

Work begins . . .

The new  floor made a HUGE difference - as did a lick of paint!

 

My husband made the shop counter for me as I wanted something rustic/reclaimed and then we finished it Annie Sloan Paint and Wax!

The shop to the left - Before . . .

Aran framed in around the window as I needed a deeper ledge for display . . .

much better . . .

This corner is now home to our display of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint . . .

I really love my counter.  Knowing that Niall made it for me makes it even more special . . .

 

  

 

After - Shop to left . . .

 

 

The floor was made of three different materials!! Three!!! Lino, tile and a small section of wooden floor.  This was a pub for years the little cupboard on the wall used to house the dart board!!!!

To add a little more character and cover the uneven old walls without using wet trades, we used tongue and groove panelling.

Before - the shop to the right . . . the white shelving unit that goes to the ceiling on the left used to house optics for spirits and glasses for the pub!  

Instead of dumping it I painted it with some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and moved to the other side of the shop beside the counter and it now displays scented candles and soaps!

Before . . . 

During . . . 

After . . .  

 

This vintage wardrobe displays some Cabbages & Roses fabrics . . .

After . . . 


I really like the stable door, very cute . . .  Before . . .



After . . .

The building itself is an old village house on the main street in Ballinspittle . . .  The main jobs on the outside was to paint and to elongate the sign to cover the length of shopfront as the sign makes it look like the shop only comes to the door when in reality it covers the whole bottom floor . . .

After . . .

Still to do - build flower boxes under windows and get topiaries for either side of the door . . .

The hardest part of the whole job was picking the front paint colour!  But my blog friends came to the rescue and helped me by picking a beautiful blue grey colour!  I'd like you all to know that people who were just passing through the village have stopped and come in to the shop and complimented me on the shop's lovely colours!!!  saying that the shop looked so nice they made their husband, partner, friend stop so they could come in and have a look!!!

Hope you enjoyed the little tour!!

Sharon
xxxx