Thursday 10 September 2009

One Step at a time...



Way back at the beginning of the holidays, I promised Big Sister that we would spruce up her bedroom. Similarly, she promised to finish the three very large art projects she had been set for the summer... Well the enthusiasm and earnestness of those first few weeks soon dwindled and the sketchbooks lay untouched in a corner of her room alongside the pot of paint and wallpaper.



Halfway through the holidays after some mutual nagging, Big Sister found her paintbrushes and I found mine. She had a very definite idea of what she wanted in her room and would have happily completed the whole thing herself had it not been for Mr Roses constant reminder "Make sure the lines are straight" ringing in our ears.



It took no time for her to slap on another coat of fresh white paint to three walls of her room, unfortunately it took us a little longer to arrange the patches of wallpaper that she had collected on the wall... In retrospect this was a good thing as sticking them all up temporarily might not have looked that aesthetically pleasing, but allowed time for her to think about the way they looked - not to mention the daily activity of picking up the bits of paper that had been blown down from the wall when the window was open (we girls like our exercise you know!)..
Finally, just before the end of the holidays, after a day or so of me perched precariously on the bedroom stool, wallpaper paste in one hand, a look of utter concentration on my face and the ipod blaring, the job was done.



Big Sister is very pleased with it as am I. Even Mr Roses likes it, only not so much when he gets too close and starts muttering about us not using a spirit level...
Set against the three white walls, the patchwork chimney breast really works. It needs the calmness of the rest of the room (what calmness, there's a daily whirlwind of clothes and make up going on here) to balance it. I'm glad she chose some of the darker papers too, particularly the black ones as they tend to "ground" the others as it did look a bit "floaty" before they were added.



Yes. I'm falling in love with the darker papers imagining a room full of them. Perhaps it's because they resemble the colour of my broken toe at the moment. All sorts of gloriously vivid colours going on at the end of my foot at the moment (why am I such a walking disaster area at the moment, surely I can be trusted to put some washing away without fracturing a part of my body!).
Living on a hill has made hobbling around a tad more difficult than I anticipated and I have spent this morning contemplating driving my car without touching the brake pedal to spare the pain. Have reached the conclusion that this might entail more than just a broken toe...



Enforced incarceration has resulted in much reading of some vintage magazines I obtained a few weeks ago... I purloined a couple of these for my own use and framed this gorgeous advert to put in Big Sisters room as it suits her patchwork wall so beautifully. i have put some of the others in the Emporium (in the Boudoir of course) and the rest I shall spend today perusing on the sofa. They are fascinating, little gems of social history, the advertising is fantastic and for a moment or two I shall imagine myself wafting around in a tightly waisted dress, preparing the odd casserole or two. applying my rouge... until I glance in the mirror and see the dodgy pair of red towelling socks on the end of my feet and remember I won't be wafting anywhere...



Oh, and the art projects did get done - an hour or so before they needed to be handed in, why waste three months when it can all be crammed in on a school night?!

37 comments:

Renaissance said...

My childrens philosophy too! Love the wall. Hope the toe soon gets better.

Simone said...

The patchwork wall looks great! I hope that your toe gets better soon. I bet it hurt like hell!!! x

Fiona said...

It looks absolutely gorgeous Kim. Much better than the patchwork of Aha posters I had when I was a teenager! Sorry to hear about the toe. I hope it feels better soon. Thank you so much for your sweet message on my blog. I'm hoping he might return but I'm not hoping to hard as he barely knows this place. At least the sun is shining today and I am doing some sewing to cheer myself up a bit. Fiona xx

Lululiz said...

I like the idea of the patchwork wall very much indeed. Great for people who can't ever decide which wallpaper to go with. There are some real beauties amongst those patches.

Tracy said...

Ooo...LOVE the patchwork wallpapering! It is beautiful...Do hope your toe feels better--ouch...Happy Day ((HUGS))

Gina said...

I love that patchwork wallpaper... absolutely gorgeous. Hope your toe mends soon.

Lisa said...

Your daughter has obviously inherited your stlye gene, what a fabulous patchwork wall. And that vintage advert is just so gorgeous.
Sorry to hear about your toe, hope it doesn't incapaciate you for long.
Thank you for the message about S. She has enjoyed her 2 mornings immensely.
Lisa

Locket Pocket said...

The wall looks beautiful! Hope your toe gets better soon - it's amazing how painful a damaged toe can be, as I learnt to my cost one Christmas when I dropped Dot's new vintage sewing machine on my foot!!!! Owwww!

Lucy x

Carol said...

Hi Kim, what a fun idea. The wall looks great. Nice to see a splash of colour.
Poor you and your broken toe, you will have to just stick with cosy slippers for a while. I am sure you will be well cared for by the Roses clan. Make the most of while you can!
Hugs,
Cx

Elizabethd said...

That's like having your own patchwork quilt, vertically, without all the sewing! It looks very good.

{Love, Love, Love} said...

Oh I love the patchwork wall, Kim!

Re your toe, at least you did not do what my mother did. Getting the washing in she fell off the wall and totally shattered her ankle. It is now all pins and plates and the surgeon that out it back together had to make it up as he went along as it was so bad. Hopefully you don't feel so silly now! Get well soon xxxxxxx

Pipany said...

How familiar that last minute racing of the assignment sounds Kim. I have spent this last week nagging eldest daughter to get on as she heads back to Uni on Sun. Argh!!! Love the patchwork wall. Just gorgeous x

LissyLou said...

I love patchwork walls!
I remember seeing one once in a Laura Ashley catalogue - so pretty x

Hen said...

The wall looks fab. Hope you're feeling better soon...
hen x

MelMel said...

I really like this idea so much!
It looks amazing!

x

Cape Cod Rambling Rose said...

So sorry to hear about your toe, Kim! Your daughter's room looks SO LOVELY! I think I need to start in on my daughter's room soon... it still has an air of babygirl to its decor and I know she wants more pre-teen vibrancy to it! ;)

I took a blogging hiatus this summer and now I am back blogging with a new blog. ;) ~Louise

Anonymous said...

The patchwork wall is magnificent!

Greentwinsmummy said...

Ouch poor you with a broken toe! Tell Bigsmall Rose that I think her chimney looks amazing!!! I need to freshen the smalls room wth paint & the chimney breast is crying out for wall paper,but I fell in love with Child Island...........have you seen it? & have you seen th price?????holy blinking moly.........

So its a rethink lol!!!
GTM x xx

Emma said...

Hi Kim, lovely photos, good idea on the patchwork thing. Hope toe ok. been enjoying your twittering of late!! Emma x

Pomona said...

Thank you for stopping by my blog, and your lovely comment. I love the patchwork wall - what an inspired idea1

Pomona x

Mise said...

The wall is gorgeous, really original and well-conceived.

Niki Fretwell said...

What a beautiful make-over, Kim - I can see why the two of you would be thrilled with the end results. (Yes, the black in the design does it for me too)
Hope you mend soon, you poor lady.
Niki x

Cowboys and Custard Mercantile said...

Worth every wobble and frown on the footstool !! I love it!!! Just as well Mr Roses wasn't around when we decorated our house.. I can just hear the tut tuts now!

Hope that little piggy is feeling happier today..
Let the sun do it's healing.

Love
Dottie xxxx

dottycookie said...

What a gorgeously girly, pretty idea.

Hope your toe feels much better soon - for tiny little things they don't half hurt when we bash and break them!

French Knots said...

The paper patchwork is stunning!
Hope your toe soon heals, make sure you take time to sit and rest it often.

Rubyred said...

Sorry to hear about your poorly toe Kim, hope it gets better soon and you are free to waft around again!
Love your daughter's wall,VERY pretty, the black adds a touch of sophistication too!
Have a great weekend!
Rachel x

Thimbleanna said...

Hahaha -- it sounds like school projects are done the same way all over the world! Ouch on that toe -- hope it's better soon!

Rosezilla (Tracie Walker) said...

poor thing, with your broken toe. Good thing you did so much traveling recently, eh? The room looks like fun. It reminds me of a project my youngest and I did a few years back. He wanted mountains - we got bargain paint that other people had returned, in every color imaginable plus mixed some of our own, and painted the whole room in mountains overlapping. Very cool. Maybe I should post about it someday, although it has long since been painted over. But it is a good memory of all of our work together. We always had the music blasting too!

Piece by Piece said...

Roaming around this site I found your blog. Oh, you bring back so many memories of my life in Sussex. Only had a little time to look at your most recent entries but be sure I will be back.
The patchwork wall is such a fantastic idea, don't know that I would have the nerve to do it, however, it looks wonderful. Have a great day, "see" you soon. Patricia

Shelby said...

the wallpaper is a perfect patchwork of all that is lovely. I so am inspired by it all..

so glad you shared it here.. cheers :)

BALLET NEWS said...

Oh WOW, this is a great post & you have the most gorgeous site here. I had to stop by to leave this comment for you – and to say hello of course ! Your posts are creative and original and you have interesting pictures. It's all perfect ! Thank you for sharing your site and best wishes....

Twiggy said...

Wow the patchwork looks fab
Twiggy

Gone to Earth said...

I think children everywhere think that way about homework !! I like the patchwork wall. Looks great. I hope your toe is beginning to heal and that you're in a little less pain now.

A time to dance said...

I saw a patchwork wall in a lovely book I recently bought...did you just paste on with wall paper paste?? Are shops ok about giving you samples? or do you have to send different members of the family into the shop in disguise?...)I bet sweet P would like to replace her border with a patchwork one...thanks for the inspiration...love H

OhSoVintage said...

It looks lovely and no-one else will have a room even vaguely resembling your daughter's.
Ruth x

SmitoniusAndSonata said...

That wall is utterly perfect !! I want one too . By the way , what's a spirit level ?
Seriously , I need to know what you have on your Ipod that gives you the oomph to finish the project ....I have some painting to finish .

Rowan said...

What an original idea for decorating Big Sister's room, very pretty reult too. Hope your broken toe heals soon, at least it gives you a good excuse to sit and read vintage magazines. They are wonderful aren't they? I have hundreds that I've collected over the years and love reading them and being transported to a different era.