About Me

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antrim, antrim, Ireland
Hello and welcome to my blog. If you like flowers and gardens, housey stuff, food and banter, then this is the place for you. I am a decorative artist, florist and maker of things. I sell painted furniture, plants and crafts, through a local retail shop, in my native Ireland, and wedding flowers from home. I am married to a lovely patient man and have a smashing little girl. I blog for the fun of it. Thank you for listening.

Friday 16 September 2011

Roses, Runners & Raspberries


Isn't this rose a lovely old fashioned shape? It reminds me of those 'kitchy' paintings of roses from the 50's. When I bought it, it was actually a lovely lilac shade, but the second year it turned  peach, it must be something to do with the soil. I don't mind though as it reminds me of my mum, she was rather partial to peach roses, and peach nail varnish. She had bottles and bottles of the stuff, and almost all of it was pink or peach! Also, I'm thinking, she would give me, or one of my sisters, a castoff handbag, and always without fail, you would find a pink or peach lipstick in it, a paper hanky and some lifesavers (she travelled to America a lot!) Sorry I digress.


I am overwhelmed by the amount of apples we got this year from our two small trees. They are quite sour for eating apples, and last year when I tried making pies out of them, although they tasted alright the apples don't break down (which I like). So this year I am going to make a wreath or two out of them and then some chutney. The red ones are crabapples and I will be making jelly out of those. I have been delighted with the raspberries this year, for the last couple of weeks I have been able to go out in the mornings and pick some for my porridge...mmmm!

The Honeysuckle still has a few flowers on it, and the Clematis is flowering nicely. I have some photos to show you of the stairs, as you remember I lifted the carpet to make way for a stair runner. I painted the stairs first in a stone  colour, it was then given an 'antique wash' to age it and then varnished.


My runner is a roll of antique linen from Grainsack at Etsy. Christina, the owner of the shop is from Austria, and she is a delight to deal with. If you don't know this site, check it out, she has a wonderful range of old grainsacks and linens. It is quite light in colour, so the family have been warned...NO SHOES! It is also quite thin, so I do hope that it will wear alright. I am delighted with the result, it gives the hall a bit more character, more of a 'country' vibe. However, as usual when you start these things, it kind of snowballs into a whole range of things that need to be done. The panelling , stair rails, walls, doors and skirting need to be painted. Also I would like to have the big wall, that goes up the stairs, papered. I am not normally a 'paper'sort of girl, but I love the 'fly fishing' paper from Lewis & Wood, and thought it might further add to my country feel. See below, what do you think? Every so often there are little 19th century fishermen, in amongst the trees.

 Here he is, isn't he just lovely. A regular Mr. Darcy! The colours are soft blues and greens with a little bit of a stone or sand colour.
Wallpaper found here.
I had some spare linen, so I made some blinds for the windows, and door. My front door is horrible upvc and it is going to be painted like the stairs, so I will show you the photo of the blinds once the door is painted. I also think that I  will paint the outside of the door black, and I found this fabulous  painted doorstep on Pinterest. I have a rather dreary concrete step, so it is going to get this treatment. As you can see I am going to be busy this autumn!






I found a most wonderful book this week . I don't own it yet, but I will soon. For anyone who likes flowers or the vintage look it is a must. Every page is beautiful, even the words are beautiful. It is called 'Vintage Flowers' and is by a girl called Vic Brotherson. I think she is based in London, but I couldn't swear to it, but she was brought up in the Lake District. Some of the pages made me gasp out loud. I wanted to run out and buy a load of flowers and a load of vintage marmalade jars! Here are a couple of images form it.........




I think my new 'country' hall could have a fine dressing out this Christmas!

That's all folks! I hope you all have a fabulous, fun weekend. Love Linda x

22 comments:

  1. Linda, you never stop....I love the runner on the stairs and there will definitely be a "no shoe" rule from now on in your house. Did you put underlay underneath it?
    Glad the ticking arrived....it will look good made into blinds.
    Have a nice weekend,
    Julie x

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  2. Oh Linda - your stairs look fabulous! And the fishing wallpaper is the bees knees. It would be stupendous on the stair wall.

    I am also not much of a wallpapery sort of person, generally, but sometimes it adds just the right finishing touch. Actually, I do rather like those classic scene papers - I have had my eye on a hunting scene wallpaper but am not sure it won't make the room too dark - even one wall of it might be overpowering. It's all reds, greens and browny colours. But that one you like is light and elegant.

    I felt the same way about my Scandanavian Needlecraft book as you do about your vintage flower one. Almost every page made me gasp too. :) You will have lots of pleasure from browsing through it when it arrives. Enjoy.

    ps. Your roses are stunning and very vintage indeed.

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  3. You sure are keeping busy over there. All your updates look great. love the runner on the stairs. And the wallpaper will be a perfect addition. You are lucky to have an overabundance of apples and raspberries and such. Enjoy! Best wishes, Tammy

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  4. Hello Linda:
    This post is packed with so many goodly things it is difficult to know where to start.

    Well, and here we must be truthful, we are not over fond of the colour peach - it seems, at least to us, to resonate of the 1970s which, as far as architecture and interiors are concerned, was not, in our view, a happy period.

    Oh for the delights of fresh raspberries on one's morning porridge. Not a possibility here but most certainly something to be dreamed of - utterly delicious, we are sure. And such a good way to enliven the porridge which, Spartans as we are, we eat with absolutely nothing added.

    Your hall stairs and runner are, Linda, an absolute dream. We really LOVE the effect and having seen it think that we shall try to do something similar with the [presently painted] stairs of a small flat we have here which is let for holidays. And, believe us, we really think that your runner is nicer than one by Roger Oates.

    The wallpaper is superb. Use it for it will look fabulous but, and really think about this, it will look much, much better on all the walls of the hall, stairs and landing rather than on a single wall. The effect would be incredible and really look so purposeful and right. To do otherwise may look a little like a loss of design courage. Be bold, make a statement, is always our mantra!!

    The book looks great - go out and treat yourself today. Take the money from the housekeeping and, to compensate, serve uncooked apples as a pudding every day. A big money saver!!

    We love the idea of a black front door and did, in fact, want to paint ours here black rather than white but were not allowed as, or so we were told, all the doors onto the landings in our apartment house must be white - and most certainly so if you are a foreigner!!

    Enjoy the most wonderful weekend.

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  5. Yours stairs are just perfect Linda, love everything about it and I can just see it with that lovely wallpaper, look forward to seeing the door and blind :) x

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  6. This is a delightful post, Linda. I loved seeing the roses, they are very 50's ones, I agree...like those paintings with a lot of grey in the background! Your new stair runner looks fantastic...so stylish. You are achieving such a lot. (I also liked the little piece about your mother's handbags and the peach lipsticks, doesn't that just take you back!?) Have a great weekend.
    Helen x

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  7. Fabulous flower book- have you seen Sally Page's books about her flower shop. The photography, like this one you have shown, is just so gorgeous. As you say, it makes you want to dash out and buy flowers galore.
    Your stair runner looks just so right too.

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  8. Wow! This post is full of wonderful things! Love your garden and your stairs look fantastic! The book looks amazing too... sigh. :)

    Hope you have a lovely weekend, Linda!!!
    Hugs,
    Zuzu

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  9. Hi Linda
    You have been busy and the results are marvelous. I, too, love the staircase and agree that the wallpaper will make it truly beautiful. I feel wallpaper can be classic and always in fashion when used appropriately. Your treatment of the doorstep is fabulous. I was just commenting about the doorsteps of Georgian homes in Youghal and many still had the original tile work - rather similar to what you are doing. A black door definitely and perhaps you might consider a high gloss finish, I think this can be very elegant.
    Your harvest from the garden looks abundant. Good work.
    Wishing you a great weekend Linda
    Helen xx

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  10. I absolutely love what you have done to the stairs and the stair runner. It all looks so light and cottagey. Wonderful. As you say, I wonder how it will wear? Hopefully it will be okay. I also love that book - what stunning photos in there. And what a bumper crop of apples you have! We are the same over here, and my husband will be making pure apple juice tomorrow. Lovely to be able to pick the fresh raspberries to have with your porridge. I am doing the same with blackberries fromn the garden at the moment.

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  11. So much going on in this post, I do not know what to comment on without writing an essay. It is all looking lovely, the fruit the flowers, and especially the new look staircase. Are being so busy hope you have a quiet weekend planned.

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  12. You have so many projects on the go Linda, I wish I had only half as much energy as you.

    I can imagine finding a gorgeous apple wreath at your front door and being admitted to your hall and the beautiful vision of painted stairs and that fabulous carpet.

    There: I'm breathless, just thinking about it.

    Happy Sunday
    Anna

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  13. Linda, I love this post. Just ripped up our hideous carpeting on our stairs and painted them Robin's egg blue. I was going to put in a coir runner in lieu of a linen one because of the dog. I wish, wish I could use the linen though...it is just perfect. Also, I love the idea of wall paper on the stair wall. I'm not much on wallpaper, but a bit could be just the ticket. Anyway, thank you for the post. I'm so inspired.

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  14. Dear Linda,

    You have been doing so much. I love the way your stairs looks now. It has such a pretty colour and the runner looks perfect on it. I like the 'mr Darcy wallpaper too' :-)!

    I enjoyed seeing the photo's of your harvest. You have a huge amount of apples. Lucky you!! Looking foward to see how your wreath will look like.

    The book looks promising. I will see if I can find some more photo's on Amazon.

    Have a lovely new week!

    Madelief x

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  15. Wow! Your stair runner looks fantastic!
    Lovely vintage flowerbook!

    ( My wreath is an oak leave one ).

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  16. Dear Linda, you are a true domestic goddess!
    I love old fashioned roses, the smell is so beautiful.
    Your painted stairs and runner look fantastic and the wallpaper is amazing. I agree with Jane and Lance and would apply it on more than one wall.
    Your book looks like one I know I would love, so will be searching for a copy to purchase today... thank you for showing it :)
    I hope you have a good week.... looks like you will be busy making chutney and crabapple jelly!
    Love, Abby xx

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  17. The roses look beautiful and I love the runner on the stairs.

    I love the idea of the painted step,
    mine is dull concrete colour and doesn't look very welcoming!

    Raspberries with porridge sounds delish!

    Have a good week and I will catch up with you again soon.


    Fiona x

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  18. Thank you for your lovely comments Linda. Thought I would let you know that I have ordered a copy of the book.... can't wait for it to arrive! Thanks for letting me know about it :)
    Lots of love, Abby xx

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  19. Wow I adore your new look staircase! The runner looks amazing against your painited stairs - wonderful job!
    I love the peach roses, and how lovely that they bring special memories to you of your Mum and her love of peach nailvarnish.
    The wallpaper is divine.
    Well done on your fruit crops - i too have a load of crab apples to make into jelly - the colours are lovely arent they!
    You have been extremely busy and productive - good for you!
    Gill xx

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  20. Your runner looks so lovely!! I wish I had a staircase to do the exact same thing! Isn't her shop wonderful? I had a hard time choosing which grainsack to buy for my pillows. The book looks like it was made for you :)

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  21. Oh Linda I love the new look of your staircase..the runner looks amazing:) Oh the peach! my fave! yummy:)

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  22. Nice Post thanks for sharing information about on home door design and window new style on the

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