The Cupboard Under the Stairs

Cupboard under the stairs until this weekend

Empty cupboard with plastered walls and offensive floor 

I haven't mentioned this little space yet - it's been non-offensive so far.  Approx 8ft of storage.  

We've always wanted a 'cupboard under the stairs'.  Even in our flat, we called the boiler cupboard, the 'cupboard under the stairs'.  Since we've really had one, we've been denying this space exists or at least ignoring it needs some attention.  So far we've just piled boxes and brooms and boxes and more in here.  

I've been looking at this space for weeks wondering how it can be made into a usable space. 


Finally this weekend, I got my painting gear on and decided to decorate it - well, paint it very roughly to say the least.  It's not the neatest nor is it very pretty, but it's been cleaned up from a dusty little hole covered in rubble to a bright white storage cupboard.


The floor has been transformed from a crumbly concrete dust collector with a remnant of faux wood lino that I can proudly say I cut and shaped myself.

Utensils for the artist at work

Final touches will be made by Mr V and will include some shelves around the pipes and some hooks to hang brooms and the ironing board from.  


There you have it - one clean 'cupboard under the stairs.'

The Hallway - Decoration Commences

The decorator is coming back tomorrow to commence the hallway... This is going to be a big job.  Starting with lining the walls with paper for a smooth finish, painting with white emulsion and finishing with my chosen shades for the walls and skirting boards.  Watch this space for the outcome.

The Hallway - A quest for more paint colours

Little Green tester pots - my new favourite brand

The next job in the house is tackling the hallway; It's not a big hall but it covers a large space and the shades and colour tones need to be just right. The colours chosen will start as you walk in the front door, take you up the stairs and cover the entire landing upstairs too...

At the start we thought 'white washing' would do the job but as months have passed, we've decided that we need to warm up this idea.

A warm cream and beige was the initial thought.  I'd quite like to see a darker skirting board in the hall so we have a contrast to the bright white painted skirtings elsewhere in the house.  To avoid buying another 28 tester paint pots, I thought I'd seek advice from somewhere that really knows their stuff.  B+Q may be convenient with late opening hours but I didn't learn a thing about interiors on my search for the 'right' grey.

Inside Job is the interiors shop that seems to have everything from paints, to wallpapers, to fabrics, to light fittings to furniture and most importantly the proprietor, Jenny, has the patience!!

Set on finding a darker shade to go with Farrow and Ball's Pointing I was elated when I was introduced to a beyond gorgeous brand that does exactly what I am after.  Little Green offers a Colour Scales chart which shows all the neutral shades each in 4 tones - Pale, Mid, Deep and Dark.  

Little Green Colour Scales chart

I've been testing Clay, Rolling Fog and Slaked Lime and a decision is yet to be made but here are the tests so far...

The Lounge is developing

 

It's been very exciting this last week.  We took down our newspaper curtains thanks to the beautiful handy work of Mr V's mum.

We really struggled with which fabric to choose for our curtains - We were deliberating on whether to choose a very heavy floral pattern or a weighty velvet like the Victorian era.  Finally we decided on this fabric.  Heavy floral would have made the room look even smaller than it is.  With the stripes you see here, it makes the room look bigger and gives it the appearance of an even taller ceiling.  

These visuals are quite dark but I hope you can get the idea. 

Drawn

 

Flattened fabric to see the detail

Curtain pole end detail

Pinch pleat finish