Tuesday 29 May 2012

I have made a start...


on the Looking to the Future plan by having a good clear up and sort out in our living room ~ which is not for the first time, as you will probably remember sweetie~pies!  I didn't even think to take any "before" photos so can't show you how bad it had become again but trust me when I say the room was in a terrible mess. 


I have decided to show you the house just as it is, warts-and-all, rather than trying to cut out the worst bits. 

This is where Adrian and I sit.  I must confess that my corner (where the white lamp is) hasn't looked this tidy for a very long time ~ even when I had "tidied" previously!


I have taken away most of the non-blue and white ornaments from the dresser.  I seem to have collected rather a lot of knick-knacks and doo-dads which are pink and flowery in recent years ~ and I must admit that I have rather gone off them! 

 My collection of Yoborobo plushies live here now, where Ethel-Maud happily keeps them in order :-)


A closer view of the Yoborobo family.


My sweet little Ethel~Maud with her new friend Quinton the lamb.


I don't know if you have ever seen photos of my sofa, my loves, but it is a very dark blue leather.  Although it was a hand-me-down from my parents, it has had very little use and is still in lovely condition.  It was an expensive purchase when Mum and Dad bought it and is a good solid piece of furniture.  I want to keep it in good condition so that it lasts for a good few years; it doesn't get much use here either, only really when we have visitors or the children are back home. 

I decided to put a loose cover over it for the summer to brighten up this part of the room.  The difference was amazing!  I also bought some new cushion covers which are in a pretty shade of duckegg-ish blue and sit very happily with my curtains. 

The sofa cover is a lovely colour but doesn't fit as well as I was expecting it to; I guess it's the shape of our sofa.   At some point I may try to make it more "fitted" ~ it would be worth experimenting with it before paying good money to have a loose cover made-to-measure!


I hadn't yet got round to showing you my new-to-me living room curtains, sweetie~pies, so here they are :-)  Aren't they lovely!  You just know that I couldn't I resist a pattern of blue and white vases with pretty pink and yellow flowers ;-)

I bought them, along with another pair, from a seller on ebay.  Both pairs came with pelmets and tie-backs, although I am not using either with the living room curtains.  This pair is lined and also has an inner blackout lining.  The other pair is lined AND padded!  The seller had had them made-to-measure for her previous home if I remember rightly.  I took a chance and put them in my washing-machine to freshen them up using a cold, handwash setting.  Thankfully nothing shrinked :-)

They are both beautifully made and I guess were very expensive when new.  I paid the princely sum of £59.99 for both pairs, which included postage!  To say I was pleased with my purchases would be something of an understatement, my loves LOL 


You may have noticed that the dolly population has decreased somewhat in the living room.  I'm going to go all dramatic on you now, sweetie~pies, and tell you how heartbreaking it's been for me to make the decision that some members of my dolly family just have to move on to fresh pastures *sob sob*

Mabel and Mildred here are both Rosebud dolls and I have such a soft spot for this particular manufacturer as my very first baby doll, Jane (who I still have of course!), is a Rosebud.  Two more Rosebuds who used to share the pretty basked with Mabel and Mildred are destined for Ebay after they have had a session in the dolly spa ~ sadly, they won't be the last of the dollies to go :-(  I do have to be realistic, though; I just don't have the space for lots and lots of dolls, so need to keep only the ones who really have embedded themselves into my doll-shaped heart. 


Of course I am keeping Julia, my beloved dolly daughter!  She now has a new friend to keep her company; baby Violet is also a Rosebud.  The two girls have moved from sitting on the sofa over to this chair on the other side of the room.  They have a good view out of the window now and can watch the world go by :-)

I know the living room would still be a minimalist's worst nightmare, my loves, but a lot of decluttering/downsizing has gone on in here!

I'm now working on The Shed *eeeeeeek*

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