I'm turning into such a slack blogger these days. My new business takes up more time than I thought it would. I thought I'd just have to send a few emails each day and the money would flood in. Not so I'm afraid. Worst of all there are tough decisions to be made. Like what colour to use. All painfully slow...
But I have made some progress on the domestic 'to do' list. First of all I'll show you how the bleached table top turned out....
Here's a reminder of the 'before' pic.
Much more orangey. (Orange is a colour I cannot cope with. Unless we're talking hair.)
Sooo, what else can I show you?
My scaffold boards arrived and I spent a morning sawing them. I was going to hire a saw but I discovered that jigsaws can cut wood up to 7cm thick if you have the right blade so I just used that.
We have wood piles everywhere...
...scaffold boards in the dining room...
...tongue and groove leaned up against the wall. (By the way, these are my 'new' curtains for the dining room. £5 from the boot sale, still in their wrapper! Woo hoo!)
...and more on the other side. I think a wood pile adds a certain cosiness to a home, don't you agree?
So what is my cunning plan with this apart from turning the house into a timber yard?
Raised beds of course!
A series of them all along here...
But man, they're going to take some filling! The husband says I'm not allowed to spend any more money so that might prove tricky.
Anyway, I built that first one yesterday and today my arm is really hurting so I can do no more.
The other thing I've fallen madly in love with is these scaffold board tables...
Aren't they just heavenly with their rustic plankiness?
These are all on ebay for a lot of money. Not having a lot of money to spend on tables, I've decided to try and make one. Well, replace my table top with a scaffold board top.
But not just yet. We can live with the wood pile a little longer.
You have been busy! I'm still at the thinking stage with the conservatory.
ReplyDeleteThe thinking stage is the most important stage. It takes as long as it takes. You can't rush it.
DeleteI feel exhausted just reading about it! Good job on the table, and the raised beds are a fabulous idea. xxx
ReplyDeleteI think it's time to dig a pond as we need the soil! xxx
DeleteWow I would love to have your DIY skills. My hubby wouldnt let me anywhere near making our raised beds lol.. I will stick to sewing and making things pretty. Love the scaffold board tabel top x
ReplyDeleteMy DIY skills aren't that skillfull. I did this with a drill bit that was half the length of my screws. Which is dumb!
DeleteBut I wouldn't let my husband anywhere near a tool. x
When I saw your raised bed on Facebook I thought you'd bought a tortoise - Jacob's pen looks very similar! The table looks fantastic, I loathe orange wood, too. One aspect of 1970s style I don't like! x
ReplyDeleteOh, I'd love a tortoise! I think they're v. expensive since they stopped people smuggling them into the country in the 70's.
ReplyDeleteA pond is what you need then all the soil you dig out can go into your planters! We on the other hand are trying to level out our roller coaster lawn from my lovely sons pond fetish.
ReplyDeleteWe have a rather lovely pond liner in the garage awaiting a hole to be dug. Sadly, my husband has man flu so that's not going to happen. I have no muscles for digging. But yes, that's the answer!
DeleteIs there such a thing as free soil? Can you find someone who's currently doing an extension and take the soil from the foundations off their hands?
ReplyDeleteI love scaffolding boards- so much more characterful than B&Q wood. And I'm totally with you re: orange wood. YUCK.
xxx
That's a v. good idea. I might put a shout out on facebook...xxx
Deleteok, what new business? Have I missed an episode?
ReplyDeleteIs your daughter back in her bedroom, does she like it now?
The table looks divine give it to me.
My raised beds were a slug haven, but I don't use poison in case a bird eats a slug, or the cats...
We have scaffold boards edging our shingle, as it drops down to a steep bank. All the cats walk along it, we call it the cat motorway. We won ours as the builders upset me a lot, a bit of compensation like.
Haha, it was the kitchen 'episode' where I wanted to know what colours your kitchens were. (You make this sound like a soap! I like it!)
DeleteMy daughter hates her room and we are arguing themes and colours daily. :(
Slugs? Noo! I shall have to invent slug proof raised beds...hmmm. Good for you for not using the pellets. They also kill hedgehogs. xx
hubs uses copper wire to deter slugs. (stripped from cable...) they also hate dry sandy gritty stuff, crushed conkers and anything that interferes with their ectoplasm slime. They love shady junky places, walls, wood, bricks, and drown in cups of beer. A cunning plan is to put out a cabbage leaf and pick them up attached to the leaf. Hubs goes out at midnight during the runner bean season and gets bucket loads of them which he relocates. How strong is their homing instinct I wonder?
Deletewith raised beds it might be worth thinking about lining them with newspaper or old carpet or weed fabric, or installing watering gadgets before the soil.
We dug up a load of turf to make a shingle front garden at our last house, one of the neighbours was pleased to take the stuff away - as upside down it will return to being earth, especially with a carpet on top of it.
I have a rather orangey looking pine table in the kitchen that's desperate for a makeover. Must get onto it.
ReplyDeleteRaised beds are a great idea. You're so talented. I kill everything in our garden though. I've seen soil advertised on my free cycle group. You could try there.
Good thinking! Thanks Caroline!
Delete