INDOORS 52

Continuing with the other half of the coffee lounge, here you can view the window - looking out over patio greenhouse to the pond, bird feeder, and poly tunnel beyond. One of the next steps will be to polyfill and paint the bright pink brickery out of the tools alcove and place a curtain across so the tools are kept safe and dry - but unseen! I have already purchased a shower curtain to do this with. I may hang a flower such as a geranium in the hook near the window - I have one in the kitchen at the moment, as I don't have garlic hanging there for a few months.

Finally, back to where we began in my last blog - the former door between kitchen and coffee lounge, now open plan! Once again, the mirrored tools section will have a silvery shower curtain hiding it.

Liz and I turned out Betty's linen closet and I came home with a stock of light globes of varying type. 5 of the old style from a decade or two ago, and a lot of the energy saver bulbs that came out afterwards before fading to the new options 2-3 years ago. These will be useful and keep me going for a long time.

I did little this and thats in the coffee lounge, now more than half way done. Here is a shot of the doorway with the undercoat. Since this I have top coated the doorway and polyfilled the closet.

Here is the first attack of paint to said closet. I used the last of the blueish paint I have in my bedroom. I then undercoated the side panels and lower panel in magnolia.

I was painting most days again, due to horrible weather and feeling sulky. The topcoat was soon applied. This left me with just one area left to tackle - the yuckiest corner and grottiest wall - the tools alcove.

INDOORS 51

On the second Saturday of April, I began to polyfill the closet surround. I do not want to use this wooden box style cupboard, so have decided to seal it up empty. It is too high and dirty and warped to be of use to me. You can see that I applied the first load of polyfilla above. More is to be applied until such time as the closet is fixed 'sealed' and paintable.

Still to go - the tools alcove - oh, and um, me... The pink brickery and dirt-stained ceiling will be painted once the back door and closet have been. Any gloss paint left over, will coat the exterior of the back door! Well - that is the plan...

One of my more recent fads is similar to that of my best friend. That is to collect specimens of flower and greenery from the gardens and use them indoors. For the time being, this is my arrangement - including white floral hedge, lungwort, primrose and grape hyacinth.

I like artsy decor - as those following the storyline of the coffee lounge will know only too well! I therefore have been 'playing' with my washing up detergents and making them into lava lamps by mixing various aromas and colors into squirter bottles. On the right, you can see me having added purple to the green, yellow, orange and red. The purple settled at the base.

It is time to take stock of where I am at in the redecorating of the coffee lounge. Please recall that when first built in 1953, this room was an outhouse - used for such as storing laundry baskets, coal, potatoes, and for tradesmen to leave deliveries if my parents were out - as it previously had a door into the kitchen that locked! As you can see in the above photo, that door has been removed by myself, as I prefer not to have too many doors between the sink where I do the laundry and washing line, where it hangs to dry! This walk way will remain for the purpose of getting out into the back yard, with or without laundry, and the heater will remain off. I have no place else to store the family gumboots.

Turning into the room, we see the freshly painted corner along with the linoleum I put down a few years ago. That corner will house the sofa when bought - though along which of the two possible walls I have as yet to decide. Maybe along the outer wall, so the window light is seen shining thru - or maybe under the window facing the decor wall. Either way, other than mopping, removing paint from the floor, and vaccing, the space is ready to furnish as far as this corner is concerned.