For the Love of Antique Shopping...and Of Course, Not So Antique

I can deal with the horrible dust, the exposed pipes and the banging down walls if shopping is this fun every time a room is ready to decorate! We have had a great time finding bits and bobs for our new bedroom that make it our own. And of course, items jump in to my lap that aren't necessarily for the bedroom. :o) England has some of the best...by far, antique shops...well, why not? England does have a bit more history than the good ole USA. I have enjoyed touring around and looking for antique shops but my favorite, by far, is Green's, which lucky me, is located about 2 minutes from home...not so lucky Steve. I go often and some days leave with loads and others, with nothing. They do get new things in so I don't know if it is the mood I am in or the new things that I just have to have?!?
Here are some unique items that we found on our antique journey this past weekend.

I really enjoy this mannequin. It has such great dimensions and artistry. It's probably the best one I have seen. We actually got this at a lovely place called Summersaults in Rugby. I saw it and really loved it, didn't get it and then Steve surprised me with it for my birthday last year so it is extra special. And as you can see, I dressed it up a bit.

I just wanted to show some of the detailing. Birds, flowers and butterflies are on the bottom and top. It's lovely!!

And you can't just have a plain mannequin...you have to dress it up a bit. Shabby Chic is what they call it. This is a clip on butterfly we found clipped on to a lam at Green's. Very versatile.

I really just liked these shoe maker metal shoes to use as book ends. The resale value of these are very high in case we would like to make a profit. The shoe maker company name is engraved on both. Just so cute!

And this is my favorite! It's a hand painted screen on canvas. This was definitely a bargain...only £30 ($42). I am sure it will have clothes draped all over it in no time or perhaps a dirty dancing scene. "Come here loverboy." -Baby

This is a simple addition to any room. I think I might use this for my makeup brushes or toothbrushes. The possibilities are endless. lol.

This piece is my favorite...being the esteemed coffee drinker that I am. This is a copper, antique coffee pot. Ebay has this item polished going for the bidding price of £210 currently. We bought this one for £35. A bit of polish and we are in the money. Great find...I don't know if I will be able to sell it. I might actually use it so whoever wants to come over for a cuppa is welcome!!!

Your Own Hollywood Themed Bedroom

Well, with our Marilyn Monroe wallpaper, we find ourselves sort of stumped when it comes to decorating our bedroom with finishing details. We are enjoying the theme but need some help with the decorating and found this article from www.mariesmanordecorating.com. 




Create the glamour and mystique of Hollywood in your home and  design a lavish bedroom, bathroom or  dressing room befitting a Starlet, filled with all the fantasy, glitz and glamour thats speaks of Hollywood, or design a fun movie theme playroom for the kids, teens or adults, filled with popcorn, novelty cinema style seating, movie posters, movie theme costumes displayed on the walls, and loads of decorating props & movie memorabilia.

Paint the starlets room in soft colors of pink or peach with contrasting black accents and gold, silver and mirrored furniture pieces, and shimmery accents, sequins and velvet.

If your furniture isn't new, paint and decorate the furniture with jewels,  rhinestones and glitter, and dress it up even more with crystal knobs and
pulls.

Add a film roll border around the room. Drape gossamer  movie themed material on windows and/or walls.

Paint, stamp or stencil different sizedgold stars around window frame and door frame, or on picture frames.

Hang  black and white posters  of hollywood stars, starlets and their film posters and reviews. Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe. Frame autographed pictures of your favourite celebrities, or even better, enlarge any photos you may have of you with any famous stars.

Hang large mirrors, with an added extra touch, draw a kiss mark on a mirror, with red lipstick, offcourse!
DIY Make-up mirror - cut a frame from plywood and drill holes around the edge, paint and embellish with glitter and jewels, when dry, push one flashing fairy light bulb through each of the holes. Attach the frame to a plain mirror and hang on the wall within easy access of a plug socket.

Set a romantic mood with lighting, wall sconces with hanging crystals,scented candles,  and some fun with spotlight Lamps, crystal hanging lights, flashing neon lights or novelty themed table lamps.

Create a glamorous sleeping area with a luxurious canopy draped bed, tufted headboard or a unique round bed even better, with silk, satin, sheeny shiny bedding and dress the bed up with soft fluffy textured mink pillows and throws, fun star shaped pillows - feather boas and for the floor soft faux fur rugs, and stunning chaise lounge for relaxing.

Display different styles of  perfume bottles, award trophies - real or props, and furry novelty decorative accents.

Every starlet needs her manniquin head with an emergency wig waiting to be adorned, or to showcase all the sparkling diamond necklaces.


Add a little fun to the playrooms with  lifesize standups, novelty decor and Hollywood Movie props.

Onwards and Upwards with the Bedroom...

And as we continue on with the bedroom, we are getting more excited. It's a great feeling to be able to mark something off your to-do list. And as the newly assigned project manager for 2011, I feel like we have made great strides already this year. Steve just lit our gas fire and the warmth made me feel so cosy...and the idea of actually making serious progress. Hopefully, fingers crossed, I will only have a couple of more bedroom updates before we move on to the next room.

 A closer look at our lovely Marilyn paper

 The door to our balcony.

 Our outside view with lovely English weather! 

 The gas fireplace

 A look at our IKEA sliding wardrobes.

...and I just wanted to show everyone how much I have consolidated from a walk-in closet in USA to a wardrobe here in the UK. Ok, I do have another smallish closet in another room. :o) 

...and the work on the bedroom continues...

The first steps of a massive renovation like this can be quiet daunting. My first thought to myself, of course, is usually something like "what in the world?" Actually either "what" or "how." These comments sometime occur outside my head, especially at the moments where the walls are coming down and where Steve has the floor up walking across tiny, tiny rafters.
Back to the master bedroom, equipped with gas fire and a balcony (keep saying that over and over), some progress is being made...the walls now have boards and have been plastered. Plastering is very tedious and time-consuming, therefore we get in our two trusty work men to do it for us, Mick and Tony. Mick is the plasterer and Tony...well, I have yet to figure out what Tony does. I make them real English tea and they rate me every cuppa. I usually get an 8 or 9...never a 10, which "isn't too bad for an American." Mick wears these really advanced looking stilts to walk around and plaster the ceiling...it looks all very complicated to me. I just bring tea when they yell "is the kettle broken?" I've got words in my head for them too!!! ha!
Ok here we go...progress continues...

 This is our chimney breast. We stripped wallpaper and boards off to get to the exposed brick (which I love).

 More stripping

 We were very pleased at the brick and the condition that it is in. 

 The ceiling has been leveled and you can see all of the exposed brick on either side of the chimney breast.

 Ceiling rafters

 The ceiling is boarded.

 And I am still working hard...drilling cable holes.

 The door to the bedroom is on the left and if you look to the left when you walk in, this is what you see. It is half of our bedroom. You can't tell from this, but we used Marilyn Monroe wallpaper that is awesome and sliding wardrobes from IKEA. Notice the walls have been plastered and painted.

This is what you see when you walk in and look to the right. It is going to eventually be a sitting room with the gas fire. Whew...someone needs to get in there and clean up!! 

Our Master Bedroom Project...

All of you that were keeping up know that we were working on our master bedroom. Well, plans change like with any great project, so we decided to put the bathroom on hold and work on our master bedroom. We are currently living in the what will be the guest bedroom with en suite bathroom. This guest bedroom is about 80% complete so it hasn't been too bad. It would just be nice to be in a completed room. It would be nice to actually complete a room. So here we are....slaving away in the master bedroom, complete with a balcony and gas fire. I am sure you can appreciate it better with pictures so here goes...don't gasp too loudly.

 Steve's dad working on the ceiling.

 This is the hallway looking in to the master bedroom that we are working on.

 Taking off some of the wall to expose the brick. We are taking down the ceiling as well. Notice the 70's looking ceiling...UGH!

 The open ceiling. We have a lot of work to do here.

 Starting the process of boards...then the plaster.

 The walls before boards and plaster.

 I am HARD at work here! I love power tools! 

The walls are plastered and painted. New windows have also been installed. Please excuse the mess!

See the gas fire place...I wasn't joking! We have a lot more to do at this point so stay tuned for more updates on our master bedroom. 

21 Weeks Pregnant & One House to Renovate: Life's Precious Moments...HA!

Yep...that's right...21 weeks pregnant and one massive project to finish. These 21 weeks have flown by as I am sure the next 19 will. The first 12 weeks were awful for me and this set us way back on the renovations. Steve didn't want to do anything loud on the house which limited the available projects as we are at the point of banging down walls...not painting. I was in bed for the most part with a cold compress and no lights. This is not a good thing when there is a house to complete. However, we are very excited about our new little addition but with the stress levels high and time creeping by, we have A LOT to do!
We just went for our mid pregnancy scan and it was such a wonderful experience. Now, I am not a cryer...or so I thought but the scan was very emotional for me and Steve. I was doing good until I looked over at Steve's face full of awe and a tear or two. The scan took longer than the usual 20 min or so because our little poser is a dancer already...legs moving the entire time....keeping the upper body nice and straight now. :o) Here is a picture of our little one when he/she finally kept still long enough to have his/her picture taken.  I promise...I am not going to spend the next 4 month analyzing the scan picture to see if I can figure out the sex...I promise!