Well, the room that will never be finished has inched closer to being finished. Which is a bit ironic i suppose.

It’s been quite a while since i fully repainted a room on my own. The last was probably the now flattened conservatory at Tullyroan, but even then i had enough sense to forgo the woodwork. However opting for the all-white look creates certain obligations, for example not having chipped, yellowing gloss-work.

Applying the wall paint was no bother. I kept thinking it was just like painting with double cream, such was the colour and texture of the paint. 3 coats were required to remove all traces of the sunshine yellow. I decided to do the woodwork in the same white as the floor, a grey-tone as the perfect antidote to yellowy gloss. After an interlude to go on holiday to ireland in August, i dragged my heels over restarting on the room until the end of September, when i finally donned my paint suit and got to work. Egg-shelling the shutters, window frames, fireplace, door frame and bookshelf constituted hours of work, during which i signed a document to myself stating i would never paint a whole room myself again.

Although probably not noticeable to anyone but me, it was worth it in the end as the whole room now has a crisp, fresh feel, with the gentle white on the walls contrasting the grey tones and softening the overall look.

Now to the fun bit – accessorising and styling! Even for me (ie high ideals and uncompromising when it comes to maintaining a sense of coherence in a room), a strict white palette seemed ambitious, plus i had already spent copious hours making the soft furnishings last year. I decided to add colour but still work towards a theme – bright antique florals in rich pink. Against the white, the colours do seem to ‘pop’ (as they say in the photography world.)

I have collected up a variety of antique linens and where else to showcase them but here. Of course the ubiquitous scatter cushion makes a key appearance top and bottom of the bed. I also swiped the vintage eiderdown from Tullyroan as it goes perfectly in the scheme. I still remember snuggling up with this as a very young child. Bringing in a sense of history to our home is important.

The french gray distressed cabinets, floral roman blind, and magazine/lever arch files have all previously been featured on the blog.

Newer additions and updates to the room include this vintage chippy filing cabinet, colour coded book display, and the recently re-painted victorian leaf table. The vision behind the white theme was primarily inspired by the volume of light this south-facing room receives, and nowhere does it become more obvious than when sitting of a morning at this desk, bathed in warm sunlight. Seated there, I’m in my happy place.

The walls are decorated with these fine vintage floral prints, recently found in a charity shop. The fireplace holds the original inspiration print which i found a few years ago and had hoped to expand upon. A couple of vintage mirrors cast a bit more light around the room on a sunny day.

The fireplace was previously boarded and sealed up with ugly chipboard. With trepidation I burrowed through to the other side and found a very respectable but draughty fireplace, but with no surround. Ideally, i’ll get one cut for it. (One of these days.) Meantime, a good place to display canvases and pictures.

The last major task is transporting and restoring two old 7 ft haberdashery cabinets from Leith, formerly from a wool shop. They are in terrible condition, with drawers missing, oil soaked (currently in use by a car garage), and filthy. They will be ideal for storing and organising the expanding Calvert sporting goods collection. All mine of course. Wonder if a kite-surf will fit in the drawer?