Friday 28 March 2008

Faffing about with rooms..oh and a lovely award! (updated)

A nice lady called Claire has made my day...as she's given me one of these!


An award! yay!


Thank you so much Claire, that's really lovely of you to think of me with my waffling blog (that was meant to be about pretty vintage things but has gone off on a tangent somewhere along the line and is now about all sorts of stuff to do with my own little world! It's really nice to know someone likes reading my ramblings enough to send an award over!


Hope you all had a lovely Easter and thanks to everyone who sent messages recently which I hope I've managed to reply to and to Lynn for your email which has introduced me to yet another lovely blog to keep me glued to the computer!

What a week..my estate agent is going to throttle me, The photos she took for the sales brochure were awful and then the spinny-round 360 thing that some agents do made the sitting room look even more awful. She insists on calling the house a "cottage" which it clearly isn't and even managed to photograph the air freshener in the loo...nice.



I e-mailed some photos to them to use and thankfully they have..although the sales brochure is still all wrong and full of spelling mistakes...aaaaaaaah! just who is earning the commission here?


Well now I've swapped the rooms round, I think it looks better, as it makes more sense to have the dining room next to the teeny weeny kitchen.We now have one finished room downstairs instead of 2 half finished ones.That will really please them..they're gonna love me!


The dining room has been a right pain from the start,personally I would prefer just a big kitchen with a table in it to eat at, dining rooms can seem a bit formal sometimes,but as there is a chimney breast right up the middle of the house, it would have been a nightmare to simply knock it through and besides which, it has a rather pretty fireplace attached to it.


It started off a beige colour (String by Farrow & Ball)now its gone to a blue(Tin white by Dulux) which was meant to be more grey to match some Cath Kidston curtains I've dragged out of the cupboard. I'd half made them for somewhere else but got annoyed with the crookedly printed fabric that was not even meant to be faulty but alas Ms Kidston has a clause when you purchase fabric..once cut you can't complain if its faulty. grrrr..so they were stuffed in a bag and shoved in the cupboard, so now I just need to hem them..my least favourite sewing job. This week the dining room has had 4 pairs of curtains at the windows, Vintage ones, Rosy ones, flowery ones and checked ones..none of which went with anything..I could scream!


So it got painted and now looks too cold!(it will be better in the summer as the sun comes round in the afternoon then) The pictures on the walls didn't go either,so I had to raid the cupboard again for more pictures I had hoarded away in there.


This one was a bargain..£6 from Oxfam, it's the most beautiful embroidery, I think done in silk...£6! Great for me but what an insult to all those hours of work.


I'm trying to get everything sorted and back to looking normal (ha! 'normal') as we have 2 people viewing tomorrow..scary..I'm going out with the dog..


The hoover is blocked with all the dust and there are fur balls rolling around the hall like tumble weeds in the wild west.The cats caught something horrid,ate it and then re-gurgitated something even more horrid ...and I still haven't hemmed the curtains..I was too busy faffing about which eiderdown looked the best on the bed..so important you see.


I'm a nervous wreck!


Now I can't sleep fretting about a wrong coloured room that I probably should have just left alone and will probably get painted again anyway by the next people!!

Am I the only person in the world that has a colour in her head and then buys it and its seems to be the opposite to what they thought? It drives Pete mad.

The next house will be white..lovely snowy white,or maybe oldish snowy white or old snowy white with a hint of vanilla....CREAM! I'll paint it cream! or should I?


hmmm. Will I never learn?!!


UPDATE!..... Fred you described the first couple to a tee!!!! how hilarious. I had to stifle my amusement by making a quick exit (didnt help matters that Red wanted to play front door skittles with everybody..rushing up to them and nearly sending them all flying,when he gets told off he freezes so I was trying to get them in through the door and drag a fat,stiff labrador out the way! I knew as soon they came in they wouldnt like it..and the shower-arounder woman, who was a dubious shade of deep orange was one of those clubbing-type girls who hadn't got a clue about old stuff...what a surprise..yes they wanted something more modern and bigger..can they not read the sizes and descriptions in brochures then?


The second and third couple were very nice and very complimentary actually, both lets say quite 'mature' in age (the second pair were terribly posh!) but I dont know whether they would buy something like this house with the work that still needs to be done..


The orange girl showed up late, hadn't seen the house before and I was going out so I have no idea what she already must have said, I came back later, she had sent people to arrive at the backdoor (the scruffiest bit) and heard her saying an absolute load of crap to the potential buyers so had to step in and correct her "no I dont think you would be able to have a fire in those, no that room hasn't got fitted cupboards" YESSSSS YOU CAN/IT HAS! and because they still hadn't changed the brochure she got the rooms muddled up..what an idiot.

These people are charging us 3 grand for this!


To answer your question Lindsay,we are going to rent the next house rather than buy, but it's going to be tough with all our menagerie and the stinky boys so we will be looking at rural farmhouses, cottages or land-owned properties, hopefully 'oop north'.


The plan is to buy a small piece of land for now and maybe in 10-15 years time build a wooden 'Waltons' type house on it...well that's the plan this week anyway!

32 comments:

  1. Good morning, hope today goes well, but you can bet your bottom dollar that the first people to view will be dressed head to toe in polyester, wearing plastic shoes, and they will have the nerve to say the house is ok but they dont like the decor..at this point you will see red after all your hard work, which looks fantastic, and punch them...i would but your house tomorrow. So be prepared, the bhs primark princesses are on their way with hubbies in tow...I speak from experience, you make so much effort and it goes over 99% of their heads....most people seem to think "if it aint in the next catalogue its not hip!...how wrong they are. Perhaps you should insist that viewing is only allowed by couples on the Cath Kidston mailing list.good luck, regards Fred.

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  2. Freds comment made me giggle, he's so right. When people viewed our last house you could see that some loved it and some just didn't get it! Your house will sell so quickly, you've made such a good job of it. But isn't it hard work, you have to keep it unaturally tidy for viewings, but it won't be for long I just know it.
    Julia x

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  3. Your very welcome to the award, very much deserved!!!
    Fred has made my morning with his comments, he is so right and what a fab idea about Cath Kidston customers only....lol
    Bet you a squillion pound you will have no problems selling your house!!! claire x

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  4. Everything looks beautiful and I'm sure someone will fall in love with it really quickly.Good idea about taking the dog for a walk while people view.I hated showing people round and answering all their silly questions.
    Freds right about the time wasters we had plenty who just wanted a nosey.At least now details are on the internet less people actually make bogus viewing appointments they can just oogle it online instead!

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  5. Your house looks beautiful, it will sell in no time, just needs to right person through the door (and I'd leave the estate agent to show them around, at least they weed out the time-wasters and then you can deal with the people with taste!)
    Good luck and fingers corssed.

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  6. Ohhhh, I have said it before, but your house is just beautiful! I think it will go quickly! Have a beautiful weekend.
    Hugs and Blessings,
    Rebecca

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  7. Just as everyone else said, your house is beautiful! And i love that silk embroidery picture, just beautiful.
    How did the viewings go? And have you decided on a house to buy yet?
    Hope its going well,
    Lindsay
    x

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  8. Hi I have just found you via your comment on my blog...i love your pictures and will have to come back for a longer read! the clocks have just gone forward and now it is 2am ! I must go to sleep!!
    Thank you for popping in...i will be back.
    Carolx

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  9. Oh my god...you sound exactly like me when we sold our last house! I fretted about exactly the same things, wanted to write the sales spiel myself PLUS i hated all their photos and if i was ever in the vicinity of an inspection i CRINGED at the way they described things. Lets just face it we are special and the real estate agents just DONT GET IT lol. Mel xxx

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  10. Hi, oh Fredsworld has got it off to a tee...his comment made me giggle!! What a good idea about the CK mailing list. Perhaps you could tap in to the Boden list too?! Your house is absolutely beautiful and I am so sorry that your circumstance dictates its' sale. I wish you all the very best in this horrid house sale/new home period. Kathy

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  11. If only all your viewers were fellow bloggers your house would be snapped up in no time, it looks beautiful in the pics, I'd have it in an instant. Hope the future viewings aren't too painful and you get your buyer soon.
    best wishes,
    Lucy x

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  12. My last house was an Edwardian terraced with bucket loads of period features but you would think we were trying to sell a termite, woodworm riddled pile of s h 1 t as the trainee estate who usually accompanied anyone used to point to anything nice and suggest it could be replaced….I know chavs have to live somewhere but why look at old properties when clearly all they want to do is rip anything ‘old’ out and lay laminate flooring.
    I hope someone nice buys your home.
    I almost forgot, don’t give up trying to find the perfect shade of paint….F&B have some new shades out…..skimming stone seems destined for somewhere in my house

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  13. Some of the are quite unbelievably bad aren't they!..how can they sell houses if they dont know about eras and styles and appreciate all different tastes?
    I love Farrow & Ball paint, having used horrid mixed Dulux paint which went whiter towards the bottom of the tin..(and which happened to be the same colour as F&B's 'borrowed light'-our bedroom wall colour!)I wouldnt use any other now, it's like painting with silk as opposed to treacle! I'll definately be checking out those new colours, thanks Lynn!

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  14. your update made me laugh so hard! it all brings reminders of when we sold our last house! I'm vintage at heart with a definate 60's, more 70's bent...the agent didn't get it..kept saying her paernts had my furniture and curtains when she was little. she was telling viewers that i was a ' bit retro' like it was the plague!
    i look forward to more updates and your house looks gorgeous!

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  15. Hi, Oh my God! Selling a house sounds like a nightmare... my friend is having they same kind of problems with hers, its too rural etc. Any chance you could change your agents or would that be a nightmare too. Ah I'm sure you will find someone very soon who will love it, the pictures are gorgeous.

    I have issues with colours of my rooms too, our dinning room is blue and well not my thing I have decided I like a neutral backdrop, just need to find the right Farrow and Ball colour... I have so many tester pots :)
    xFaye

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  16. Hi I enjoyed reading that post it made me smile and laugh. Especially about the girl whose been tangoed !!(not sure if i spelt tangoed right !).
    Your house is so so lovely , and hope someone buys it who appreciates its beauty and appeal. I would buy it immediately if i lived where you lived. Lovely fireplace. I have just had to get rid of a baxi bermuda backboiler with a discusting fire attached. Oh to have even of had a lovely fireplace in the first place! It was horrid and even though i like retro too that was just too much!!
    I love that oxfam picture it is so gorgeous. Your next place will be lovely too, you sound like you have a good vision already for your plans
    take care x Dominique

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  17. Dominique, she had indeed been tangoed! infact she was verging on day-glow..dont get me wrong I'm a fan of a bit of bottled colour..but she would give David Dickinson a run for his money..I've never seen a colour like it!! cheap as chips!

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  18. Argh! Selling your house is really one of the most stressful things isn't it? I think your house looks lovely!

    My mum & dad sold their house last year - they'd lived there for 30 years & it was very well kept & cottage in style with antiques & lovely vintage light fittings, a stone fireplace, quarry tiled floors, beautiful teak sash windows & shutters which my dad maintained beautifully.
    The people who bought it have replaced the pretty lights with strip spot lights, chopped out the stone fireplace, laid laminate floors & have just taken out all the beautiful windows & replaced them with aluminium ones. My mum says she wishes she'd taken all the fittings with her now as they've probably all been thrown away. It's like vandalism!

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  19. I wish I could buy your house and all your bits and pieces too (fabulous embroidery). Divine! And CK curtains in the cupboard - even if they're wonky? Got any more lurking...there's a home here for them for sure. Seriously though, you've doen a fine job and there are some terrible people with no taste at all out there who wouldn't know style if it smacked them on the nose!
    Your future plans sound very exciting, good luck with it all. Bit of a nightmare but it'll be worth it in the end.
    Stephx
    P.S. Have your cats been talking to my cats? Its like living in a home for the permenantly bewildered at our place. One eats bird seed, the other the sick the first one chucks up! My batty old girls are banished to the garage most of the time not I'm afraid. Cute and fluffy but too revolting thesedays with nippers and beige carpets!

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  20. I've just read your comment on Kathys blog.....what pic did you give the lookalike website...lol...Mr Bean??? I've seen your wedding pic in one of your older posts and am glad to say you look nothing like him or Owen Wilson...you haven't half made me laugh though!!!

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  21. yup Claire.. MR BEAN 63%!!! might have something to do with the silly grin I was pulling..the others were Heather Lockyear 74% (yeh..I wish!) and with another photo Hilary Duff 73% and Owen Wilson!! 63%.. I can assure you I dont have a nose shaped like a wonky willy.I'll take Hillary Duff please, now just to convince everyone else..... if anyone wonders what an earth we are talking about visit Claires blog and click the face thingy! it's great fun!

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  22. I have worked with 'words' for all my working life, and I really do get so mad when I see spelling mistakes when it matters, some of them are howlers which jump right out at you. I'm not surprised you ended up sending your own photos, us so called amateurs can do a much better job than these so called professionals? They are getting paid for it and we aren't, there is no justice in this world. x

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  23. hi I have just found you on the gorgeous Lucy Bloom blog - how amazingly lovely is your house - I love Freds comment and agree totally with his description of viewers. I love your house house, your decor in wonderful and you should be proud. I am so sorry to hear of the reason you are selling but you are doing the right thing by being brave and practical to get oyursleves out of the situation. If you want to hear horror stories of a move and a chain then read my blog but beware!!!! I too paid £3k for the agent - who was ok but the solicitor was abominable - I hope you have a good one that you can trust. Our best story was after we moved in and we got a demand from the Inland Revenue for the Stamp Duty!! They must have paid it late - though they had our money on the day we moved - I bet they were stashing it to get interest off it. I think the old saying 'buyer beware' should now be 'seller beware'. I wish you the very best in your sale and you must not ever take the sneery, sneaky, nosey viewers and their comments to heart. So glad to have found your lovely blog.

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  24. Stop fretting it all looks fab to me. I love the colour of the new room - not cold, just calm. It looks beautiful. It looks looks beautiful.
    Good luck with the viewings.
    Cx

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  25. Oh i do hope that the next viewings go much better, some people just have no taste do they. they blindly follow the crowds and want to live in an argos catalogue. My idea of a depression catalyst. Shabby chic all the way, woohoo!!!!

    Lindsay x

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  26. I have just been reading your wonderful posts which made me smile so much. Your house is really beautiful, you have done an excellent job at redecorating it. WHO lived there before? They really needed some "interiors" help! hahaha! It sounds like you need to get a new estate agent! It sounds to me like a country house will be perfect for you. Cant wait to read more about what happens.

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  27. Thanks so much for visiting me..I am looking and reading your blog, you guys made a lot of good changes in the house. It looks very nice. I love your chickens, their place is very nice, clean and they look happy around the beautiful garden you have!!!
    Take Care and come back always!

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  28. Oh what a darling place I loved looking at it and reading your fun posts (:) thanks for sharing..hugs Patty

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  29. Hi Lynn,
    I do hope that you have had better luck this week - I can't believe that your beatiful house will take long to sell at all......
    Best of luck,
    Niki

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  30. Good luck with it all. You made me giggle with the discriptions of the viewers. It's awful when you have people nosing around your personal possessions who have absulutly no idea about character or style. Your home is gorgeous I'm sure you'll get a quick sale like the sound of your plans for the future. What a bargain your embroidered picture was.
    Sarah x

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  31. Hi there - Your house looks beautiful, I am sure you will have no problem selling it. Your update on the estate agents really made me laugh - I have yet to meet an estate Agents yet, who have earned their commission, and I've used loads - Natalie x

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  32. Hi! I came to your blog through Happy Loves Rosies's blog. Your house looks gorgeous! I too am a big Cath Kidston fan and hope you might spend a moment looking at my blog too! Emma xx

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Thankyou,thankyou,thankyou for being so lovely as to leave a message!..I try to reply to your messages on here,so check back if you dont hear from me..but please dont be offended if I dont get time to respond, each one is totally appreciated. They make my day. x

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