FAKE OUT

Slowly over the years, Mr. Sweet Pea and I have put our stamp on this 70's ranch~style place we call home. With him being in the carpentry biz sometimes we have lucked out and gotten materials for very little and a few times for nothing.

The room that I now use as my studio got some fabulous wide crown molding from a job that had leftover's. With the crown molding at 6 inches we couldn't very well install wimpy baseboards. So I came up with a way to fake the look of fabulous wide baseboards using regular 3 and 1/2" base with shoe mold on the bottom and a quarter round trim placed 4 and 1/2" above. Then I painted the molding and the wall in between white and voila, big fat baseboards!

Stay calm, make tea!

Here are some of the photos that Tracy Ranger took during her visit to Halfpenny Home last week. We last managed to meet up at the Saint's Market in Ipswich and because Tracy works so hard looking after the Gedgrave Flock, her flock of Wensleydale's with her husband Peter it makes it tricky to find time for a good chat about fleece, wool and natural dyes. I managed to lure her over with the promise of buttons...
I love this cascade of yarns! Maria of mimibellatree also popped in with Emily and Isabella to show off her finished fabruckets.
We were in the middle of a power cut when they turned up but we all stayed calm and made a cup of tea on the camping stove we use for dyeing and settled down with some vanilla cupcakes from Scoffin'. Maria took a couple of the wooden hares away with her, they're new and you can find them alongside the wooden hearts which are ready for you to paint and embellish. You can see in this photo a couple of the hearts that Jacqui has decorated with some Farrow and Ball paint and vintage notions.
Don't forget our blog giveaway! Post a comment before Saturday night to be entered into the draw, Nic x

Landscaping Solution Reveal

Wow! I received so many wonderful ideas and suggestions for my little landscaping project. I really appreciate everyone who took the time to voice their opinion. I have to say I have learned a lot from this process. Thank you!

Case in point, Kelly at MuchTo Do With Nothing, Miranda at Blooming in Alaska, Katie at Yoga Gal, Jackie at Empty Nest Full Life, and Kathy at Creative Home Expressions all suggested using a pencil stick holly – a plant I had never heard of before.

I instantly loved the look and shape of this plant as well as its specifications – a mature width of 2 feet, adaptable to most soil conditions, can be trimmed to desired height and good drought tolerance. Sounded great!

Upon further research I also found it is hardy in Zones 5 – 9. I, however, discovered I live in Zone 4. (You can tell I need to learn more about gardening as I did not know what Zone I lived in until I looked it up for this project.)

There were also many other terrific plant suggestions including burford hollies – love the idea of the red berries playing off the red door - from Debbie at Confessions of a Plate Addict . . .

. . . ligustrom topiary- a very versatile plant that can be grown into many shapes - from Karen . . .

. . . and hydragneas – one of my all time favorites - from Joan at For the Love of a House.

Lisa at Fern Creek Cottage, Andrea at Willow Wisp Cottage, Melissa at Melissa's Heart and Home and Amy at Simply a Farmer’s Wife thought the best option was two large urns.

There were also several people who suggested planting something “softer” and less structured since the rest of my landscaping is very symmetrical. So many terrific ideas!

So what did I choose? (in case you missed it, click HERE to see the before)

The winner was two large urns.

I think the urns give me the most flexibility as well as the best fit for the architecture of the house. I will be able to fill them with flowers, a topiary or seasonal décor.

They are also simple in design, take up less room than a plant (and will never get bigger!), and will allow me to add some color with annuals to the front entrance.

I am very pleased with how this little change looks – classic and less cluttered. I seem to be simplifying and going more “white” on the inside of my house so it just goes to follow that I would do the same for the outside.

What to do?

You have probably guessed that the picture above is of my house. It was taken several years ago – long before I had even heard of the word “blog.” Today, my house looks like this:

Not really too much different at first glance. Take a closer look, however, and you will see the cone shaped bushes on either side of the door have grown taller and have become rather thin and brown around the bottom. Not pretty! The damage is not very noticeable from the street, but close up is another story. It seems they did not brave the winter well this year – victims of some hungry voles I have been told.

Being the type of person who would rather have “nothing” than live with something I don’t like, I decided they needed to go.

Fortunately, Mr. RDH didn’t need much convincing. So out came the shovels and down went the bushes.

It definitely is a much cleaner and simpler look – which I like. The problem is this – what should I replace them with?

A few ideas have come to mind – same type of bush as before, another boxwood, a bed of flowers, a different kind of bush (suggestions welcome), two urns, etc.

So what would you do? I am open to all suggestions and look forward to hearing your opinion. Thanks for your help.

Isaac's Day

Some of you may remember the blog post about the wonderful pudding party Nic and I went to recently, organised by our mutual friend, Lisa. It was to support local couple Sarah and Jay Wilkins in their brilliant fundraising efforts following the tragic loss of their baby boy, Isaac, at just six months old, from Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

Sarah has been busy planning and organising a major event which takes place at Isaacs on the Quay, on the Waterfront in Ipswich this Sunday, 25th July from 12 noon, in memory of Isaac, and to support the Childrens Community Nursing Team in Suffolk.

It is set to be a brilliant event with live music, hog roast and bbq, balloon race plus auctions and raffles throughout the afternoon. We thought it would be nice to make a donation of a raffle / auction prize and so wrapped up a little bit of Halfpenny Home along with a voucher for a 3 hour workshop for two. We popped in to see Sarah with our gift and good wishes this evening and hope that Sarah and Jay raise a fantastic amount on Sunday.

Jacquix

Guest Posting at Finding Fabulous

Today you will find me guest posting at Finding Fabulous - so exciting!

It seems Jane and I are kindred spirits when it comes to many of our design philosophies – decorating for less, thinking outside the box, revamping and reusing furniture, etc.

You can understand why I was thrilled when she asked me to share my favorite budget decorating tip.

I hope you will visit Finding Fabulous to see my answer!

MY JUNKY MARRIAGE

Take one of these...



and one of these...



add one of these...



and of course one of these...



and you get one of these...



a junk marriage if you will... sorry this one is mine but you can totally copy this for yourself... you'll need an old floor lamp base, a crusty ceiling fixture, a tart tin and of course a candle.

Enjoy...

Second Vintage and Craft Fair

What a lovely weekend! Halfpenny Home was buzzing with excitement on Saturday as some brave souls set out their wares in between showers.

The scones and muffins from Scoffin' are out of this world! We are extrememely grateful that they made it as they had been at the Latitude Festival the night before and hadn't gone to bed until two that morning - well done ladies!
Helen and Charlotte bought us some beautiful flowers and a picnic...
Of course the best thing is that we do it all over again next month!
Hope you can make it to the next one, Nic x

COME SIT ON MY PORCH

In Florida it's a must to have a screened porch unless you don't mind mosquito bites. Sadly, we don't enjoy ours much as it's too darn hot most of the year to sit on it. But, I still like it to look inviting and cozy...

I don't put anything out there that can't stand up to rain, humidity and cat hair. Yes, we have a nearly 19~year old cat who lives on the screen porch year round. It's her domain if you will...

On the porch you'll find an old metal glider, a beautiful twig chair that I have owned for many years, my great~grandmother's old primitive wash stand, and two of my fav finds~~a round victorian wire plant stand and a large wire aviary that I bought in Texas from Tim Bolton of Homestead. Sprinkled about are chippy architectural pieces, birdcages and birdhouses, urns filled with shells and a zinc obelisk.

I hand~painted the floor to look like stone. When we hang out there I toss some old ticking pillows on the glider and chairs for comfort. Candles set the mood and jazz softly plays in the background...

Sit down and join me, will you?

A Big, Big Rock!

This past week my husband and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. Looking back, it is hard to believe so much time has passed by so quickly. To celebrate our 20 years together my wonderful husband bought me a big rock!

No, no, not this kind of rock:

This kind of rock!

Mine came in the form of new granite countertops for our kitchen.

If you have been following this blog for a while, you will no doubt understand how excited I was/am. I much prefer “house things” to clothes, shoes, jewelry, etc. This was the absolutely perfect gift!

Here is our kitchen before.  We had speckled green/gray/black granite tiles with a very dated wooden edging.

Here is the kitchen now.

It honestly feels like a brand new space.

I find myself walking through the kitchen and just staring. Is this really the same kitchen? It is hard to believe how one change to a room can make such a big difference. I am so pleased with the results.

Keeping it Real with a Few Things to Think About
I can’t say enough about how much I love my new countertops. (I don’t want you to think I am complaining!) Like every project, however, it was not without its issues. I am hoping by sharing a few of the things which occurred during our renovation, it may help you if/when you decide to tackle a similar project.

Countertops
As I said earlier, the original countertops in my kitchen were granite tiles with a wooden edge. This meant two things. First, the new granite countertops would not be as thick as the original. Not really an issue unless you already have a tile backsplash in place like we did.

In order for the new countertops to be the correct height in relation to the existing backsplash, a ¼” piece of wood had to be installed to increase the height of the granite. This means we will have to put a ½” quarter round piece of cherry molding along the underneath side of the granite to hide the exposed edge of the added wood. We have not done this yet, but in all honesty, you can’t see this extra piece of wood unless you are sitting on the floor.

The second issue was the original countertops had to be completely destroyed in order to make the templates for the new countertops. I was told if my countertops had been laminate, the installers would have popped them off, made the templates and put them back in place.

Instead, we had to clean out everything from the bottom row of cabinets and store it all in the dining room. We also had to live without a kitchen sink and dishwasher for the entire process - about a month.

Not a big issue, as I have a utility sink in my laundry room which is right around the corner from the kitchen.

Faucet
An unexpected problem occurred when we were attempting to reinstall the faucet. My previous sink had been a top mounted model on which the faucet was placed. The new sink is an under the counter mounted model.

Translation, the faucet was now about ½” shorter and the faucet handles would not turn because they hit the ledge behind the sink. Needless to say, I was not happy. What to do?

The installers and I bounced several ideas around – sand off part of the ledge to make it smaller and create more room behind the faucet, install a small piece of granite on top of the countertop and underneath the faucet to add height, etc. Nothing I really liked because each of these solutions created more problems.

Finally after a long discussion, I came up with an idea – switch the faucet handles to lever style. Not knowing if this was even an option, I made some phone calls. As luck would have it, lever style handles are made for my faucet model. We ordered the handles and they should be here within two weeks. Problem solved. In the mean time, the faucet is set in place but not mounted to the countertop. This allows me to use the faucet and sink until the new handles arrive.

Sink
After resolving the faucet issue, next up was attaching the sink to the garbage disposal and water supply. My new sink is larger and deeper than the original sink (hurray!) which, of course, caused more problems.

When my husband tried to reuse the original pipes they were now too long because the sink sits lower in the cabinet. The old pipes could not be cut because of the location of a manufacturer’s label. Another delay, but a trip to Lowe’s and this issue too was solved.

Wall Damage
In order to install the granite on the right of the refrigerator, a piece of the door molding needed to be removed. Nail holes will now need to be patched and the molding repainted.

There was also some slight wall damage caused by the granite sliding into place – more patching and painting. Neither one of these is a big deal, but just something to be aware of if you are redoing countertops next to a door facing.

I hope my experience will help you to think about some of the issues we had with our project should you decide to do something similar. The reality is all of these surprises were easily dealt with. It was more frustrating than anything else when you think you would be finished and then something else would delay progress. The biggest issue was really the faucet. We were extremely lucky that Rohl makes an alternative style handle.

I am “over the moon” happy with how my kitchen looks now. My husband truly out did himself. Thanks Mr. RDH!

Linking to some of my favorite parties HERE

Sources:
Granite – Absolute Black
Sink – Blanco Super Single Bowl Silgranit in Biscuit
Faucet – Rohl Country Kitchen