Light Upgrade

We've struggled for a while with the light in Isabella's room.  With the ceiling being at a funny angle, most of the light is at one side of the room only and it is not where she sleeps.

She's at an age where she's enjoying books more and more and of course, we read to her on a night.  We were stuck between using the very bright desk lamp next to her bed, or the 'big lights' which were further away, until we found this strip light at Ikea.

It is lightweight, pretty and fixes perfectly on the sloping ceiling thanks to some double sided sticking pads that come with it.  After a few wobbles about not messing with the wire, and the dangers of electricity, Isabella loves it.

It's so pretty - a perfect and inexpensive uplift to a little girly room.

Terrace Lights

As usual, the big advantage of our holidays is having the time and energy to nag Nico into doing things get more done around the house.  We got a lot done in the first week and especially nice was having some quality time with the children.

As far as jobs around the house go, this was my favourite. Unfortunately we haven't had the right weather to make the most of them yet but hopefully, we will.  The lights were bought last year and we haven't had time to put them up since Summer arrived so I do hope it's not over already.  In previous years we have sat out on Nico's birthday but this year it did nothing but rain.

The lights provide a lovely atmosphere and aren't too bright.  They make the terrace a much more inviting space.  It really feels like things are coming together around here again.

DIY: Bathroom Windows

This week we finally finished covering our bathroom windows.

We've had problems with blinds and mould from the condensation and Nico found this adhesive covering that has the additional benefit that it lets all the light in but obscures the view.

I love the effect and the light and after a couple of months trialing one half, we've now done the whole thing. Very pleased overall.

Make it Monday - Sofa Cover

For a while now, I've wanted to cover the sofa in Joshua's room. It was originally half of an Ikea corner sofa I bought for my old flat. We wanted more space in the living room and since Isabella has a double bed, we thought Joshua might appreciate it.

Having been torn apart from the other part of the old, black sofa, it didn't look great and needed brightening up but I had no idea where to start.

In the end I ordered three meters of a nice green material with white dots and got cracking with the staple gun. The sofa is an odd shape and I'm no upholsterer but I just went for it and improvised on the fiddly bits.

I'm really happy with the result. The room looks brighter and more inviting and should the material wear out, I can always re-do it. Joshua seemed to like it too.

Heart Wall

Since my spring clean in January, I've been wanting to start this heart wall around the new mirror in our bedroom.

As one of my April goals, I finally got around to it. We had these three around and they don't match but I love them on this wall and look forward to adding to it.

DIY no.1 done!

Isabella's Room

 For a while I've been wanting to do something to brighten up Isabella's room a bit.

There's not much space since she has a wooden sloped roof and a built in wardrobe.

 Also, I didn't want to go overboard with the budget. Last year, we furnished her room with IKEA children's furniture and I decided to use the colour from that.

I got one litre of pink paint and highlighted the flowers on the sliding doors of her wardrobe. They were wallpapered by the previous owners and it was easier to work with it for now.

Here are the finished doors. I'm really pleased with my morning's work.

Supplements

Since my colitis diagnosis, I've been taking different supplements to help reduce the medication I need.

I take two types of algae, tumeric and Indian incense. The tumeric and incense capsules can be expensive so Nico has made them for me.

I've now learned how to make them myself and it's so easy and much cheaper. The supplements are not just for people with such illnesses, they can help anyone feel better in themselves.

It's helped me no end so hopefully I'll end up medication free...

Make It Monday - Decorative Letter

I recently found a pinterest tutorial for a decorative letter and decided to try one myself for Isabella's room.

My letter is not quite as flat as the example so it was a bit trickier but I like that it was different and the white looks good where it shows through.

I went with the yellow and orange theme from her room and added a little green with the buttons to tie into some other DIY projects I have planned there.

I also have a 'B' but I'm not sure what I want to do with it yet. I'm just going to enjoy this one for now.