Decorated or undecorated?

[judrop]

So the solution is to restore your house to their condition at a time when they were so dark inside you couldn't see the dirt and scruffiness

:lol: :lol: :lol: Love that , I knew there was a good reason why I adore the small windows inour house :wink:

 

[JoceAndChris]

This is obviously where I'm going wrong- better get rid of all these nasty crumbly old windows!

I so want to see Moo's house, you're right Mr P - I don't believe a word of it!

 

[Moo]

Hop on a train then, Joce, and do some of your shopping here. My sister-in-law, who lives near you, thinks that Norwich beats her local centres hands down. And you don't get free coffee and light refreshments there either.

 

[JoceAndChris]

OK you're on!

Will consult calendar and PM you!

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Joce - I so love that room. The light through those windows is fantastic.

 

[Nigel Watts]

Great windows. The wall seems much thicker in the top picture, giving those wonderful recesses. I wonder why it is so much thinner in the second?

 

[JoceAndChris]

Every period property has its own unique bunch of attributes, some are ensconced in glorious cities, some have the most exquisite countryside in the UK, but this house has got its own sky and the way the light pours in, the sunsets dye the rooms orange, and the rainbows settle in the field behind could almost make me believe in God! Even downstairs you get the most curious fingers of light pointing in, which is a good reason to use a lot of crystal light fittings, and get all those broken rainbows of light everywhere.

Great windows. The wall seems much thicker in the top picture, giving those wonderful recesses. I wonder why it is so much thinner in the second?

Ah, the top picture is our drawing room - the inside of the polygonal bay in the middle of the house - the bottom picture is a different room and era- the south facing music room bay added in the 30s, a small, one-room brick extension to the thick walled stone house.

 

[Nigel Watts]

the bottom picture is a different room and era- the south facing music room bay added in the 30s

And very sypathetically done it would seem. The sashes in the older room don't look like the originals (the giveaway sign is the way the vertcial member continues above the horzontal one; in a Georgian or early Victorian sash it would not), but the shutters and shutterboxes probably are.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Right again Monsieur Poirot! Yes, the windows here are Victorian. Newspaper from the 1890s was found stuffed in the channels when the previous owner restored them in the 80s.

Thank you for your positive comment about the symapthetic 30s addition; I still puzzle over how on earth they matched the roof. It does echo the rest of the style of the house, but in adding that they wiped out the symmetry, which is so funadamental to Georgian design, and to this house, and for that reason I would even consider knocking it down. Chris would never let me though!

Original bay, facing west

30s bay, facing south.

 

[Pford75]

Joce,

I'm late to this thread (too much work of late)...but FWIW, I follow Jocelyn's comments.....it really depends on the 'status' of the cupboard. Within our home, we have cupboards and hidey holes in bedrooms which we have papered (sometimes in very daring shades or patterns). Whereas the more functional cupboards are either bare plaster, limewash or bare brick.

The possibilities of having a dove grey bedroom, but with cupboards lined in shocking pink Zoffany paper is something we like (and it always surprises the guests in that bedroom).

 

[JoceAndChris]

I think the muted bedroom and a wild cupboard is a fantastic idea - one that had occured to me too. It enables you to use some of the really witty papers that are out there without having to look at it all day, every day. I bet it looks amazing in your house Pford!

Check out http://www.beware-the-moon.com/?page=she07&utm_source=mydeco&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=mydeco, and Gareth's wonderful satirical toile:
http://www.timorousbeasties.com/products/Wallpapers/Toile%20Wallpaper/9

I even found one for Flyfisher! http://www.wallpaperdirect.co.uk/products/lewis-wood/fly-fishing/28231

 

[Moo]

And because of its size, you can get away with only one roll of wallpaper so for once price is no object.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

It's lovely, you are so lucky to have those brilliant mouldings, I really really miss those features......

 

[robgil]

This is obviously where I'm going wrong- better get rid of all these nasty crumbly old windows!

I so want to see Moo's house, you're right Mr P - I don't believe a word of it!

waw , my goodness , joce that's a really , stunningly , beautiful house you have , i can see why you are concerned about decorating.
all we have to worry about , or be grateful for is the fact that our house was never really decorated in the same sense as yours , our walls have been plastered by hand in mud and straw and later limewashed but those pics you posted create a picture of a very beautiful home indeed , thank you for posting them.

on the decorating side of things , we have been pulling hard board away from our original walls and we have concluded that the previous 'restorer' decided to cover things up by way of battons and hardboard/metal mesh and cement render with the least amount of disturbance rather than decorate directly onto the original structure so perhaps this could be a route to consider?

saying that though it seems like the removal of studs and inclusion of cement render and iron windows with the rotten and mostly none existent soul plates along with the missing studs at the front of the house are making me worry about what exactly is holding up the front of our house. i am beginning to believe that who ever restored this house was either working from magazine publications or working to a very tight budget and even tighter time scale.
still , its a learning curve and one that i find extremely interesting to follow.

 

[judrop]

Absolutely stunning home, and wonderful windows, totally in keeping splendid ! Ju x

 

[JoceAndChris]

Aw, haven't you seen my house judrop and robgil? Everyone else has been bored senseless! (sorry everyone else) judrop, your cottage is lovely too, and listed - lucky you! I'm sure that one day you'll get to do what you need to it.

I hope the above picture of the front of the house can help people to understand why I'm so bothered by symmetry and things matching and fitting.

Thanks for the nice comment about the mouldings Joss, I really like that 6 rooms have original shutters but have been very depressed by lack of original skirtings, and such simple original architrave and coving - slowly I'm adjusting to this and now thinking I won't impose any more ornate mouldings on it.

There's a lot to do to the exterior- the roof fixing somehow, then the cement render needs to come off and lime render go on, paint it with a softer limewash shade, the 2 windows under the main windows need unblocking to restore that symmetry and lower ground levels back to what they were 200 years ago, and then the landscaping , perhaps a gravel path against the walls of the house with low box hedging punctured with evenly spaced lavender...

robgil, you have taken on an enormous challenge there with pinky but I know you can sort it! It sounds like it needs cutting open, operation on its major internal orgians, and putting back together again. You will need some strong anaesthetic; I suggest gin!

 

[Flyfisher]

Sounds like you some help from these chaps : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPBP50dXcsk

 

[JoceAndChris]

:lol: :lol: :lol: I LOVED that - thanks for posting!

 

[Penners]

But that's the perfect solution. You tunnel into the bank's vaults and create Chris's extension tube line, both at the same time.

My consultancy invoice is in the post.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Oh dear, I hope you will take a liquid payment. Great plan though!