Autumn cleaning the big flower box

On the north side of the house I've built a rather big flower box. 

The idea was for the green to camouflage the ugly litter box that sits right next to it. 

Since this is the north side of the house there's shadow most of the day.

In it I've therefore chosen shadow loving plants: hosta, fern, eunymus fortunei (klatrebeinved), Christmas rose / helleborus niger, foxglove.

During summer the hosta and a few chosen varieties of weeds have thrived and the others not so much.

Now I've weeded and cut back the hosta.

Love hostas but next year it will have to go, it's taking up way too much space. 

And I'll find a new climber. I tried aristolochia macrophylla (in Norwegian pipeholurt) but that didn't make it through the winter.

Lamps in waiting

As I tried out different arrangements for the still lifes the other day I brought out more lamps from my collection of lamps in waiting.

I have bought several lamps both new and from second hand shops during the last couple of years.

None of them have been put to use yet.

The old ones need rewiring or different fabric or maybe a lick of paint.

The new ones  just have to be connected to the electrical system - which for me is a major obstacle as I have never done that before.

                                         

The excisting lighting in the house is either plain and boring

(as the one in the picture to the left. Each room except the living room, has one of these put up in the middle of the ceiling.) 

or just non-excisting

(as in the bathroom above the mirror and in the kitchen under the kitchen cupboards). 

So, I'll pull myself together and collect all the crafting and DIY skills I can muster, and get these lamps up and running.

They cannot stay in storage for much longer - that's for sure! 

Downstairs hallway

The hall is my least favorite room of the house. It's sooooo tiny, way too many doors, too dark and too edgy. It gives me a bad feeling to have to come into this room when I come home. 

Something has to be done. So I'd like to: 

- Put up different lighting in the ceiling

- Paint the door (black or white - haven't decided which yet)

- Paint the floor white

- Paint the walls white

- Paint the stairs white 

- Give it some round and soft forms - it is so square and edgy

- Tidy up and always keep it tidy!!!

 Standing in the doorway to the living room looking out. 

My daughter is sorting her collection of pebbles.

Looking through the front door towards the living room door. 

The downstairs hall measures only 3 m2 / 30 f2 and has got three doors and a staircase.

I quite like the doors by the way.

 The former owner had, for some unknown reason painted the hall in two different shades of pale. It's barely visible in this photo, but another reason why I'm not happy about the hall. 

A peek in the bathroom

I haven't been tempted to show the bathroom before, but now I've given this room a little weed out as well.

I have a love / hate relationship to the bathroom; for instance, I love the big shower and floor heating, but I don't like the unfinished feeling of it, the big window and the lack of proper storage space and lamp above the mirror. (It's all on my list of to do's)

Despite my shop-stop I went and bought a few things to shine up the bathroom. I cleared out all the cans and bottles that were outdated or not likely to be used again.

I didn't manage to clear the top of the washer of necessities, but I did tidy it up a bit and make room for some decorating stuff.

                        

Other points on my to do list for the bathroom:

-switch the existing sink with one with a cabinet

- put up shelving and cabinets on the wall

-paint the lister window, ceiling, door

- change blinds

- put up some artwork on the wall

Dining room bench

Our living room is also our dining room. It's quite small but still so shaped that we can have a fairly big dining table. Last year I built a bench of IKEA kitchen cabinets, an MDF on top and an adjusted skirting at the bottom instead of legs, I didn't want the bench to be too high. 

I upholstered the bench with pillows both for the seat and the back. I only used pillows I already had for this. 

I started making this bench last summer and it's been in use through the year, both for seating and for storing. 
But guess what - it's still not quite finished!

The last cabinet was added a little later than the rest and so it doesn't have neither top nor skirting. I haven't even put the cabinet door on, come to think of it!

Work that is left to do on it (apart from the issues of the last cabinet) is:

- painting the skirting

- painting or dressing the MDF top

- sew pillowcases for the seat pillows

- sew pillowcases for the back pillows
- put on handles (maybe)