As I was taking out the staircase in the will be kitchen I noticed some stone peeking through the broken plaster. It would make sense that there is a stone wall there – after all the house we live in was at least two, if not three or four in a row. There are thick stone walls throughout, so this would seem to be the case on this particular wall too.
Today I decided to look a little further. Chipping away at the plaster this is what I uncovered.
It set me thinking. My original plan was to have tongue and groove going around the room and acting as a backsplash. But, when times are tight due to Covid, a little hard work could uncover a wall which I wouldn’t need to tile, tongue and groove or any other form of backsplash. I may not do it throughout, but what would it look like on this wall?
To give me some ideas I did a pinterest search. Here’s what I came up with….let me know what you think.
I’ve run into several problems with my conversion of a buffet into a kitchen island; so the project is taking a lot longer, with a lot more tears than I initially anticipated. In fact I hadn’t anticipated any tears, so….
Anyway to keep me going I search Pinterest for kitchen inspiration and my browsing has led me to bar stools. For your Saturday, downtime dreaming may I present these 20 lovelies…
I’m still working away in the room that will be the kitchen. It’s tiring and each stage seems to be taking four times as long as I’d hoped. So I need some inspiration…..and here it is….
When you are doing up an old house you have to make do and mend. Not only to get that vintage look but, unless you’re a millionaire, because it’s an expensive process. We’ve been lucky so far in that there have been no unforeseen costs – well apart from our boiler that is. We’ve just got our quote for that. 7,000€. It could be worse, but that’s a big dent in the finances this year.
As a result we make do with what we’ve got.
Having had the electrics nearly completed in the will be kitchen, we need the flooring done to be able to connect them to the kitchen island and move further forward. Yet the flooring will be expensive…😬.
I got a quote to have the floor tiled and the work alone was 4-5000€. Even pre boiler quote that just wasn’t possible post COVID. So we were considering laying a wooden floor ourselves. This is slightly more practical to diy than the tiles, which can be tricky to lay on a well used floor without the possibility of future cracking.
Even with that as a future plan money is a problem now. Leaving us with the expensive electrics almost completed and the majority of the bill paid for, but the need to finish the flooring around the wiring laid in the floor to be finished. As we’re using solid, freestanding furniture we have the options of laying the rest of the floor later, as long as we have the tiling around the central isle and the sink finished first. The latter would be needed so we could get it plumbed in without it being disturbed in the future.
A while ago I bought these tiles as I was going to use them for a splash back and worktop respectively.
I remembered the tiles and wondered if there was a way I could just tile these areas and then lay the wood around them at a later date. What would this look like? I started searching for some ideas. Here’s what I came up with. Some of them is just where wood meets tiles and some are a specific design called a tapis des carrés – or tile rugs. Let me know what you think…
Lincrusta is like linoleum for the walls and ceilings. It differs from Anaglypta wallpaper; it’s harder wearing as it doesn’t have a paper or vinyl base. As with Anaglypta it can be identified by its raised relief. It can be painted, and is perfect for hard wearing areas such as hallways.
It was very popular in the Edwardian period. I used to go to many Victorian houses in my old job and the, now sad looking, grand premises often had stained glass doors with Lincrusta on the hallway walls. They’d often be painted in gloss paint and, although they interested me, they often looked….bleugh. But it doesn’t need to be; more on that later.
Bleugh!
Lincrusta is expensive. It’s about 300€ per roll and a freize with a Lincrusta design on it is the same amount. So bear that in mind if you’ve moved into a period home, spy it and want to tear it all down!
It’s made from a paste of gelled linseed oil and wood flour spread onto a paper base. It is then rolled between steel rollers, one of which has a pattern embossed upon it. The linseed gel continues to dry for many years, so the surface gets harder over time. This is why it’s so expensive and hard wearing.
Not only is Lincrusta expensive to buy, applying it is different from putting up standard paper or vinyl based wallpapers and would need a specialist. You need to cut the Lincrusta panels to the required size and then soak them in warm water until they are malleable, before sticking them to the wall using a special Lincrusta adhesive. The expertise is especially significant as it can’t be cut to allow it to go around corners.
A little history. Lincrusta was invented by Frederick Walton who also patented the aforementioned linoleum flooring in 1860. Lincrusta then followed in 1877 and was used in places from royal homes to railway carriages, hotel foyers, bars, restaurants and casinos.
Can you believe that it was in six staterooms on the Titanic? It’s also in the White House. Like I said – if you have it and are restoring please don’t tear it down!
Although Lincrusta was originally manufactured in various locations all over the world it is now produced in Morecambe, Lancashire using traditional methods.
Both oil-based and water-based paints can be applied to Lincrusta. Below are some inspirational images, but it’s worth bearing in mind that it can provide a base for a variety of treatments.
These are some traditional dado style Lincrusta. As said earlier, this is likely to be found in a hallway. Even giving it a fresh coat of eggshell paint will make it look dramatically different. However you’ll see other treatments too.
A whole wall of Lincrusta? Take a look at these…
Stunning isn’t it?
I can’t afford Lincrusta, I don’t even think I can afford Anaglypta – it’s poor, but still expensive, cousin. However I might be able to afford some embossed wallpaper. Why would I want to introduce this into our house? When you live in a period, stone house you notice the cold. Once it gets warm it stays warm, but this is largely because we have double glazing. However we’re always looking for ways to add insulation.
As there are a lot of these types of homes here in France using a thin layer of polyesterene prior to wallpapering is common. It adds a layer between the cold stone and the wallpaper, stops the heat seeping into the wall.
In the upper rooms and hallway we have a lot of polystyrene tiles on the ceiling for this reason (😱). So I’m thinking of replacing that with a polystyrene sheet and some embossed wallpaper. It won’t have the durability of the Lincrusta, but you don’t exactly get a lot of traffic on the ceiling. Why would I do this? Take a look…
The other way I’ve been inspired by Anaglypta is the friezes. They’re as much as the wallpaper. Yikes! So I’ve come up with an alternative. I’ll tell you about this shortly, but here’s what’s got me salavating…
This old house has a mixture of beautifully panelled, traditional doors and plain modern ones. Obviously I want to keep the traditional, but what to do with the newer additions?
I’ve come across these images of doors that have been hidden within paneling and as I want to panel lots of rooms where these doors exist that’s a good option.
I also need to add doors and I’ve come up with these; an American style French Country take on barn doors.
Oh, and I need a door into the kitchen and fell in love with these.
It’s Epiphany here, so festivities continue but the decorations come down tomorrow. How was your Christmas?
I bought a little French, wooden sofa last year that I’ve avoided reupholstering. I made a mistake when I purchased it as I didn’t check how sound the springs where. Some are decidedly ropey and will need replacing. That and the horsehair that it’s filled with has made me nervous about even attempting to upholster it.
The couch will be in the American style French Country living room and so it needs to be a white or natural shade. So all these inspirational images follow that theme. Enjoy and have a blessed Sunday!
I’m doing my little girl’s bedroom little by little as my daughter keeps being over enthusiastic with her felt tips. As a result we have a little bit of decor done when there’s no additions to her graffiti wall.
Here are some of the ideas I’ve been saving for her bedroom.
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