here's an update about our living-room. as a

here's an update about our living-room.
as a reminder, because i've been away from this blog for long (but hopefully i'll post more regularly this winter) you will also see the before pictures.

before :

after :

this is the corner seen far right where the sanding machine is, on the first picture. as we had just laid the wallpaper (was not even trimmed). the wall including the fireplace has a patterned wallpaper (trees) and we laid fibrex on the rest of the room. fibrex is the new stuff replacing fiber glass cloth, which is NOT safe for your health, especially if , like me, you have breathing problems. fibrex looks like paper and is invisible under some waterbased paint. but it will help you deal with uneven walls, like the ones we have in this house.

we sanded the oak floor, no color but an eco & health (i have asthma) friendly matte varnishing, 3 coats.
two parts of the walls were re-plastered & re-treated against humidity, it's an old house in a rainy area.

we got rid of the tiles around the fireplace and went for pebbles instead. because we needed more than a few of them -- it's forbidden to pick them up from our beautiful atlantic shores -- we bought some (real) pebbles tiles from lapeyre, and waterproofed (you can find specific sealers fot this purpose in your DIY store) them so that they won't be stained by the ashes nearby.

before :

after :

we have ordered a glass firescreen but still waiting for it...

the pine country style bookshelves had turned orange over the years and we felt they needed to be updated by a coat of white paint as well. they're almost ready and i can't wait to have them filled with our favorite books once again. sorry i don't have any before picture to show.

we've had a little hesitation for a while as for window treatment. blinds or curtains... DH had a weakness for curtains that, he said, would give some warmth to the room. we chose two (cotton & washable) pairs from ikea (for only some 25 euros a pair) and decided (my idea, his work) to use two (rather straight) branches of a tree of our yard we had to knock down last Spring.

a big screw was inserted in each side to keep all this together, but allows me to remove the curtains and wash them whenever i want. thanks darling, they're just perfect !

Comments

[Shayna]

the stones are so sweet! the living room looks great! really amazing job...

[isabel f.]

lovely work, you two have done :))
why de name blog- numero quatorze?? this is portuguese :)))
porquê o numero qatorze (14)? :)))))

[abby]

I L O V E those curtain rods!! That is a fantastic idea and they look beautiful. They match your new wallpaper very well, I think. All of your improvements here are excellent Valerie. And yes, keep up the before photos : ) It is very fun to see the change.

[petit caillou]

Quelle merveille ce papier arbre!!
Et cette ambiance du nord...mmmh, j'adore.
Très inspirant je dois dire. ça me fait aussi penser qu'il faut prendre son temps, ne pas se précipiter histoire de trouver de belles idées.

[memmu]

It's so beautiful... I really like your living room! Those pebbles are just wonderful, I'd love to have something like that in my home too.

Well done :)!!!