An old farmhouse - restored!

After 14 years restoring this old Elizabethan house (which was our home until November 2012)it is so exciting to see the rooms finally coming together! At times the work has been an 'uphill' struggle, but after all the long hours of toil, this 500 year old house is suddenly ready for the finishing touches that will make a home.  It is a complete joy to see fresh flowers, treasured photo's and possessions filling each room.  Here are a few pictures of our finished home, starting this month with the master bedroom.

The Master Bedroom:

Above image: The Paper Mulberry - the master bedroom: the bed drape is an antique monogrammed linen sheet, the bedside cabinets (which we have had for 25 years and are a rather ugly melamine)have had a make-over, first primed with a melamine paint primer and then painted with Laura Ashley 'Ivory' eggshell, the knobs are from Homebase as are the bedside lamps and shades. The white lined glass cube vases (filled with white roses) are my favourite new purchase and are from EasyFloristSupplies The bed is painted in Farrow and Ball 'Stony Ground' shade 211. Most of the bedlinen is from The White Company

Above image: The Paper Mulberry - the master bedroom: the bed drape is an antique monogrammed linen sheet (I didn't have the heart to cut it to make the canopy correctly so ended up draping it instead!)The bed is painted in Farrow and Ball 'Stony Ground' shade 211. Most of the bedlinen is from The White Company

Above image: The Paper Mulberry - the master bedroom: the cupboards are painted in Farrow and Ball 'Stony Ground' shade 211. and Laura Ashley 'Ivory' eggshell, the curtains are a French blue printed linen Toile from Laura Ashley that I bought around 10 years ago. The bed drape is an antique monogrammed linen sheet, the bedside cabinets are painted with Laura Ashley 'Ivory' eggshell and the knobs are from Homebase as are the bedside lamps and shades. The bed is painted in Farrow and Ball 'Stony Ground' shade 211. The trunk at the end of our bed is an antique grain chest.

 Above image: The Paper Mulberry - the master bedroom: our cat 'Fingle' on a vintage toile de jouy quilt

Above image: The Paper Mulberry - the master bedroom: the cupboards and bedstead are painted in Farrow and Ball 'Stony Ground' shade 211, the curtains are a French blue and white printed linen Toile from Laura Ashley that I bought around 10 years ago. The trunk at the end of our bed is an antique grain chest and the coat hooks on the wall are a vintage French find. The cushions on the settee are made from vintage toile and grain sacks. The settee itself I have draped with a cotton dust sheet (similar at Baileys Home & Garden). The white photo' frames are from Homebase and the dark wood tallboy is an inherited piece.

The white photo' frames are from Homebase and the dark wood tallboy is an inherited piece.

Above image: The Paper Mulberry - the master bedroom: the cupboard is the airing cupboard and we have painted it in Farrow and Ball 'Stony Ground' shade 211,the coat hooks are a vintage French find. The chimney breast on the left of the cupboard is from the snug fireplace below

Above image: The Paper Mulberry - the master bedroom: the

bedstead is painted in Farrow and Ball 'Stony Ground' shade 211, the curtains are made from a French blue and white cotton check fabric from Fired Earth that I bought around 10 years ago. The trunk at the end of our bed is an antique grain chest. The white photo' frames are from Homebase and the dark wood tallboy is an inherited piece. The fireplace has an original Georgian hob grate and we have added slate tiles on the hearth which hides the pipework for the central heating!

Above image: The Paper Mulberry - the master bedroom: the rusty lantern on our mantlepiece with my favourite white roses ('Iceberg')and honeysuckle (woodbine) (Lonicera periclymenum 'Graham Thomas') from our garden - the honeysuckle grows up through the apple trees and fills the bedroom with it's gorgeous perfume! 

This was our home until November 2012

The Paper Mulberry our restoration project

With warmest wishes

An old farmhouse in the morning sun

With a glorious morning here in England and the restoration of our old farmhouse(built in the early to mid 1500's)coming on in leaps and bounds it seemed an ideal time for a few quick photographs! I am thrilled to say that we have finished the first floor and attic bedrooms and the new carpets have been laid and we are enjoying 'paddling' around in bare feet! The trials and hard work of the last few years have been soothed by the comforts of freshly painted rooms and furniture free from layers of inch thick dust. We have a little way to go with the soft furnishing but here are a few photo's of our old farmhouse in her new Spring look!

Above image: The Paper Mulberry our restoration project - an occasional table in the smallest bedroom showing one of the wall beams that we uncovered under layers of wallpaper. The lamp is from Laura Ashley the white box picture frame from Homebase (rose from the garden - a climbing rose named Iceberg) 

Above image: The Paper Mulberry our restoration project - the smallest bedroom - the vintage wrought iron daybed is French and can be turned into a child's cot.

Above image: The Paper Mulberry our restoration project - the smallest bedroom - the antique corner cupboard was from a Victorian kitchen and we have left it unpainted inside with the warm colour of the old pine giving a lovely contrast.

Above image: The Paper Mulberry our restoration project - the smallest bedroom - this shows the wobbly ceilings we have throughout the house (the floors are the same) and the depth of the window ledge shows the thickness of the old wattle and daub walls.

Above image: The Paper Mulberry our restoration project - the smallest bedroom - the sunlight shows the texture of the original lime plaster and the rather quirky uneven height windows. If you crawl on the windowsill on the left it takes you behind the wall on to the staircase(see below)!

Above image: The Paper Mulberry our restoration project - the landing on the first staircase - the windowsill that leads through to the smallest bedroom! It also makes a great spot to sit and read. The windows are painted in Farrow and Ball Green Stone, sadly no longer available.

Above image: The Paper Mulberry our restoration project - the smallest bedroom - the 'secret' windowsill passage that leads through to the staircase (shown above). The Rococo style mirror is a new find (see below). The curtains are made from a gorgeously thick slub cotton fabric bought at The Conran Shop around 20 years ago, over the years I have re-made the curtains to suit various windows.   

Above image: The Paper Mulberry our restoration project - the smallest bedroom - I couldn't resist this mirror which is a soft chalky taupe shade (my photography is awful!)

Above image: The Paper Mulberry our restoration project - the second staircase - this leads up to the attic bedrooms. If you crawl along the windowsill it takes you behind the wall on the right into the smallest bedroom shown above!

Above image: The Paper Mulberry our restoration project - down the second staircase from the attic bedrooms to the first floor landing. The balustrades are the original old oak

Above image: The Paper Mulberry our restoration project - the first floor landing - this also shows the white travertine marble floor in our bathroom and the wobbly floors, walls, etc! Walls painted in 'Chalk' by Zoffany

Above image: The Paper Mulberry our restoration project - one of the first floor bedrooms (more photographs to follow at a later date) my Husband made the cupboard which is painted in Laura Ashley 'Ivory'

Above image: The Paper Mulberry our restoration project - the view from our bedroom across the landing to the smallest bedroom 

Above image: The Paper Mulberry our restoration project - our bedroom - the curved structure on the left of the cupboard is the chimney from the room below. The dark furry blob on the settee is Fingle our cat! The cupboard in painted in Farrow and Ball 'Stony Ground' no.211

Above image: The Paper Mulberry our restoration project - our bedroom - the newly restored fireplace (more photo's to follow at a later date)

Above image: The Paper Mulberry our restoration project - our backdoor (painted in Farrow and Ball Card room green no.79) with grapevine above. The lead pots are actually fibreclay reproductions.  

As the we are now in full flourish finishing the restoration work on our house I will be posting once a month to allow time for both! 

Update: this was our home until November 2012, we would like to wish the new owners every happiness in their new home!

With warmest wishes