A (Nearly) Finished Front Room

The front room is tidy. And clean. So I have taken photos. I had to physically ban the children from the room for the pictures - they only have to walk into a room for things to magically untidy themselves behind them. Does that happen to anyone else? Please tell me they grow out of it. This is where someone tells me that teenagers are messier than toddlers. 

This room is gratifyingly toy-free as we have a sort of play room area (which we all still call the "extension", even though we built the extension three years ago) with a sofa and tv and lots of toys, and the kids spend most of their time in there during the day.

The sofa is in situ and I am delighted to report that is it marvelously comfortable. We are loving the charcoal grey colour and the comfort and the look of it, and well all of it really.

We found some lovely ready made curtains (I say we - it was John) in IKEA for only £30. I think that is a terrific bargain (she says, lying back on her new sofa with a glass of champagne in one hand). They aren't lined but I like the light and airy look of them, and the wiggly pattern seems to complement the other colours in the room.

Apparently all IKEA curtains come in one size, 3 metres long, so after I'd hemmed them I had enough fabric left for two cushion covers. In my haste to complete and photograph them, I forgot to iron them.

I love the eyelet curtain tops, and the contrast between the grey walls and white ceiling. We always paint the woodwork and ceiling white, I think it shows off the wall colour more.

The chair used to be in our bedroom, where it was a receptacle for all the clothes John is strangely unable to hang up in the wardrobe. Now it sits next to a nest of tables we bought in Habitiat about ten years ago, and I still really love them. The bottom suitcase holds wool, the top one all my sewing clutter.

The walls do look rather bare, I know. We need to find something colourful to hang over the fireplace, and something to go behind the sofa.

In the meantime, I will make do with Kilner jars filled with supermarket peonies.

I hope you like it. I does look very bare and unusually tidy at the moment. I am working on a crocheted granny squares cushion and some embroidered wall hangings. I will, of course (!), show you those whenever they finally get completed.

Thank you for all the kind comments about the grey paint. It's not for everyone, I know! I would have chosen pink if I had full control of the decorating, but that pesky husband of mine likes to interfere.