Rachel's New House

Just a bit of an introduction...I've bought a new house.  Yes, I shall be moving out of Stocksfield Hall after 15 years, but only a few miles down the road.  It is going to be hard adjusting to a commute longer than a 30 second walk.  It was built in 1935, just my sort of era.  We got the keys on Friday and have spent the weekend lifting the carpets and starting to take the wood chip paper and artex plaster off the walls.  It is everywhere so is a very large task, but we need smooth walls so I can stencil.  Last night we hit the living room and look what started to reveal itself:

It is only right that my house should have some old stencilling.  We worked at it a bit more and here is the full design:

The rest of the room has to be stripped and am I am not sure if there will be anything else, but it was rather fun to find this, especially at the end of a hard day's work.  Aside from the damage to it, the colours are as vibrant as ever.  It may well get covered up again, but will be there for future generations to find.

Over the next several months, I will be posting more about my house as I redo each room.  There will be before and after shots as well as mentioning any other interesting finds and useful techniques as we go.  The house retains some original features, but others are sadly gone.  Whilst I won't be doing a totally authentic restoration job on the house, I will be putting some 1930's features back in.  Art Deco is one of our favourites styles so most of the stencilling and decor will have that flavour.  We've just added some new stencils to our site based on a 1930's china pattern.  I am sure Helen will post more on this, but I am rather taken with them so it may be used in my house somewhere as well.

Keep reading for further installments.

Rachel

Comments

[Karen Fenter]

Love your windows and I know that the house is going to be a lot of work,but worth it in the end. Good luck, Rachel!

[Jacqui]

Congratulations on your new home Rachel and may it be a very happy one. Look forward to seeing lots of pictures of the renovation - I know the end results will be amazing with your talents.