Bathroom Renovation Continued

Trying the new bath!

Bath & Sink removed

I left my last blog post explaining how the bathroom was being plumbed in that very weekend, well 2 weeks later we are still going! I should mention at this point that my dad is our plumber, there is nothing this man cannot do! However this restricts us to working weekends only, combined with the fact that we chose a shower that was rather difficult to fit it has taken longer than we first anticipated.


So after lots of hard work, mainly on my dads part, the toilet has been temporarily fitted ready for the false wall to go in, which means we have a working toilet, phew! The wall has been channelled, shower fitted, this being the hardest job taking more than a day and the bath is plumbed in ready to go! Dad also offered to channel all the sink and toilet pipes into the wall and I am not going to say no, therefore this along with fixing the sink remains the final job before fixing the false wall, plastering and tiling. Even at this stage I can see how great it is going to look finished, even now it looks better than before and much larger since we removed the nasty green tiles! Interior design is amazing! Such a transformation of a small room.

Toilet removed

We are not doing any work on the bathroom this weekend as my dad is already working but that gives us some time to go tile shopping and I cannot wait. Another step towards our bathroom being complete! I'll keep you posted on how that goes, it is going to be easier than dress shopping surely!

Hope you like the photos of our journey so far. If you want to catch up on our bathroom renovation story take a quick look at my previous blog posts!
http://dreamboxinteriordesign.blogspot.com/2011/03/bathroom-designing.html

http://dreamboxinteriordesign.blogspot.com/2011/05/bathroom-renovation.html

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Mood Board - French Inspired Bedroom

A couple of my close friends have recently moved into their first home together and have asked me to design their bedroom and after seeing their room I was absolutely delighted. It is a large bedroom with beautiful original sash windows and original doors. They have requested that a couple of their possessions remain in the design and these combined with the original features have inspired my initial mood board for them. They already have a stunning cream, shabby chic dressing table, cream iron bedstead and a set of floral etched glass lamps. Immediately I knew I had to create a shabby chic French inspired design. I absolutely love designing shabby chic so couldn't wait to get started. And above is the outcome of my first mood board for them. I hope they love it as much as I do, it is one of my favorite designs I have created so far. I'll let you know how we get on and the progress we make!

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Mood Board - Luxurious Bedroom

A new project! Female bedroom, to create the illusion of space whilst being luxurious. Grey neutrals teamed with metallics, purples and a vibrant pink to create a soft luxurious bedroom. Existing furniture is being given a make over with old door knobs being replaced with beautiful glass knobs, the wardrobe with co-ordinating wallpaper in the centre panels and bedside tables/chest of drawers with glass fitted tops!

Role Models

I have learnt a lot of important lessons this weekend, some of them I already knew but a little reminder is never a bad thing!

On Saturday night I attended the Haverhill Chamber of Commerce Awards Gala to support my best friend as she was shortlisted for 3 awards. We all had a fantastic evening and the cherry on top was Theresa winning 2 out of 3 of her awards plus the most prestigious award of the night, Business of the Year.

Saturday night reminded me that anything is possible with hard work, dedication and a positive attitude.

I also learnt some shocking facts when nominating Theresa for another award, 'Britain's Top Real Role Model'. I learnt that an overwhelming majority (54%) felt that they did not look up to anyone as a good role model at all.

I feel that role models are a huge part of success. Learning from those around you, those who have already succeeded. This has prompted me to think about my role models, who I look up to and as corny as it sounds top of my list has to be my husband Jamie. He is so positive, calm, with a can do attitude. He always motivates me and pushes me to be the best I can be. If it wasn't for Jamie I can honestly say that I don't know where I would be now, he saved me from life working in a factory and helped me find and start fulfilling my dreams. My best friend Theresa inspires me, she is strong, independent, never gives up. Then there are those who are where I want to be in the future with Holly Becker @ Decor8 finding her way onto my list, Kelly Hoppen and many more.

I urge you all to find your role model, someone you can look up to, someone who will bring out the best in you, someone who will drive you into the future you deserve. I hope one day I can be a role model for someone. But right now I am off to bang down some doors and make my dreams come true!

Awards Gala

I know some of you really wanted to see a picture of me and 'The Dress' after my previous blog and my dress dilemma so here it is, a picture of me and my dashing husband at the awards gala, you can tell it was late on in the night, the bow tie has been removed!

The Dress

As some of you may be aware I have been hunting for a dress for my best friends awards evening on Saturday night! Well, I thought I would share with you all the dress that I have finally ordered after what has been quite a difficult time and my story. I am sure there are some ladies out there who can sympathise with me.

I am a very awkward shape! I have an hourglass figure and as some of you may well be aware the fashion industry seems to only cater for skinny girls who go straight up and down. I have hips and a small waist, I do not have a model figure and this creates many problems. Everything that fits my hips is massive on the top and anything which fits my top is too small on the bottom, so much too my disappointment shopping is not always a fun time for me. Perhaps this could explain my love for interiors and home shopping, never do I experience my heart breaking when something is too big or too small, it is always perfect, I am never let down, never feel insecure, always makes me feel better. Shoes do the same! Always a perfect 6!

I ordered a beautiful evening dress online (against my better judgement) after much humming and arming on which size I should purchase and if it was fitting for the occasion, eventually I took the plunge. The dress was delivered today, I was so excited I had to try it on at work and slipped it over my work clothes in my office. My excitement was short lived. It fitted perfect on my hips and was about 2 sizes too big on top.

My husband had the great idea we could go late night shopping in Cambridge, although it would mean throwing all my evening plans out the window! But, what choice did I have, I would work around it. We met in Cambridge, had a coffee to catch up on our day and then started looking for the perfect dress. I found it! But, once again it was too big. Damn! We continued looking and I found another beautiful dress, this one was too short though. Determined we were not going to give up hope and after a quick gym session when we got home I jumped on the computer and ordered it online, next day delivery, a size smaller. Time will now tell if it is perfect or not! Keep your fingers crossed for me! I'll let you know how I get on!

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Love & Home

Love and Home is one of my favorite websites which sells gorgeous home accessories and gifts. You might have seen some of their delightful accessories featured on my blog before. They have recently updated their brand with a beautiful new logo and website which I wanted to share with you all.
http://www.loveandhome.co.uk/

Below are a collection of my favorite finds from their website.

Florentine Heart Bowl. A versatile piece which will bring beauty to any room. Also available is the equally beautiful sunflower bowl. They are hard not to love!

Button Cushion, absolutely adorable. Another accessory which will fit with any room, decorated with heart buttons and mother of pearl buttons.

Tea Box with 6 sections inside, this would make the perfect gift for any tea lover. I know I would have somewhere to store all my different flavors of herbal tea!

Bath Salts, I already have my eye on these for when our bathroom is finished!

Bookmark 'Take Pride' I absolutely love reading and positive quotes so this is certainly going on my gift list, you can find more on the website. 

Bunting, I say no more, you all know my blog would not be complete without some bunting!
















I hope that this website will bring you all as much joy as it has me. You can also follow the Love & Home blog: http://love-and-home.blogspot.com/

All images from loveandhome.co.uk

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Bathroom Renovation

 Me & my safety goggles ready to start!

One of my very first blog posts was about bathroom designing. You may remember me mentioning that I was currently re-designing our bathroom at home, it has only taken 4 years and a toilet leek but we have finally started work.

I thought it might be quite fun to let you all in on our renovation. Yesterday we had a new bathroom suite delivered and it is looking fantastic I cannot wait to have it fitted! Firstly, I want to see the back of the existing bathroom and secondly I am not sure how long I could live with a bath in my kitchen!

The past 2 nights I have worked extremely hard removing all the tiles from the bathroom and I was absolutely determined I would finish last night, good news, I finished! All that's left before we can fit our new suite is to remove the remaining plaster and hopefully we will finish this job tonight.

The bathroom layout is remaining the same, it is only a small space so not much room for design changes, however we are building a false wall behind the toilet in the alcove and having a back to wall toilet. We are not losing any space but gaining storage from the integral shelves I am having built into the false wall. We are having the new bathroom plumbed in Saturday & Sunday and then all that remains is for our builder to come and fit the false wall, plaster and tile. Then of course, the fun part, finishing touches!

I will keep you up to date with our progress over the next couple of weeks, including images of my designs and the finished bathroom.

If you need inspiration designing a small bathroom see my previous blog back in March, 'Bathroom Designing' http://dreamboxinteriordesign.blogspot.com/2011/03/bathroom-designing.html

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