Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays from Behind the Blue Door

Here are some photos I took a few weeks ago when an evening mist in London turned into frost over night, leaving everything dusted with a sugar like coating.

Bathroom Mirror light - another idea

...or perhaps a pair of Glo balls mounted into or above the mirror to match the ceiling light.

Bathroom Mirror Lighting Option 2

Another option is this one with a softer rounded profile, although somehow the end caps just look a bit too big. And I wouldnt leave a gap between the top of the mirror and the fitting, Id butt them up against each other so it looked like one unit. Hmmmmm.... time to hunt down some dimensional drawings online or find a shop that sells them so I can see the product.

Bathroom Mirror Light

In addition to overhead lighting, in a main bathroom it is preferable to have wall mounted light fittings at the mirror to shine light directly at your face to avoid shadows being cast beneath your eyes. This can be provided by pair of sconces on either side of the mirror, or a strip light directly above it.

Ive been thinking about how to achieve this as I won't have enough space beside my mirror for wall sconces, or even to fix the fittings through the mirror itself as it is too narrow at only 600mm wide. One option is to put one of these slim Romano 600 bathroom lights horizontally above, or even through, the mirror above head height. They are fairly unfussy in design, and the chrome end caps would match the chrome taps.

Bathroom Ceiling Lights

Some bathroom ceiling ideas:

Astro 0830 Zeppo - 300 x 230 oval

Jasper Morrison Glo Ball - 110mm diameter

Endon 1920s style ribbed light - 30cm diamater

Bathroom Lighting - IP ratings explained

There are still a few outstanding questions that I need to figure out for my bathroom refurbishment project, one of which is the lighting.

Because it is a wet area, the light I choose needs to be IP rated, which limits my choice somewhat. An 'IP' rating is the Index of Protection rating. The first digit describes the degree of protection rate against solid objects, dust, and particles; while the second digit describes the degree of protection offered against liquids.

Despite my 2.7m high ceilings, my ceiling light will fall within zone 2 and therefore need to be IP44 rated. 4 for protection from solid bodies with a diameter larger than 1mm so you cant stick your fingers into it, and 4 for protection from direct splashing.

For more detailed information, read more here: http://blog.sparksdirect.co.uk/ip-rating-in-the-bathrooms-bathroom-ip-zoning/

Clever bathroom storage idea

A clever bathtub storage idea! I wouldnt be able to have storage along the full length because my sink cabinet will be in the way, but perhaps I can do something similar which is adapted to suit the space that I have.

Chilly morning

As a slight change of scenery from my flat; here are some photos of the lovely Georgian windows at Alex's. Single glazed windows aren't the most thermally efficient, but they sure do look pretty when the sun shines through them on a chilly morning when the warmth from inside has condensed on the panes.

Kitchen Countertop

Here are some photos of my new Silestone (reconstituted stone) kitchen countertop. The colour is Kensho Grey, in matt 'leather' finish and Im super pleased with the result. The countertop installation meant the gas hob and kitchen tap could also be installed. Yay!

Happy Birthday Philippa!

Hey Cutie... Hope you have a wonderful day!

Happy Birthday Muz!

I couldnt decide which photo you would like best, so lucky you - you get two birthday photos! Wishing you a happy happy day. xo Julia

Bathroom Floor Option - Porcelain Mosaic Tiles

These porcelain mosaic tiles are super thin, unlike their marble versions which are a good 8mm thick minimum. This is a key plus for me as I want to avoid a big step up from the existing floor level into the bathroom. If I went with something like this, I might just about be able to achieve a level threshold when I replace the existing floorboards with plywood. I've ordered samples in various shades of grey for consideration.

Bathroom Floor Option - Herringbone floor tiles

Now that my roof leak has finally been sorted out, Ive been trying to find time to finish up the design of the bathroom.

Although I really love the look of the painted wood the floorboards, they havent weathered well in the wet environment since I painted them about 2 years ago and the flaking paint is a constant annoyance. Ive decided therefore that I need to consider something more durable. I love how easy it is to clean the new rubber floor that i put down in the toilet room (See previous post from Wednesday July 11th, 2011 under Bathrooms) but Id like to try out something new. I've already made a few posts on hexagon mosaic tiles, but I saw these herringbone mosaic tiles in Cararra marble and thought they were really nice too as another option.

New capping stones

Here is a before and after photo of the parapet capping stones. The old ones were cracked and split, and didnt project far enough over the brick wall below (which is now bowed and curved because of subsidence years ago), thereby exposing it more to dripping water. Additionally the lead flashing wasnt properly tucked in beneath the capping stones so water could just slide in. Over time these issues lead to the water penetration into my flat along the side wall.

Torn lead in the box gutter and an improperly connected downpipe from the gutter lead to further leaks above the living room window after the timber lintle rotted and sagged, while missing mortar between the bricks lead to the last set of leaks above the kitchen window. The scaffold has finally come down, and I've stayed nice and dry throughout the autumn rains. Phew!

Final Roof Inspections

On the weekend I made my final inspection of the roof repairs and re-pointed brickwork so this week the scaffold can come down at last. While I was up there I took another skyline shot as you really can see everything! (From left) St Paul's Cathedral, The Shard, The Gherkin, and Canary Wharf

Happy Canadian Thanks Giving!

Happy Canadian Thanks Giving fellow Canadians! Here is a pretty autumn view in nearby Ruskin Park that I took on Sunday before hosting a roast dinner for 10!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Hope you have a brilliant day. xo

Meet my new Flatmate - The Tab floor light!

I used the cheque that I received from my dad for my birthday gift to buy this cute Tab floor light to use as a bed side reading light. I dont have a bedside table, so this light is perfect for the job - Im so pleased with how cosy it looks. Perfect for those long dark winter nights that are setting in....Thanks Dad!

Living Room Warming Flowers

Similar to a house warming gift, Frini brought me these gorgeous 'Living Room Warming' flowers for my 'new' living room. They were the perfect finishing touch. Thank you!!

Living Room Overhaul

The above photo is what my living room looked like on the day I left for my holiday to Canada. The rotten timber window lintle had been replaced with a new concrete one, the window architraves returned, and the first layer of plaster applied to the walls. I only had to hope that they would do a careful paint job while I was away.

Lucky for me, the contractor doing the repair work had an excellent decorating team and after a busy afternoon with Frini spent dusting and moving everything back into place, Zen was restored once more at long last, 17 weeks after the first leak. (Thanks Frini!)

The exterior scaffold is still up, Im scheduled to do the final inspection on the exterior this coming Friday...

Back from Holiday

Here are five photographs that capture the essence of my holiday to the Canadian Rockies... I'll get on to an update on the flat as soon as I've settled back in but sorting through the hundreds of photos I took to choose five to post was more fun...

A Birthday Treat

As a special treat I am staying here in this hotel which was built in 1927 by the Great Northern Railway for my birthday....

Scaffolding up

.

The scaffold went up last week, and will apparently be up for 2 weeks in order to complete the external roof repairs responsible for my leak which start today. I imagine that it will likely be up for at least 4 weeks, but will remain optomistic. Luckily I will be away for some of it!

More Wallpaper removal ...

Because the wall to the right of the fireplace was now the ONLY wall left in the entire flat with lining paper left, and because Im a bit of a perfectionist, and because I've had a good long break from any DIY(save my epic wall paper removal last sunday afternoon) - I decided to give one more DIY push before my holiday. This wall was much more challenging as I needed to keep the shelf supports in place, but I'm glad at last to see the back of that horrible bumpy lining paper. The builders start work on the inside of the flat on Tuesday morning when they drop the living room ceiling so Ive moved EVERYTHING into the bedroom to give them space to work and to keep things somewhat dust free.

Alternative Uses for Scaffolding

Its not particularly pleasant to have my evening view of the sunset obscured by scaffold poles, but this Sunday afternoon I found a great new use for them. They make a perfect outdoor clothes drying rack. With the hot summer sun beating down my clothes were dry by dusk. (Yes - it did happen here in London - the temperature actually hit 30C!!)

View from my roof top!

Here is the view from my roof top (looking north towards the city) which was taken this morning when I met the builders to go over the works required to stop the leak in my flat. Works start on the interior repairs on Tuesday so I'll be moving everything out of the room this weekend.

Wall paper removal...

When the living room was painted 3 years ago, we only removed the lining paper in areas where it was particularly bad and peeling and the best walls were left as is. As the insurance company has agreed pay for a complete new plasterboard ceiling where the leak left water stains and damage, and also for re-painting the whole room which will then be required, I decided it was time to strip the remaining wallpaper and have the wall re-plastered before the repair works start. I spent 9 hours today peeling off the paper. Not a particularly fun task, but I know I'll be glad when its all nice and smooth!

Here is my progress over the course of the day:

11:00am

1:00pm

3:00pm

5:00pm

8:00am the next day