Finally, shadow

The project of having curtains in the tv and music room has taken a bit of time. As all the projects, it starts with a need and an idea, for then developing in a mass of small details that need to be synchronized and fixed.

The curtains, few minutes after we had installed them, with a beautiful sprint light shining through them

We have had the curtain rod up on the wall for a while - sadly too long. We needed the blacksmith to come back to shorten it the necessary.

And although the William Morris side curtains have been ready since the autumn, I couldn't ever win an auction with proper and sufficient rings and clamps to hang them with and, considering how smooth it is to put up and down the big curved rod, I wanted to wait also for the white curtains.

The curtains behind the piano

We are still not completely "done". We managed to accelerate the process around the tie backs, by purchasing the screws that will be used for mounting. But this step will take (I know) few months if I won't pressure for making it happen.

Evening light

Apart from that, it is clear that I need to spend more time on some auction to try to get more rings with similar clamps. Let's hope it won't take too much.

The smaller window

Additionally, for the white curtains in the center of the tower room, I think it is necessary to possibly get some double tie-back to hold them together. 

I have tried to look around for something like that but failed, hence, slightly embarrassed because we did just joke about my stream of requests, I contacted again the blacksmith for a "own designed" one.

Today it was not very sunny, so we let the light come in

And if I know how it will be, it will take many messages, chats and some patience to get all three missing parts in place - and maybe I should say four, because I have to fix the wall that got scratched during the previous attempt to install/dismount the big curtain rod from its location.

Detail of the ring and clamp

As good as it gets

One of our pain points is the basement.
You need to be a dward to walk in it, the floor is definitely uneven because we wanted to secure water flowing through it in the only drain, the lighting is not cosy and there is some extra ceiling mysterious stuff in one of the rooms that is questionable in choice and beauty.

On top of this, I have the bad habit to try to save as many things as possible that could be reused. In the specific boxes and emballage have got some space in one of the basement rooms.

In the last years instead of having things in order, I have just thrown everything in a big pile, making the room even worse and any chance to play ping pong or fuzzball endangered by boxes or refreshened by some cats "leftovers" (as the cats have felt threatened too, I guess, and decided to mark the territory).

I therefore tried to made it at least accessible and cleaned.

Fuzzball and pingpong. Now visible and accessible through the boxes piles

A room with a view. Not showing much of the room I cleaned but how potentially it could be nice to play pingpong now that there is space

At the same time this season is challenging. Spring cleaning (that for me last the whole year) should peak now, painting and windows renovation is at this best while the whole garden needs attention before the ground elder will take over everything....

Grape hyacinth in a flowerbed spared from ground elder

Gilding

I think I have definitely underestimated this art as I thought it would have turned out almost as doing some standard DIY.

Anyway, for some reason the blacksmith didn't take/couldn't fix the right metal for some of the small things I did request him to fix for us once upon the time.
When I explored how to fix it, so it would look as they were supposed to, I found out that I could use this gilding technique.

I did buy all the material needed and, after waiting few years to mature, I tried it out...

One of the metal details (a small ball) from Oscar's bed as the blacksmith delivered it to us. Few were missing, so we asked him to make them. 

This is one of the ball as the bed came equipped with. Unclear if it is the metal that is golden or it is painted or what. I actually haven't put effort in trying to understand it.

The result after gilding

A better close up

Putting the gold leaf was far from easy. For some reason it wasn't covering as it should so I had to apply and apply and apply. 

It doesn't look too smooth, but I thought that in this case the result was acceptable.

I did the same (but this time by applying a silver leaf) to a handle for a tray that the blacksmith made. The handle should have been probably cromated or something to get the right appearance, but he couldn't do that.

I thought we could use the gilding technique again and I was at least ok with the result on the bed, but when I did the work here, I wonder how can I save it as it now looks as I have put on some foil....

The tray handle is not impressive.

I guess I need to look at some more tutorial to get it right... 

Vinyls

Sometimes also Mattias has his moments to fill the house with stuff and this time he decided that he got passionated in old vinyls from the 80s.
He first actually managed to buy a record player (and he didn't matter that I wanted to try to get home the one from Italy).

I don't understand anything of record players, but he was thrilled of the purchase despite the plastic cover being completely cracked.

The record player

After, somewhat creating a space in the living room for it, he managed to get home 500 vinyls (!) as a bargain. It is mostly music he likes (poor me) and I have actually no idea where to put it. I am wondering if the ping pong table should go out for accomodating all of this...

Boxes full with vinyls

Cute ;)