Beardy and I moved into our little flat in Glasgow’s eastend about 8 years ago. Only now is our home starting to shape. Since deciding to add The Nesting Project as a regular blog feature, I’ve made but a teensy weensy bit of progress each week. Not in the boudoir as planned, but in our living room. Progress nonetheless.
Over the years I’ve accumulated a lovely collection of prints, photographs and bits and bobs to decorate our bare walls. Only now though (nearly a decade since we moved in), have we begun to hang and display things properly. Until just the other day, frames were propped on surfaces, stacked on the floor and stashed away out of sight in cupboards and in corners. Pretty objects were ‘stored’ rather than displayed and the layout of the furniture in our room reflected less what we like and how we use the space but more what we thought a traditional living room ought to look like.
Today I enjoyed a lazy day off. I spent the entire afternoon in the new-look living room. I listened to cds I’d neglected and I read magazines I’ve been saving for months. The day was quiet, the sky momentarily blue and Smokey Cat and I relished our lounge time with smug little grins on our faces. She purred and purred from her spot on the pink footstool as I enjoyed cups of tea and platefuls of warm buttery toast on the couch.
Since we're such anti-social little creatures (though we like to pretend otherwise), we ditched our second sofa in favour of creating a litte music area in the corner of the living room. Smokey Cat seems to like it.
One of my favourite homey items, I bought this machine embroidered Hank Williams cushion from the Narrative pop-up shop at the Art Fair a few years ago.
This table came from my mum and dad's old house. The mirror was gifted to me by my mother-in-law and until recently was propped up on the hall floor. Now it's pride of place next to the fireplace.
Previously the mantelpiece was the temporary home for just about everything pretty we own. Things were bundled up, crammed onto the narrow surface. I reorganised this week and now favourite objects have room to breathe.
The ship-in-a-bottle has been in my family for over 30 years. It was made and given to us by Uncle Od (not really an uncle - but as good as). I love it.
A relative newcomer to the mantelpiece collage, this 'lil fella was gifted to me by seamstress extraordinaire and vintage lovin' lady, Leah Halliday. He was damaged in An Unfortunate Incident so now lives with me. Every cloud...
The beginnings of a growing cluster of beautiful things hanging on the wall. That little gap on the bottom right is crying out for a special something...
Before we can tick the living room off on the Nesting Project ‘to deal with’ list, there are a few niggly little things that need addressing.
The ‘To Deal With’ List
1. We used to quite like the bare bay window. The room feels bright and sunshiney when the weather is right. However, the view outside isn’t exactly what picture postcards are made of (our apartment looks onto a derelict school yard – truly blissful). You know that cosy feeling you get – the feeling that you’re cocooned inside your own wee nest? We don’t ever get that. We want it. Real bad. Into the bargain? It’s kinda draughty… This week I will be hanging a set of hand-me-down green velvet curtains. Given to me by my mother, the curtains used to hang in my parent’s old house. They were there for over 20 years. All I need is a darned curtain pole…
2. Oh – and still on the window theme… Thanks to a bit of problem solving inspiration from crafty Clare Nicolson yesterday, I am going to try to make my own roller blinds. Yes. I am. And they won’t be no ordinary roller blinds either. I’m going to be making lace/net curtain roller blinds. I am excited just typing it.
3. It’s weird what moving furniture around can do for a bod. The new music corner is just great and already we’re spending loads of time in it (well, Beardy and Smokey have set up camp over there more than I have – but I do enjoy a little sit down in the nook when I get the chance). It needs just a couple more bits before the ultimate loungin’ exprience can commence. I’m on the look out for a (set of) tiny side tables and a circular rug. Spotted any? Think thrifty.
4. On the far side of the room stands an enormous wall-sized shelving unit. It has ugly glass doors. Since we bought it (yeeeeears ago), our intention was to black out the doors with the perfect wallpaper – thus adding a bit of pattern to the whole living room ensemble and hiding the multitude of crap that’s stored on the shelves. However, turns out? The perfect wallpaper doesn’t exist. I came close to snaffling some on Ebay at one point, but I snoozed – and I loozed, and hence, my poor glass doors remain undressed and the multitude of crap remains visible for all to see.
5. Books are beautiful. It’s occured to me recently… People frame prints and photos and flat things. They frame record sleeves and even 3d objects in box frames. I have decided that I’m gonna build a book display area above my sofa. Oh yes. I am not ashamed to say that I do judge a book by it’s cover a little bit – and I want to show off some of my favourites. Required for this mini project – just one or two lipped shelves and a fine selection of booky wooks. Et voila!
So. If I don’t update in the next week with some movement on this ‘to do’ list – come poke me with a curtain pole.
