My First Ikea Hack!!

At least I think it's an Ikea hack!?

Does decorating it and using it for its intended purpose constitute a hack?

 Anyway I think I made it look nice and match the kitchen-dining-sitting room decor.  

At 5ft 2ins I NEED a step in the house for when my 6 ft 4ins husband is not around. I have long since wanted a good looking one.

Taking this baby out in company to retrieve something from a kitchen cupboard is a little embarrassing! So this was the original step stool purchased from Ikea for €12.

I had a tester pot of dining room paint in, you guessed it Eau de Nil by Laura Ashley, which I used to paint the legs.

I know you're thinking.. emulsion on wood? ..but don't freak out, I Googled it first and nobody said anything terrible happened. Anyway, I haven't finished yet.

 It gave the legs two coats.

Then I stained the steps in Bondex Matt Mahogany to match the kitchen counters and the sitting room furniture.

The Bondex I already had as we have always intended to stain our stairs, at some point!

I thought the stain would take better to the bare wood than it did. It got three coats, four probably would have looked better but it took like 12 hours to dry and it was mineral based and I got fed up.

So I put all the pieces together, got some back to front, took it apart, read the instructions and put it together again!

Then I gave it two coats of Annie Sloan Soft Wax in clear to protect the emulsion. I also waxed the stained parts and then gave in to the fourth stain coat (because of the annoying little spots of resistance you might have noticed) and wouldn't you know, the stain took like a dream and dried in double quick time. Thanks Annie!

 So there you have it, my super handy handsome step stool which cost just €12 as everything else I had squirrelled away!!

Horse Chestnut Series - April

Today is the last day of April and the last day of Spring (or at least it was when I was in school!). While we have had some lovely Spring weather of late, today quite appropriately, we had some April showers.

 

This month has seen a huge change in the Horse Chestnut. It is the first deciduous tree in Ireland to open its leaves in Spring; the bud laden branches of March are scarcely visible anyone.

 

 

It is now covered in bright green palmate leaves; each leaf having five or seven serrated finger-like leaflets.

 

 

While in March we eagerly awaited bud burst, now we await its blossoms as their candle-like form begins to emerge.

Meet Elenor!

I first found her on eBay looking for a good home. The minute I saw her I knew she was going to be mine. The sale was one week away but I was willing to pay for vintage Laura Ashley. Eau de Nil is slowly disappearing from their product range and it features extensively at the Auburns!

Thankfully she was mine for a nice price considering there was a lot of interest. After an arduous trip across the water from England (which almost saw her return as the courier could not find me), she had arrived!!!

Inside were lots of components all carefully packaged.

 First things first, she needed a bath. Ever tried to bathe a chandelier?? 

 It's not as easy as you might think, with a toothbrush! 

Farewell perfectly good matching lampshade.

 You have served us well and will see out your days atop this lampbase (but perhaps not on this table as it looks a little small for you!).

Next Mr. Auburn had to wire her up...

 ...which involved everybody being in this position for an arm breaking length of time. 

 He then mended the ceiling rose and we were ready to put her back together.

 

 

Getting all the droplets and crystals in their respective places was confusing and time consuming... and fiddly!! 

It didn't help that I couldn't reach now she was up and Mr. Auburn had to take over with his giant man hands!

 Before long she was pretty as a picture. (I'm leaving out the bit about the two missing droplets which took two weeks to replace, for everyones sake!!)

I am disappointed about the ugly Ikea bulbs which are super energy saving and will last like FOREVER!! 

What I didn't realise was that they have a super ugly white entire bottom half with Ikea stamped all over!!

Anyway Elenor is still a thing of enormous beauty! 

I hope you'll agree she fits right in in our sitting room.

 

Happy Easter!!

Hope you're all having an eggcellent Easter!

 

 

It is a bank holiday weekend here in Ireland and we have been blessed with the most glorious weather!

We've had quite a busy weekend. Friday was spent painting my in-laws kitchen cupboards. I have joined the cult that is Annie Sloan Chalk Paint - that's another post! Many other posts!!

Saturday was my sister's birthday which meant brunch at my parents house.
As the afternoon was so lovely and sunny, Mr. Auburn and I hit the garden when we got home for the annual spring clean up.

 

Today, we had a lazier day. We pottered about the house, resting our aching bodies and gorging on Easter eggs! I do love Easter.
 

 You will see in the photos some of the Easter lovelies we took home from our visit (here) to Plantagen.

How cute is baby bunny?

 

 

I just couldn't resist him! He sits atop one of my recent projects, more of that later!

 

 

And as for the little wooly lambs...

  

Just b-ewe-tiful aren't they!? Happy Easter from the Auburns!

Easter Inspiration!

Back in February,  Mr. Auburn and I travelled to Fairyhouse Market. While the market was disappointing and the only things we parted money for were edible, we did stop at one of my favourite places on the way home!

 

 Plantagen is a Scandinavian garden centre chain. They sell amazing plants for your home and garden, garden furniture and BBQ's. They have a huge 'grow your own' section, a bird feeding section, pet supplies, books on gardening, cooking and baking. There is a food hall where you can buy tasty treats, a lovely company that produce oils, preserves and chutneys and the Edinburgh Woollen Mill is in store.

 

 

 

However, the winner has to be the super duper gift and interiors section with the most amazing displays that made me want to squeal with excitement when I walked in!!

 

So with Easter fast approaching and Spring most definitely in the air, here are some of the cutest, Springiest, Easter displays I've seen around! Needless to say my money and I did part company at Plantagen but just wait for Easter to see the cuties that made it home to Auburns...

 

 



Horse Chestnut Series - March

"Spring time allows the buds for our pleasure

To push out their bright green burgeoning treasure

They stretch and darken and point up so highly

Their flower spikes ready to show all their glory"

It's almost the end of March and the lovely horse chestnut tree is laden with buds adorning it's once bare branches.

The shiny brown buds which have been subtly swelling as each day passed are fat now almost ready to burst with new growth. The covering of each bud is tough and sticky with sap to protect the treasure inside. 

As we 'sprang forward' this weekend and in spite of all the rain we have had, we saw the first bud burst.
Each bud contains leaves, stems and flowers, albeit in their embryonic form. In fact, it contains the whole year's growth.
I can hardly wait so see those new bright green leaves unfurl.

Clean House Crusade!

So a couple of weeks ago I took a notion to clean up our act here at the Auburns.

I mean, clean up the act in a big way! We're not living in squalor or anything before you all panic but I was craving tidiness, organisation, efficiency, order... maybe it's a Spring thing!?

 

 So first things first, head up to Ikea and buy some organisational stuff to help sort the existing stuff, right? Well kind of right; I bought some shelves, some baskets, some shelf tidy thingies which I'm sure will all help when I get around to putting them to good use! But also kind of wrong because I bought more stuff of course! Apart from stuff to sort the stuff, I bought MORE STUFF to... STUFF our little house!!

 

 The Sunday before last Mr.Auburn and I took a fit and simultaneously decluttered a cupboard in the office which we both use for clothes. In a matter of minutes we had filled three refuse bags. It's kind of addictive once you start, the decluttering spilled into other areas too! That night we were both talking about how good it felt. Mr.Auburn thought I was being more than a little dramatic when I said I felt like we were claiming the house back but really I did! I do! There is a certain amount of guilt that almost 6 years ago we bought this EMPTY house and quickly filled everywhere with crap! Crap that gives me anxiety! Okay, it's not all crap, it's useful stuff, pretty things I had to have, it's bargains, it's future projects, it's crafty stuff, it's things that might come in useful someday...

it's home-thieving space-filling emotional baggage is what it is!!

 

 So co-incidentally one evening this week I came across a post over on Domestic Imperfection (Ashley is like a crafting DIY genius btw - AMAZING projects!); 40 bags in 40 days!
Basically for the period of Lent you decrapify one area of your home per day and fill one bag for charity/sale/bin. End result, tidy house less 40 bags of crap!! So obviously I'm in! Albeit a few days late although I had sort of started unbeknownst to myself! Ann Marie, an expert in the 40B40D challenge has all sorts of cool printable resources and all the ideas & support you need over at her blog White House Black Shutters! She will even send you a weekly newsletter with tips and tricks.

 

So here goes nothing. I mean here goes 40 bags, I hope!!!

Horse Chestnut Series - February

Here is our February Horse Chestnut...

 

 

Not looking much different to last month, perhaps just a hint more bud, and a couple of crows. Of course with every passing day, we get a few minutes more evening light to appreciate its still skeletal form.

As it is February, I thought it appropriate to explore some of the Horse Chestnut's romantic connections.

Indeed it has been the subject of song...

 "There beneath the boughs we used to meet
All his kisses were so sweet
All the little birdies went 'tweet-tweet'
'Neath the spreading chestnut tree"
(The Chestnut Tree by Glenn Miller)

 and verse...

 "Under the spreading chestnut tree
I sold you and you sold me
There they lie, and here lie we
Under the spreading chestnut tree"
(George Orwell)

 And what could be more romantic than a proposal of marriage?

 

In chapter XXIII of Jane Eyre, Mr. Rochester proposes marriage to Jane under "the great horse-chestnut at the bottom of the orchard,"...

...."here is the chestnut tree: here is the bench at its old roots. Come, we will sit there in peace to-night, though we should never more be destined to sit there together"...

..."My bride is here," he said, "because my equal is here, and my likeness. Jane, will you marry me?"

 

 

(Best not to dwell on the impending 'sign' from nature in the form of a lightning bolt which splits said tree in half in the night!)

 Jane is elated and accepts Mr. Rochester's proposal!!

Well she was obviously a Horse Chestnut lover!