I do like a nice front door!

This weekend has been all about tidying jobs both in the house and outside.

One job that has been staring me in the face every day for the past few months has been our front door. Now, I like a nice front door! I have yet to scrub my step....but I would imagine that during that era when it seemed the done thing to be on your hands and knees proudly scrubbing your front step, I would have been right in there! I become very agitated when there are leaves etc on the step. Sad, I know...but I can't take it back now. I tend to think that a tidy front door/step probably reflects what's going on behind the front door.....or possibly more the fact that an untidy frontage reflects what is going on behind the front door...

With a possible move in the pipeline we are starting to tick off those jobs that need re-visiting on a regular basis. I considered a complete change of colour for the front door, but on reflection (and on closer inspection) decided that this would involve completely stripping the door back and starting again. Alternatively I (well....my soldier ant husband!) could sand the areas that had cracked, fill and re-paint in the existing colour. (I did the painting!)

If we decide we are not going to move, I will most probably opt for an alternative colour and be forced to strip, if you know what I mean! For those of you with even a remote interest, the current colour is Farrow and Ball's Lichen No.19.(as seen below on my door.) It is slightly stronger in the flesh than shown below and does go well with the black framework and the white render. Perhaps next time I might be a tad braver though.

My friend, Beth, a fashion stylist, has a vibrant pinky front door. (pictured below). Whilst it wouldn't work on my house it is perfect for hers and definitely reflects both her personality and the feel of the house on the inside. I've also shown another of my fashionista friends, Dawn's front door.  Again, a very smart, stylish first impression and absolutely a taster of what you find behind the door. Heck. I sound like the door-reading equivalent of a tea-leaf reader now!

Anyway. I've added some of my favourite door images, including my neighbour's pretty chocolate box thatched cottage and, of course, probably the most famous door of all, to we Brits at least!

My door

Beth's snazzy door

Dawn's chic door

Maria's quintessentially English front door!

My new cleaner and an organised shoe cupboard.

I'm not normally one for posting pictures of my children on my blog but this made me smile so I have gone against my principals on this one occasion!

Meet my new cleaner! Aged 3 1/2. Nothing like a bit of hoovering in your socks and pants! As a reward for his help with the housework I said he could choose a dinner of his choice. I know to many this may not sound like much of a reward for a small child. Chocolate? Chips? Sausages? Oh no. He asked for "smoked salmon and scrambled egg on a lightly toasted bagel"!!

He has acquired a taste for smoked salmon and duck and orange pate of late! I think he will need to hoover more often if he thinks that will be a regular thing!

I finally finished the shoe cupboard I'd posted about. The result, as you can see from before and after, is an altogether more organised affair even though I slightly underestimated how many pairs of shoes and boots I have actually amassed over the years! I may need to extend the shelving upwards! I had intended to undergo a shoe cull when putting the shoes from boxes into new storage...but I only managed to part with one pair! I even convinced myself that my beautiful Dune wedding shoes could easily be professionally dyed and worn! Back in they went. Hopeless!

The Ikea shoe storage boxes are brilliant, for anyone who may want decent shoe storage. They are rigid enough to be stackable and at £9 for 4 boxes, pretty good value.

My next project was going to be ditching curtains for Roman blinds in living rooms and bedrooms, however, rather frustratingly, but unsurprising given our house is so old, no ready made blinds on the market are the right size for our frames and I'm not sure I want to stretch to made to measure! I may have to dust down the sewing machine.......