Hiding indoors from the hypothermia

I made it until 230pm. And then I realised that I can’t feel my toes, my fingers are freezing and who am I kidding? It’s 2 Celsius, cutting wind hitting the small of my back, no sun, and I really can’t do anymore outside without getting hypothermia.

The grasses can wait until it warms up a bit. They aren’t going anywhere. Besides I need to come in every hour or so to feed the fire. So why go back out?

Rebel.

So it’s out with the teapot and perfect tea cup and I get a clever link to show you why I can just lean over to my left and pluck out a perfect teapot from the cabinet in my new look office.

Found in a junk shop (well, Jobbing is more like a treasure trove than junk, and I didn’t pay a fortune for this tall cabinet).

But it was relentlessly brown.

I was contemplating covering the inside with the wallpaper that I found last year in the same place.  But I realised that even I might find the wallpaper might clash with the patterns on the china. So paint it was.

 

So I started on the two coats of paint. And then a third. And a fourth. Brilliant White from Farrow and Ball. But does it stay that way?

White? Green? Blue? White is safe. It matches the walls and you can see the detail on the pattern of every tea cup and pot.

I am so pleased. There is porcelain from all the stages of my life: Russia, France, England and even some Wedgewood from my grandmother. And those blue cups and saucers on the right. I’m erring on that colour for the next coat, second shelf from the bottom. But I want to see if we get planning permission to make a large window in this cavernous room first.  If it’s brighter I might try something for the walls that isn’t white. And who knows what rabbit hole I will go down in the delights of colour matching.

Here’s the whole office done.

The walls at the base were so manky I had to paint the mouldy bits before I took the shot. The French windows (if we get permission) will go where the chair and wallpaper basket are now.

And in that utterly confluent moment look what I found when I was filing away images from home interior magazines. Which came first? The idea here or the one in my head?

(I think this picture is from South Africa. I can’t see any frozen mouldy bits on their skirting boards.)

 

Actually I always think of Andrew’s cabinet in his kitchen as my original inspiration. He has always been bold with colour.   Let me rummage and show you.

So vivid and fun. I think he actually built that cabinet to display all his treasures, but that is beyond me.

And who knows? If I go down the route of something bright then I won’t look like this whole office has been turned into a shrine of the 1930s.

It seems to be where I am doomed to remain.