Spare room inspiration... even when damp attacks

When we moved into the house in 2008, I did notice a smidgen of damp in the back bedroom. "Must get around to doing something about that," we muttered, adding it to a list of urgent works that included a new path, front door and a large-scale excavation of the back garden make part of it level with the ground floor of the house.

After those exhaustive (and expensive) projects were complete, into the spare room we dumped boxes containing all that stuff that's difficult to part from such as old college newspapers, childhood photos, favourite books, letters and postcards throughout the years, notes from college courses (okay, I was too lazy to begin sorting through 'supply chain management' and 'administrative law'). The possibility of the room looking something like the photo below seemed a more remote possibility.

This back bedroom, notionally titled 'the study', is where a well-made but lonely foosball table sits among the boxes. There has been a few mass-clearing out rampages over the years, but my decision to do a post-grad in primary teaching led to more books, stationery and notes taking residence. We prefer to keep the door to this room closed.

However, avoiding the area has proven costly, as the little bit of damp has now spread in a dramatic fashion, requiring a deal of work that would have been significantly lessened had we tackled it a few years back. So, a big job ahead.

Treating the damp, which may involve rebuilding the chimney contributing to the leak along with repointing it, plus wall treatments, will mean that whatever funds we have to finish the spare room will be minimal. However, I don't want to spend too much on decorating this room, as it may become a bathroom if we decide (funds allowing) to embrace negative equity (see previous post) and build a two-storey extension.

I had spent the past few weeks happily collating images in my Spare Room Inspiration folder on Pinterest (seriously addictive and the reason for less blog posts of late). I'd like muted white or grey walls, blackboards and punches of colour. Here's a selection:

Source: sfgirlbybay.com via Sorcha on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Sorcha on Pinterest

Source: myidealhome.tumblr.com via Sorcha on Pinterest

Source: westelm.com via Sorcha on Pinterest

Source: bodieandfou.blogspot.com via Sorcha on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Sorcha on Pinterest

Source: veronicalovesarchie.com via Sorcha on Pinterest

Come fly with me: Retro Aer Lingus travel posters

Vintage travel posters depict a time when air fares were beyond the means of ordinary people, and a trip to Dublin Airport was a holiday in itself (I hear it was a popular spot for a date back in the day!).

Judging by the number of people who land on a post I did about the two Aer Lingus Boeing 747s (it's the most viewed post ever on Mo Theach), there is a huge interest in the early days of what was once also known as Irish International Airlines.

CALENDAR GIRL: I bought this 1960 Irish Air Lines pocket calendar on eBay a while back. I love the red-haired air hostess. A real spéirbhean!

I like to keep an eye on eBay for old bits and pieces relating to the airline, such as the purchase above. The beautifully-designed travel advertisements of old always attract my attention and I picked up this vintage Aer Lingus poster at an exhibition a year or two ago at the National Museum at Collin's Barracks. This image was used in much of Aer Lingus' publicity materials and depicts the luxury and style associated with flying at the time. The fact that it's in French makes it seem even more exotic.

OOH LA LA LANDING SHORTLY: I picked up this Aer Lingus poster (circa 1960) believed to be the work of Jarlath Hayes (who designed the harp that is on Irish Euro coins) from the shop at the National Museum of Ireland, Collin's Barracks. It costs €8 and fits into off-the-shelf frames. 

Aer Lingus tapped into the nostalgia that surrounds their brand as they celebrated their 75th anniversary last year, painting a brand new Airbus A320 in the old Irish International Airlines livery. They also raided the wardrobes to show how the stewardess (and steward) uniforms have changed over the years.

RETRO JET: Aer Lingus painted this new Airbus A320 in the old white and dark green livery last year to celebrate their 75th anniversary. Image via JetPhotos.net

HIGH FASHION: With the beautiful old Dublin Airport terminal building in the background, air stewards model the cabin crew look though the years to mark Aer Lingus' 75th anniversary in 2011.
Image by Aer Lingus and via Airlines and Destinations

TAKE A TRIP BACK IN TIME: This nostalgia fest video features the highlights of Aer Lingus's 75-year history (JKF and Pope John Paul II are among the passengers), with lots of shots of those two 747s here! It's a bit like watching that old ESB 'Coming Home for Christmas' ad.

Here are some of my favourite old Aer Lingus posters (very few have modern reproductions, so you'll have to fork out for an original copy in many cases):

SKY'S THE LIMIT: This reprint of a New York-bound Aer Lingus poster is available from AllPosters.ie for €18.99.

TURBO-CHARGE: This poster is on the Onslows Posters website which is unfortunately down for maintenance at the moment so I don't have any further details. Image: Onslows Posters

POSTCARD PERFECT: Ireland looks particularly stunning in this poster, also from Onslows Posters.

LOTS OF LEG ROOM: This is one my all-time favourite adverts. An original poster (circa 1958) by John Banbridge costs £780 from OriginalTravelPosters.com.  Image via OriginalTravelPosters.com 

PRETTY CITY: Dublin's quays like you've never seen them before (I love the smoke coming from all the chimneys). This 1956 poster by Dutch artist Guus Melai did not meet with approval, according to archive research carried out by the Arts Council. Interesting read.

THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN CALLING: Step aside, stewardesses! This handsome captain makes an appearance on a vintage poster sold in 2009 by Christie's.

STEP THIS WAY, SIR: Ease of travel is the message here, perhaps aimed at travellers coming from the UK, or the US.  Poster also from Onslows Posters.

MOUNTAIN AER: This original 1950 Aer Lingus poster by Negus Sharland advertising its routes to Zurich is for sale for approx €285 from PosterTeam.com

GATEWAY TO THE WORLD: This 1950 poster appears to show two Viscounts waiting at the original terminal building at Dublin Airport. Image via iCollector.com

There are lots more vintage Aer Lingus posters which I hope to share in another post soon!

Look book: Colour-co-ordinated shelves

My dad used to work in the National Library and I'm sure he won't be too impressed when he sees how I have categorised the books in my living room. 

Not by author, genre or publishing house (as one of my friends has done!), but by colour. When Eoghan's parents enquired was there anything in particular we might like for Christmas, he joked: "Maybe some more grey books, we don't have many of those."

SHELF LIFE: A selection of our books sit on white Lack wall shelves from IKEA.

Forget the Dewey classification model preferred by libraries, displaying books by colour has a pleasing effect. I began with the shades of white, beige and yellow before orange turned to red. Purple gave way to blue and greens, then grey made its way to black. Luckily, my favourite author David Lodge's books come in every shade, helping to provide markers.

It is quite pedantic and took a good two hours, but I think the effect is quite striking (just don't expect me to locate a particular book in a hurry). When using floating wall shelves, it's probably best to stick to books of roughly the same height. The majority of our bulky books live upstairs in a Billy bookcase from IKEA and on our beside lockers, which meant I could pick and choose which ones would be placed on the Lack floating shelves, also from IKEA. 

Random point: I was surprised by how many books have a spine in a different colour to the rest of the cover! 

READER'S RECOMMENDATION: This photo of a Georgian flat in Bristol (spotted on the Living Etc forum) inspired me to try colour-coordinating. It provides a focal point in a room otherwise dominated by more neutral tones. Check out the apartment's stunning before and after! Image: kbspitfire on Flickr

Should you choose to colour-block (and be slagged by friends when they come to visit), here are my recommendations:

1. Kill the clutter

I had attempted colourr co-ordinating before on the shelves to either side of the fireplace, but they were too narrow (and cluttered with photo frames and other decorative objects) for it to be effective.

BEFORE: The colour blocking was lost among the clutter on these shelves, which I've since had removed during my before and after living room makeover.

2. Go wide if you can

Colour co-ordinating works best on wide shelving, particularly when the storage spans the length of a wall or where shelves are arranged in a grid-like pattern, as seen in the image below:

GREAT SNAKES:  Apartment Therapy shared this photograph of Eccentric Scholar's book collection. He explained: "I aligned my books in honor of the Rainbow Snake of Australian mythology. (Hence, the colors move in a zig-zag pattern, from top left to top right, then right to left, and so on)." Image: Eccentric Scholar on Flickr

3. Tall and narrow also turns heads

Graduating colour and height can also work very well, particularly on a narrow book case.

BEDTIME STORY: The graduated heights create interest in this arrangement and includes space for books of the same series on the bottom shelf. Love the little white rabbit too! Image: ashleyg on Flickr

4. Stack 'em high

Stacking books on top of each other according to colour fills out the gap normally left above books, allowing space for other items.

FILLER PIECE: Packing some sections with books allows for 'feature boxes' in this bookcase on a houseboat (the house tour is well worth checking out) on the Thames. Image via DesignSponge

TITLE WINNER: This image (via The Inspiration Blog) shows how to colour co-ordinate using limited shelf space space by stacking. I'd like to have a flick through some of these books, particularly the Helvetica: Homage to a Typeface by Lars Muller 

5. Don't be afraid of the dark

Although white shelves provide the perfect back-drop to colour co-ordinating, it is also very striking on wooden and black shelving.

LIBRARY'S FINE: The arrangement of books by colour has transformed these dark wooden shelves. More importantly, there's a gorgeous pug in this photograph! Image via The Inspiration Blog which is packed full of examples of colour-co-ordinated books!

6. No shelves? No worries

You can also get the look by simply piling books according to colour and never be accused of being messy ever again!

PAGE TURNER: Create your own mini skyscrapers with colour-coded books. I like how they graduate in height also.  Image via HomeShoppingSpy

7. Apply to other media

Colour-blocking can extend to other collections, such as films, records and other media.

CINEMA CLUB: DVDs are arranged by colour on the top shelves of this bookcase. Be warned though, most have either black or white spines, which doesn't make for great colour-blocking. Image via The Inspiration Blog

COVER STARS: A collection of comics and kids' books are put centre stage by displaying them face forwards. Image: Craft and Creativity on Flickr via LilSugar

Before and after: Living room gets a new lease of life

They say that when you first move into a house you should do nothing but familiarise yourself with the space and consider its best use. It's very easy to rush into decisions and purchases that you might later regret. We failed to heed this advice and bought a sofa too big and bulky for our sitting room. I also had shelves put up. The shelves were perfect, but they were in the wrong place, diverting attention away from the antique fireplace we later installed in the gap where one once sat.

While Eoghan was away on a worktrip, I finally decorated the bedroom. It was also the week where I had a few jobs done on the living room too. With the help of Painter Dublin, I took down the shelves and repainted the floor and walls in the same colours we had painted ourselves a few years ago; Dulux Light and Space Moonlight White on the walls (turned out a little yellower than I had predicted when contrasted with the new Dulux Brilliant White on the ceiling and woodwork) and Farrow and Ball's Downpipe on the floorboards.

AFTER: The Eames rocker by Vitra (purchased at Arnotts) perches on the floor freshly painted in Farrow and Ball's Downpipe. The painting is from Decor, Camden Street, Dublin 8.

Another job was to have period-style cornicing reinstated. Our house was built in the 1860s but other than the lovely wide floorboards no period details remained in the living room when we moved in. We had previously put in a Victorian-style four panel door from Victorian Salvage (especially important as we didn't notice the lack of a door until we sat down in the room for first time) and an antique fireplace (a design common to the area) from the brilliant Sugan Antiques. I had plaster cornicing made by the excellent Dublin Mouldings on Parnell Street and it has made the room complete.

Other than wall shelves and book-ends from IKEA, I didn't buy anything else for the room. Instead I moved things and changed around artwork by bringing some pieces that were hanging elsewhere in the house into the living room.

AFTER: New storage comes in the form of four white Lack wall shelves from IKEA, featuring nerdy colour-coordinated books. The period-style door came from Victorian Salvage. The space to the right of the door originally featured my two Panoramic Dublin prints by Andy Mac Manus which have now moved to the right of the fireplace

AFTER: The Billy bookends are also from IKEA, while the Flower Blossom lampshade is by Orla Kiely while the brown glass lamp is from Hicken Lighting, Lower Bridge Street, Dublin 8.

AFTER: Soppy 'E' and 'S' letters from Urban Outfitters. The S keeps falling off the shelf and scraping the floor whenever I bang the door!

AFTER: These were made by the father of a very good friend mine, Aoife, who is a wood-turner extraordinaire

AFTER: This curvaceous retro-style sofa was bought in Belfast (in Dekko, which sadly is no longer operating) a few years ago. Eoghan still mourns after the bigger yet bulkier sofa we originally purchased, which we now visit in Conamara. The grey cushion is by Donna Wilson, a lovely gift last Christmas.

AFTER: The G-plan coffee table makes the room seem bigger and came from the treasure trove Table Lighting Chair, located on Pleasant's Place (behind Camden Street near Cake Café), Dublin 8.

AFTER: The red cushion is by Ben de Lisi for Debenham's is inspired by the designer's own French bulldog Ella (not sure if it's still in stock) and the Multi Stem square lampshade is by Orla Kiely.

AFTER: I got this little side table for a song in TK Maxx about two years ago. It matches the floor. The clear glass ball lamp is from Hicken Lighting, Lower Bridge Street, Dublin 8.

AFTER: A close-up of one of our two Panoramic Dublin prints by Andy Mac Manus, featuring views of O'Connell Bridge

BEFORE: Too much to distract the eye with the shelves on either side of the fireplace. We put the mirror in our bedroom where the ceiling is higher.

AFTER: The removal of the shelves and mirror results in the less visual clutter, allowing the eye to focus on fireplace.  The new plaster cornicing by Dublin Mouldings helps the room to look its age.

AFTER: The antique fireplace from Sugan Antiques is simply adorned with just a pair of candlestick holders, which were a present. Having a working fireplace reinstated back in the room is a real privilege, especially on the cold winter nights. I was delighted when a friend mentioned that her parents' house in nearby Inchicore has the same fireplace surround.

BEFORE: No plaster cornicing. Another job I would like to get done in the future is to have the window shutters reinstated as per the other houses in our terrace.

AFTER: The view from the sofa. Waffles the cat is at his television - he spends hours looking out the window.

AFTER: Waffles on guard cat duty. If you like the owl cushion resting on the Eames rocker, check out my previous post.

Rebuilding: should you extend yourself further into negative equity?

Negative equity conundrum: when you've already lost so much money on your home, is it worth shelling out to improve it given you'll be stuck there for a lot longer than anticipated?

Our house was built in the 1860s. It's the bit that was built in the latter half of the twentieth century that's the problem. A large, flat-roofed lean-to houses our kitchen (complete with badly installed veneer units, sudden changes in floor level, no insulation or ventilation and floor-to-ceiling 'harvest'-style tiles) and bathroom (the walls are covered in a shiny black lino-like material that we are too afraid to rip off lest it takes the walls with them).

SLIDING DOORS: Wouldn't it be lovely to swap extensions and live in this one (above and below) in Foxrock by Moda Architects? I also covet the print of Sanna Annukka's Spirits of the North, which is hanging on the back wall of the kitchen. Photos via OnlineTradesmen.ie

Something needs to be done about the extension, as the roof is not going to withstand the elements for more than a few years. Then you're in a position where you must ask, should we just do the bare minimum (i.e. re-roofing a terrible extension) and do nothing to improve the value of the house or make structural changes that will increase its size and function, making it possible to live there in comfort for however long it might take to be in a financial position where we can move on?

HOUSE ABOUT IT? The rear of our home as it is now after Eoghan painted it white. This was a big improvement.  I'd love to knock down the extension and replace it with a two-storey number, complete with sliding doors. I'd like the original stone wall to the right to inspire any future work.

And if you're considering structural work, should you simply rebuild the existing ground-floor extension and leave the kitchen and bathroom at their present size, or go the whole hog and make it into a two-storey extension (as many of our neighbours have already done), changing your house from two-bed to three-bed and putting the bathroom upstairs? (These conundrums pre-suppose that the funding is available!)

The first thing we did upon purchase in 2008 was to dig out and terrace the back garden (our house sits on a slope), the level of which was about four foot off the ground. This was a huge job as we have no side or rear access that could bring a digger onto site, so the building team had to resort to the old-fashioned spades and wheelbarrow approach. Will post up a 'before and after' come spring when we've got the garden looking a bit tidier!

I confess that I already have one or two things bought for this extension, which are stored at my parents' house at present. Don't tell Eoghan!

Here's a selection of some fantastic extensions which I keep in my 'Maybe One Day' folder, aka Pinterest.

RAISE THE ROOF: This Dublin extension is by the talented Ailtireacht firm. The shadows created by the slats against the original rear wall are beautiful. I love the continuity of the bench inside and out. Image via Evdes

BEAM ME UP: I've had the pleasure of being inside this 1960s home in Knocklyon where young practice Carson and Crushell did a stunning retro-fit and new extension. It was open to the public as part of last year's Open House Dublin event. Image via Open House Dublin

PERFECT FROM A TO ZINC: I'm a huge fan of the zinc cladding of this Dun Laoghaire extension by Browne Architects. Photo: Browne Architects

STOREY-TIME: Flavio Lombardo Architects designed this striking extension in Sandymount. Image via Homedsgn, which has lots more photos