A Renovation Rarely Comes Alone

by

Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma demand more pocket money. We renovate again. Our poor Bookfayries feel exploited having to help.

Siri 🙂 und 🙂 Selma stöhnten und forderten eine Taschengelderhöhung, da wieder renoviert wird und sie armen Buchfeen zum Helfen ausgebeutet werden.

Renovating our library we became aware of how much bigger a room seems to be painted white. So we decided to paint our living room in shades of white and grey. We used `Skimming Stone´ for the walls, a warm white that is named after a much liked plaster in the 19th c. For all wood like beams, window frames etc. we used `Elephant’s Breath´laughing about this funny name.
One can hardly describe colours with words, nevertheless we call Skimming Stone a warm white and Elephant’s Breath a warm grey. 

Bei der Bibliotheksrenovierung wurde uns klar, welch größeren Raumeindruck Weißtöne (wie alle warmen Farben) erzeugen. So beschlossen wir, unser Wohnzimmer in Weiß- und Grautönen zu streichen. Wir benutzten die Farbe ‘Skimming Stone’ für die Wände. Dieser Weißton ist nach der Farbe des Putzes benannt, der im 19. Jh. beliebt war. Für Holzteile wählten wir Elephant’s Breath, ein helles warmes Grau, eben wie man sich den Atem eines Elefanten (mit Mühe) vorstellen kann.
Farben kann man mit Worten schwer beschreiben. Wir nennen Skimming Stone ‘warmes Weiß’. Elephant’s Breath ist ein warmes Grau.

Dina’s photos made us aware of how different the pictures of this room look in comparison to our direct experience being in the room. Our eyes perceive an entirety, photography emphasises the detail. To document the atmosphere of this room we had to remove some bric-a-brac which looks cluttered in the pictures but cosy living in this room.

Als Dina den Raum fotografierte, wurde uns klar, wie unterschiedlich das Bild unseres Raums im Vergleich zur direkten Wahrnehmung wirkt. Augen nehmen eine Gesamtheit wahr, die Fotografie betont Details. Um die Stimmung des Raums im Bild zu vermitteln, mussten wir unser Wohnzimmer von einigen Rumstehchen befreien, die auf dem Bild Unordnung vermittelten, in der täglichen Erfahrung jedoch gemütlich wirken.

It’s amazing how the colour-contrast and the effect of these colours are constantly changing with the light. The contrast of Skimming Stone and Elephant’s Breath is clearest with grey skies but it vanishes in bright sunshine. Then both colours look like neutral white.

Wir waren verblüfft, wie der Farbkontrast und die Wirkung dieser Farben sich mit dem Licht ändern. Bei bewölktem Wetter ist der Kontrast von Skimming Stone und Elephant’s Breath am deutlichsten. Scheint die Sonne ins Zimmer, verschwindet dieser Kontrast. Beide Farben wirken Weiß.

Our dear Master loves his new workspace. We trimmed the tamarisk in the front garden to create an inspiring view from behind the desk. Dina also got a new workspace between the pictures of Ottmar Alt and an airy mobile of kites.
Our Master is happy that despite two desks the room still looks big and empty. Dina showed us how to arrange furniture that a room looks biggers.

Erfreut ist Masterchen über seinen Arbeitsplatz. Wir beschnitten die Tamarinde im Vorgarten, so dass vom Schreibtisch aus der Blick in den Garten inspirierend wirkt. Dina bekam ebenfalls einen neuen Arbeitsplatz zwischen Bildern von Ottmar Alt und einem fröhlichen Drachenmobile. Zu Masterchen Freude wirkt trotz der zwei Arbeitsplätze der Raum groß und leer. Dina zeigte uns den Trick, wie man Möbel so anordnen kann, dass sie den Raum größer statt kleiner erscheinen lassen.

That’s all for today. Almost. Our old and dearly beloved big cherry tree fell down. No more cherries but lots of firewood.
All the best
Das wär’s für heute, doch nicht ganz. Unser geliebter, uralter großer Kirschbaum fiel einfach um. Keine Kirschen mehr 😦 aber gutes Brennholz 🙂
Alles Gute wünschen
The Fab Four of Cley

.

© Text and illustrations, Hanne Siebers and Klausbernd Vollmar, Cley next the Sea, 2019

 

191 thoughts

    • Dear Natuurfreak,
      that was used extensively first time in Baroque architecture. Nowadays it gives you the chance to change the appearance of your rooms.
      Thanks for commenting and enjoy the weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Wir lieben die unbunten Grautöne, da sie jedes Detail besonders wirken lassen, übrigens die Bewohner des Raums auch. Außerdem lassen sich harmonisch mit bunten Farben kombinieren.
      Danke für deinen Kommentar. Wir wünschen dir ein entspannendes Wochenende
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  3. It looks warm and inviting with the natural textures of wood and brick. And I love how you still use vibrant ethnic colours to add warmth to your room. I’m guessing the Bookfayries are getting worried now about what will be the next room/ Once you start, you do realise you won’t finish until you have redone the whole house!
    Have a lovely weekend Fab Four, from a rather muggy Cornwall 🙂
    Jude xx

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Good afternoon, dear Jude,
      oh no, no more renovating, well, at least this year. Our beloved Bookfayries can happily enjoy our garden now, especially as it warm and sunny right now.
      We had to look for colours that harmonise with wood and brick. Therefore warm neutral colours were our choice. Shades of grey have the advantage to go well together with most colours and let colourful accessoires look brighter.
      Thank you very much for your comment 🙂 🙂
      Wishing you a lovely weekend as well from the sunny coast of Norfolk
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  4. Wahnsinn! Das Zimmer ist der Hammer! Der Schreibtisch mit dem Ausblick, das kann nur inspirierend wirken. Habt ihr wunderbar gemacht. 👍😍
    Liebe Grüße, eine etwas neidische Susanne 😊

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Hallo, liebe Susanne,
      nicht neidisch sein. Wir benötigten Jahre uns durchzuringen, diesen Raum zu renovieren und die passenden Farben dafür zu finden. Jetzt sind wir froh, dass es geschafft ist.
      Masterchens Schreibtisch passt perfekt in diesen Art Erker. Nun sitzt er dort und schreibt, obwohl der Kirschbaum mit der Motorsäge zerkleinert werden müsste. Dina fand diesen alten Schreibtisch in einem Wohltätigkeitsgeschäft, wie es hier viele gibt.
      Vom sonnigen Meer senden wir dir liebe Grüße und bedanken uns für deinen Kommentar
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Ich finde sehr angenehm, wenn ich beim Nachdenken während des Schreibens meinen Blick über etwas Anmutiges schweifen lassen kann. Mein Arbeitsplatz ist in der Tat ideal.
      Habe ein schönes Wochenende
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Lieber Klausbernd, nein, ich fahre einen Skoda. 🙄 Es ist einfach so, dass ich Oldtimer sehr mag, nicht nur amerikanische. Auf meinem Blog kannst du eine Auswahl der gestern bestaunten Fahrzeuge sehen. 😊
      Liebe Grüße, Susanne

      Liked by 2 people

    • SUPER!
      Ich habe mir gerade die Autos auf deinem Blog angeschaut. Vor vielen Jahren habe ich kurz einen BMW 501 aus den fünfziger Jahren gefahren. Ich hatte dieses Auto geerbt. Das war für mich als Student damals viel zu teuer zu fahren und natürlich auch völlig unbequem im Vergleich zu heutigen Autos – aber schick 🙂
      Herzliche Grüße vom Meer
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Steve,
      now we have the cool library and the cosy sitting room.
      We are wondering why we in England write ‘cosy’ and you in America write ‘cozy’. Do you know?
      Thanks and cheers
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Spelling in British and American English is sometimes inconsistent, both within each tradition and between the two traditions. For example, Americans write defense and Britons write defence, but both write defensible. I don’t know the history of cosy versus cozy, but I assume it follows the general pattern by which Britons write economisewhere Americans write economize.

      Liked by 2 people

  6. Dina did a fabulous job documenting with her outstanding (as always} photos the transformation of your library. I learned a few things of choosing the right paint and arranging furniture to make a room look bigger. Has the pocket money issue been addressed? Or do Siri and Selma have to wait after all these expenses? Greetings from far away Canada

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Peter,
      Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma already got their additional pocket money – otherwise they would have behaved insufferably.
      It took quite a lot of pictures to photograph this room. It’s always complicated documenting a room, problems with lighting, perspectives and optical distortions. This room has two big windows East and West and the two rounded windows facing south. It’s very light.
      Dina is a specialist placing furniture. She has to be because our dear Master is very critical concerning every kind of furniture.
      Warm greetings from the idyllic North Norfolk coast to Canada
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you for explaining some more the difficulties of renovating the library. I guess having the right light is the most important aspect in a place where reading takes place. Equally warm greetings from Canada to the Fab Four of Cley!

      Liked by 2 people

    • Not only the natural light but also the lighting is always a challenge. Especially as our Master and Dina have different ideas about what looks nice and gives a great light for reading.

      Liked by 2 people

  7. The room looks wonderful. Is this a big change to how it looked before?
    I’d love to do some renovating in my small house, but I find it very difficult to picture a new colour scheme.
    So sorry about the loss of your cherry tree! It would break my heart to loose my only tree in the back garden. There’s so much history connected with it.
    – Sonia.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Sonia,
      it’s a big change of our living room. The walls were bright yellow before, a big sofa was standing where now Master’s writing desk is placed and we had a bigger oak table in this room as well.
      Choosing the right colours is not that easy because you usually get those small colour examples from the different colour producer. But it’s hard to judge a colour on the walls from such small examples. We tried out different colours on larger surfaces of the walls before we choose our colours. If you choose highly pigmented colours you can just paint your chosen colour over these colour-trials.
      It’s a pity that the poor cherry tree came down. It’s amazing how it has changed our garden. Fortunately, we have got quite some old apple trees and a damson-tree left.
      Wishing you a great weekend and thanks a lot for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Wow, dear friends, that’s a big change! Congratulations to this transformation of yet another room, well done. I really loved the room when it was yellow with hardly any furniture and I was curious to see what replaced it. The new colour scheme is totally different and very pleasing. The longer I look, the more I like it. The light in this room is spectacular and I’m happy to see that you both have found new workspaces here.

    Pocket money should go up without any problems. Especially with all the hard work with the cherry tree. So sad to see it go. You will have a busy weekend in front of you!

    Kram,
    Annalena x

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Annalena,
      indeed, the transformation of this room is quite drastic. It radiates an entirely new atmosphere now. With bright yellow walls it looked even lighter but not many accessoires and furniture harmonised with this yellow. For an empty room it was fine but not for the new style of our living room. It was not easy to find a solution that we all four like.
      We love having our desks in the same room. That’s cosiness for us working in the same room.
      Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma don’t help with the cherry tree. Chainsaws and axes are not suitable for Bookfayries. They call their pocket money ‘Fayrie Taler’ and they are saving them for something that is a big secret.
      With lots of love ❤ ❤ from the coast of Norfolk to the Swedish woods
      KRAM
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks a lot for your kind words 🙂 🙂
      From our Master’s writing desk you can look down our drive and spot every visitor immediately. Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma love to sit there because they are nosy.
      Thanks and cheers
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Danke, lieber Jochen 🙂 🙂
      ja, so empfinden wir das auch. Schön, dass dir unsere Raumgestaltung gefällt. Auch wir sind rundum froh damit 🙂 🙂
      Mit herzlichen Grüßen nach Berlin
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Yes, dear John, exactly that was the effect we wanted to produce.
      Thanks for liking our new living room style 🙂 🙂
      We wish you a wonderful weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  12. What a wonderful home you have, perfectly reflecting each of your personalities, and showcasing your own interests too.
    I also think the names they have for paint are very silly. I am sure that the breath of an elephant is colourless! 🙂
    Love from Beetley, Pete and Ollie. X

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Pete,
      in the first draught of our text we wrote a longer paragraph about names of colours. It’s nearly impossible to describe colours exactly with words. The only way would be to give the CMYK-code, how the colour is mixed. But that’s VERY unromantic. So producers use funny or strange names of colours.
      We are also sure that the breath of an elephant is colourless, nevertheless the name let us associate ‘grey’.
      With love from the sunny sea to you and Ollie
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Hi, dear Sue,
      colours and their names … The names of colours are never clear, even not with primary colours. There is a much quoted and often repeated experiment. People were ask to paint a monochrome red picture. You wouldn’t believe how many different reds they used. We don’t know who dreams up colour names but that would be a job Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma would like.
      Thanks for liking the styling of our living room 🙂 🙂
      Wishing you a great weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Fraggle,
      thanks for liking our new renovated living room.
      Oh dear, you want the job for making up names for colours. Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma applied for this as well. It seems to be a very much liked job.
      Wishing you a great weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Eddie,
      how right you are! But we decided no more renovations for the next years. But Dina always likes to arrange and rearrange furniture, carpets etc. constantly and Selma 🙂 is happily helping her.
      Great that you like our new sitting room!
      Thanks and cheers
      The Fa Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  16. Oh, der Arbeitsplatz gefällt mir persönlich am allerbesten. Der schöne Holztisch, eingebettet in diesen lichtdurchfluteten Bereich mit Blick ins Grüne, einfach fantastisch. Hier würde ich auch gerne meine Bücher schreiben😊. VG Nele

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Guten Abend, liebe Nele,
      ja, das ist der Platz, an dem Masterchen schreibt und schreibt und schreibt. Zu schön, für unseren Geschmack, denn so hat er weniger Zeit, mit uns hinaus ans Meer zu gehen. Auf der anderen Seite finden wir es gemütlich, wenn Masterchen dort schreibt und wir Buchfeen auf dem großen Sofa an der Wand (das man nicht auf den Fotos sieht) lesen.
      Mit herzlichen Grüßen vom sommerlichen Meer
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  17. You have a very beautiful room and the view out to the garden is very soothing. I like the pale grey walls and woodwork; so calming and useful! I am sorry you have lost your cherry tree. Best wishes from Clare currently in Austria 😊😊😊😊

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Good evening, dear Clare,
      Great that you like the styling of our living room. We wanted a calming cosy atmosphere.
      It’s a pity with the end of our cherry tree. It was very old. We were lucky as it just missed our garden shed. Now we are cutting the big stem up and burning the small branches. It seems to be a never ending job.
      Warm greetings to you in Austria and thanks for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  19. Splendid result, dear Klaus! It reminds me of Shire & Hobbits. It looks very optimistic & bright! I’m sorry for the cherry tree. All comes to its end…even trees.
    Have a bright week-end!
    Best wishes,
    Maria 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Good evening, dear Maria,
      Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma are a little bit like the little Hobbits. They love those cosy Hobbit homes in Shireland. Great that you like the styling of our living room. It took us quite a while to find out the best combination of furniture and colour. We are happy with the result now.
      Our dear old cherry tree … It was that old that we were aware that its end was near. Now we are busy with the chain saw – our dear Master hates working with his chain saw – and burning all the little branches. The wood looks and smells great. It’s red inside, very hard and heavy.
      We wish you a sunny relaxing weekend.
      With warm greetings from the sea
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Maria,
      in a way our dear cherry tree is just changing his physical state from solid to airy when it will be burned and set free.
      GREAT that you like our eclectic combination that reflects our individuality.
      After a light rain in the morning the sun is out again. Time to go in the garden working on the cherry tree.
      Have a wonderful weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you very much for liking our living room 🙂 🙂
      We operate our wood burner with open doors. So it’s like an open fire place. It’s amazing what a heat it produces. The only problem always was getting decent firewood. Now with the death our cherry tree we have fire wood for two years at least.
      We wish you a happy weekend
      The Fa Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  21. Fab Four of Cley,
    Your room looks as lovely and varied as your own personalities! I can picture each of you at the desks, creating and absorbing the culture and Nature around you. You’ve all done a beautiful job!
    I was sorry to hear of the cherry tree’s demise, but it shall keep my friends cozy come winter.
    Have an inspiring weekend and please never change!!
    GP Cox

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear GP Cox,
      thank you so much for liking our living room. We tried out so many arrangements until we found a solution that we all like. You make the point, Nature and Culture meet especially at our dear Master’s working space. How this room looks like now was a result of trying out different colours and arrangements of our furniture. It took us quite some time until we all were happy with it.
      Well, we will change because (unfortunately) there is no way not getting older.
      We wish you a wonderful weekend full of joy and happiness
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  22. Hervorragend ist Euch das gelungen, lieber Klausbernd! Meine Hochachtung. Ich haette den Raum nicht wiedererkannt.
    Liebe Gruesse ins kleine Dorf am grossen Meer,
    Pit

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Guten Morgen, lieber Pit,
      das war ein langer Prozess, bis wir unser Wohnzimmer so gestaltet hatten. Viel war ausprobieren, Möbel herumschieben, Accessoires arrangieren und lange Diskussionen über Farbzusammensetzungen. Toll, dass dir unser Wohnzimmer gefällt. Du bist ja einer der wenigen Blogger hier, die das Zimmer von früher her kennen.
      Wir senden dir und Mary ganz liebe Grüße von der heute bewölkten und kühlen Küste
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Lieber Klausbernd,
      dass es eine lange Zeit des Ueberlegens und Experimentierens war, das kann ich mir gut vorstellen. Aber wie es so schoen heisst, “Gut Ding will Weile haben”, und bei so einem Projekt darf man weiss Gott nichts ueberstuerzen.
      Da uns unser Haus, so wie wir es gekauft haben, bis auf ein paar Ausnahmen gut gefiel, brauchten wir nicht viel zu aendern, aber es hat eine geraume Zeit gedauert, alles so einzurichten wie wir es wollten. Unser letztes “Projekt” waren – vor ein paar Wochen erst – Vorhaenge in den beiden Gaestezimmern.
      Ein Riesen-Renovieungsprojekt war – vielleicht hast Du es ja in meinem Blog mitbekommen – die Totalrenovierung von Marys Elternhaus in Karnes City. Das haben wir natuerlich einem Profi ueberlassen, denn da ist ausser Schale [Aussenwaende, Dach, Fundament und Holzfussboden wo denn einer war] sowie dem Skelett – sprich Balkengeruest – nichts geblieben.
      Viele Gruesse aus einem warmen – aber (noch) nicht unangenehmen – Fredericksburg,
      Pit

      Liked by 2 people

    • Lieber Pit,
      ich habe die Bilder von der Renovierung von Marys Elternhaus gesehen. Das war einige Nummern größer als unsere Renovierungen.
      Ich hatte das gleiche ‘Problem’. Als ich hier das Haus kaufte, war es im perfekten Zustand, übrigens kaufte ich es mit Einrichtung. Alles war gediegen und geschmackvoll, nur entsprach es nicht meinem Geschmack. Es war so wie aus “Schöner Wohnen”. Nun 25 Jahre später ist nichts mehr, wie es ursprünglich war, selbst der Garten nicht.
      Liebe Grüße
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Hallo Klausbernd,
      was Marys Elternhaus angeht: da muessen wir jetzt mal ueberlegen, was weiter damit geschehen soll.
      Hier in Fredericksburg haben wir uns fast ganz neu eingerichtet. Was unsere Vorgaenger verkaufen wollten [z.B. eine riesige Eckcouch im Wohnzimmer], das wollten wir nicht, und was wir wollten [Esszimmertisch], das wollten sie nicht verkaufen. Ein Teil der Einrichtung sind uebrigens antike Erbstuecke Marys, die wir haben aufarbeiten lassen. Unser Haus hier wurde 1980 gebaut, und wir sind froh, dass unsere Vorgaenger [die zweiten Besitzer] es haben renovieren und aendern lassen. Jetzt sind Wohn- und Esszimmer ein grosser Raum. Vorher waren es drei kleine. So sieht es viel grosszuegiger aus, vor Allem, weil es auch zur Kueche und zum kleinen Esszimmer bzw. “Den” hin offen ist. Wir haben nur im Ess- und Wohnzimmer ein wenig fuer farbliche Abwechslung gesorgt, mit jeweils einem stark blauen Akzentband an der Decke. Ich glaube, wir sind jetzt auf viele Jahre hinaus sicher vor weiteren Renovierungsarbeiten. Vielleicht sogar bis wir umziehen (muessen).
      Habe ich eigentlich schon erwaehnt, dass wir ganz ideal wohnen? Die Strasse runter ist etwa 500 Meter weiter ein sehr gutes Seniorenheim [betreutes Wohnen], und dann wieder etw 500 Meter weiter auf der anderen Seite der Strasse da ist der Friedhof. Wir brauchen also nie weit umzuziehen!
      Mit diesen morbiden Gedanken sage ich fuer heute mal “auf Wiedersehen”.
      Habt’s fein,
      Pit

      Liked by 2 people

    • Hi Pit,
      weißt du, wie unser Nachbar Church Lane, wo wir wohnen, nennt? Stairways to Heaven.
      Hier gibt es viele sogenannte Antique Centre, wo wir unsere schönsten Stücke preiswert erstanden haben. Das Aufarbeiten nehmen Masterchen mit Selmalein in die Hand.
      Unser Haus ist ebenfalls aus den 80er Jahren, allerdings hatte man damals hier schon einen Hang zu großen, hellen Räumen, deswegen haben wir ohne Umbau zwei Räume, die etwas über 40 qm groß sind. Masterchen ließ jedoch eine riesige Doppelgarage als Wohnraum umbauen.
      Ja, diese Idee mit dem Akzentband fand ich sogleich spannend, als ich deine Bilder sah.
      Mit lieben Grüßen vom sonnigen Meer
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Hallo Klausbernd,
      also “stairways to heaven” finde ich gut – wenn sie denn nicht zu bald benutzt werden!
      Selber aufarbeiten konnten wir Marys antike Stuecke nicht. Das haben wir den Profis ueberlassen. War zwar nicht ganz billig, aber es war das geld wert. Die Jungs haben ihr Handwerk wirklich verstanden. Ein paar Kleinigkeiten haben wir auch in Antiquitaetengeschaeften gekauft. Jetzt haben wir so ziemlich Alles, was wir brauchen. Und auch keinen Platz mehr, der gefuellt werden muss.
      Was wir uns jetzt immer wieder anschaffen – wir sind schon ganz “liebe” Kunden einer hiesigen Gallerie geworden – sind Bilder und Sklpturen. Da gibt es, was den Platz an den Waenden angeht, noch etwas “Luft nach oben”.
      Was das “Akzentband’ angeht: wir waren uns nicht sicher, ob wir es moegen wuerden, weil es ja doch ziemlich kraeftig ist, aber wir haben uns gesagt, dass wir es ja immer wieder ueberstreichen koennten, falls es uns nicht gefiele. Aber wir moegen es.
      Von unserem Haus haben wir Bilder, wie es vor dem Umbau durch unsere Vorbesitzer aussah: einfach grauenhaft! Eng, nicht besonders hell, und haessliche bunte Bluemchentapeten.
      Liebe Gruesse an alle Fab Four aus einem sonnigen Fredericksburg, wo draussen die Zikaden einen ziemlichen Laerm machen, ins kleine Dorf am grossen Meer,
      Euer Pit

      Liked by 2 people

    • Hi, lieber Pit,
      bevor wir jetzt gleich in die Sauna verschwinden, sollst du doch noch ein paar Zeilen bekommen. Zuerst, bevor ich es vergesse, möchte ich dir einen Roman empfehlen (den du vielleicht schon kennst): Gregory David Roberts “Shantaram”. Das ist das spannendste Buch, dass ich seit langem las. Den Nachfolgeband “The Mountain Shadow” finde ich jetwas schwächer, aber auch noch sehr gut.
      Bei uns ist das mit der Kunst ein Problem: Wir haben einige Bilder, Öl, Aquarell, Collagen etc., die wir aber nicht hängen können, da fast alle Wandfläche von Buchregalen eingenommen wird. So hängen wir ‘mal diese und ‘mal jene Bilder.
      So, jetzt geht’s aber ab zum schwitzen. Draußen ist es hier übrigens kühl, nur knapp über 20 Grad C.
      Eine wunderbare Woche wünschen wir dir
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Danke, lieber Klausbernd, fuer den Buchtipp! Was Buecher bzw. Bilder angeht: klar, Ihr habt so immesn viele Buecher, dass Ihr nur ganz wenig Platz fuer Bilder an den Waenden habt. Bei uns ist es eben anders. Ich haette auch gerne mehr Buecher um mich rum,aber fuer schoen Regale fehlt uns eben der Platz.
      Froehliches Saunieren,
      Pit

      Liked by 2 people

  23. We can hardly wait to see your rooms “in person.” Thomas is in the planning stages for next year. Dina – your photos are remarkable and capture the welcoming feeling that comes with your renovations. This room is a place for reflection, for exploration, for writing, for having a cup of tea – most of all, it is a place for life-affirming conversations. I agree with the thought that looking at a room via a photo nuances our understanding compared to experiencing the room “in person.” I have noticed this when I see photos of our home. I have often wondered why that is…
    Sending much love to my dear, dear friends, the Fab Four of Cley. Siri and Selma – a special thanks for all of your work. Yes – you deserve more pocket money. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Clanmother Rebecca,
      our new arrangements of the library and living room had the positive effect that we have a guest room now which was Dina’s former office. We can offer you to stay at ours when you come for a visit. Wouldn’t that be great? 🙂 🙂 So we can have these life-affirming conservations in the evenings.
      Lots and lots of fairy dust from Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma. You made them so happy with your comment!
      With lots of love from us and big HUGS
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  25. You’ve created a space for each of you, and one of comfort and quietude. Spaces can easily fill, but it is important (as you have done) to carefully select the negative and positive spaces for your productivity and relaxation.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Sally,
      during our renovations we became more and more aware of the different qualities of the various spaces of a room. We suppose that is what Feng Shui is all about. But we didn’t follow these Chinese ideas of beauty because we are not Chinese. Our principle was trial and error which took us quite a while until we reached that solution we all are happy with. Our challenge is now not to fill up this room again.
      We wish you a wonderful weekend and thanks a lot for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Guten Morgen, lieber Bernd,
      toll, das dir die Kreation unseres Wohnzimmer gefällt. Und herzlichen Dank für die fränkischen Herzkirschen – lecker!
      Genieße das Wochenende und hab’s fein
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  28. Beautiful, eclectic, and very livable. I especially admire the lamp in the foreground of the second image and I think that the Master’s workspace is about as close as you can get the perfect in this world.

    Cosy vs cozy: I think Americans tend to spell a bit more phonetically.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Michael,
      the lamp is an Arabian lamp creating beautiful structures of light in this corner of the living room. When it’s dark it creates a kind of “Arabian Nights” feeling.
      This eclecticism was our choice that this room doesn’t look too posh or too much like in “Country Living”. This is part of our personalities. Thanks for making us think about eclecticism. Could it be that eclecticism is reflecting and creating individuality – and here our individuality.
      Thanks for your explanation of ‘cosy’ and ‘cozy’. Yes, phonetical spelling, that makes sense.
      Wishing you a great time in London, have a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you for the tip on the lamp. I think that eclecticism is not something that one tries to do: it just happens as a reflection of your personalities. All four of them. 😉 We will be in London from August 22-28, with Sunday on the south coast with Rachael Talibart. Happy weekend to you too.

      Liked by 2 people

  29. What a delightful, light-filled room. Money well spent and wisely used. We remodeled the inside of our house 3 years ago and went with white ceilings and light grey walls. Our experience is the same as yours when the light changes throughout the day; the grey disappears and comes back later. On a side-note, I love the table lamp in the right corner of the second photo.
    Ω

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Allan,
      we just wrote about this Arabian table lamp answering Michael’s commentary above. Our clever Dina found this lamp and was immediately taken by it. This lamp creates a moody light, sensual and magic.
      We also like this combination of light grey and white, therefore we painted our book shelves in a neutral white.
      We used the same colour of the walls and ceiling to lift the ceiling optically and create a light and spacy feeling. That was a trick used by some of the Baroque architects who started to reflect the relationship of colour and space systematically.
      Thanks for your commentary.
      Wishing you a GREAT weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you so much, dear Janet 🙂 🙂
      We are so happy that all this effort was worth it.
      With warm greetings from the little village next the big sea
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Yes, it really is! We need a relaxing and cosy home to be creative and productive. Especially our dear Master and Siri 🙂 don’t like to travel. They prefer staying at home, in our house and garden. Therefore we create our house and surroundings as beautiful as we can.
      Thanks and cheers
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  33. I love the names of the paints. And I think your renovations are delightful. I love the windows at the Master’s Workplace. I could daydream there very happily and pretend to be working if anyone came in. I am not suggesting that the Master does any daydreaming of course.😊

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Anne,
      he does, indeed. Well, he calls it thinking – what a nice euphemism!
      We are happy that you like our renovations. Our home should not only be the perfect place for us but for guests as well.
      The name of paints … Elephant’s Breath for a warm grey is quite poetical, isn’t it? The cold grey we used in our library is called Dimpse. That’s a word used SW England for the fading light at late evenings.
      Thanks for commenting.
      Wishing you a wonderful weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  34. What a delightful space to spend time in. I daresay if I had my desk in front of those windows like Klausbernd I’d spend all day sitting there (instead of just half the day sitting at my own ‘desk in front of my window’ as I do).

    I love the beautiful wood grains and colour on the furniture. The splashes of red make for an uplifting cheerful scene too. Well done to you both for your decorating skills 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Vicki,
      I have to admit I love sitting there and especially now because wrens are nesting in the clematis above these windows and the young ones love to have a look inside. That’s destroying every working morale – but work isn’t everything, is it?
      To have splashes of red we learned from the French photographer Henri Cartier Besson, who was very interested in paintings and the art of his time. It was his trade mark that in his photographic art there was always such a red splash. For him it was essential that every photography needs something red. Dina as a photographer transferred this idea to our rooms.
      Thanks for your comment 🙂 🙂
      Have a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Talking of red, I have the most extraordinary image I made in the main shopping mall in the city incorporating the colour red, but since the scene doesn’t match any of my 3 blogs, I’ve never been able to upload and share it. Maybe I should just stick it on my B & W blog just for the fun of it 🙂 Just an ordinary street scene, but red dominates every part of the photo.

      Liked by 2 people

    • Thanks a lot, dear Cornelia 🙂 🙂
      We love this room now (as you write) for working, relaxing and enjoying the views into the small front garden from Master’s desk facing East and the much bigger back garden in the West and watching the change of light. There are two windows facing South as well.
      Thank you very much for your kind words. We wish you a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Hi, liebe Nil,
      wir sind gerade einen Mieter losgeworden, wodurch wir unseren Bibliotheksraum einrichten konnten (die vorletzte Post berichtete darüber) und dadurch mehr Platz für unser Wohnzimmer bekommen haben. Besucher empfangen wir jedoch gerne. Auf jeden Fall freuen wir uns, dass dir unsere Raumgestaltung gefällt.
      Habe Dank für deinen lieben Kommentar.
      Mit herzlichen Grüßen von Norfolk nach Belgien
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Tanja,
      we did that all ourselves. If time isn’t an important factor you can easily do such modernisations without professional help. Planning took most of the time.
      Great that you like our library room 🙂 🙂 Our library room is more cool (colours etc.) and our living room is more cosy.
      Wishing you a happy Sunday
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you, dear Tanja.
      Our experience is that most important is the planning. In our library room as well as in our living room we ‘only’ painted and rearranged our furniture. For the library we bought the shelves, in the living room we built them to fit.
      Wishing you a happy week too
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  43. Ok, wo habt ihr den Keller mit Kisten, den Dachboden, mit ungeordneten Fotoschuhschachteln, den Schuppen mit Krempel, oder wenigsten ne Kruschtelschublade?!
    Ich bin schwer beeindruckt von dieser heimeligen Anordnung.
    Ihr habt euch ganz wunderbare Lebensräume geschaffen. Nicht einfach, bei so viel Wissen und Möglichkeiten, sich zu klären und alles so zu gestalten, dass es haargenau zu euch
    passt. Ich freue mich sooooooo für euch, es ist gelungen!
    Danke fürs Teilen, sehr inspirierend….
    Happy Sunday wünscht
    Pia
    ..uns ist eine Katze zugelaufen, eine ganz liebe und heute pflanze ich einen Apfelbaum…
    Ich schreibe ein Kita-Lernheft zum schönen Bilderbuch “Die Schnecke und der Buckelwal”, Julia Donaldson ist eine Lustige. Da wo ich schreibe ist es nicht annähernd so stylisch wie bei euch, aber ich hoffe trotzdem auf Inspiration….
    Buckelwal, nicht Walfisch…Danke nach Cley!!!
    Enjoy your home!!!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Liebe Pia,
      wir haben allen Krempel und Kruschtel entsorgt. Was wir nicht in den Müll geworfen haben, bekamen Charity Shops – das waren mehr als 2 Autoladungen voll. Unsere Devise: Was wir die letzten Jahre nicht gebraucht oder angesehen haben, werden auch in Zukunft nicht vermissen, also kommt es weg. Nun achten wir sehr darauf, uns nicht wieder zuzumüllen.
      Allerdings haben wir Gartenschuppen, wo wir Bootskram, Weihnachtsdeko etc. aufbewahren. Du kennst ja unseren lieben Master und Dinalein, bei denen ist nichts unordentlich. Masterchen meint, er brauche eine aufgeräumte Umgebung, um klar zu denken und zu schreiben.
      Dann wünschen wir dir frohes Schreiben. Wir wussten gar nicht, dass Julia Donaldson eine der erfolgreichsten Kinderbuchautorinnen überhaupt ist. Schnecke und Buckelwal macht ja neugierig.
      Mit lieben Grüßen aus Cley und herzlichen Dank für deinen lieben Kommentar
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Siri und Selma, wisst Ihr was?! Letzte Weihnachten schenkte mir eine Schülerin das Hygge Buch von Meik Wiking. Also ganz ehrlich, am liebsten wollte ich es zurück schenken: Danke, das brauche ich echt nicht, wenn ich Zeit habe räume ich auf und außerdem bin ich eigentlich dauerglücklich, muss mir nur kurz bewusst machen, wie gut es mir, im Vergleich zu sooooo vielen anderen auf dieser Erde, geht….
      Es kam mir so vor, als hätte ich bei dieser speziellen Schülerin komplett versagt…dass sie mir so ein Buch schenkte….es wirkte so öberflächlich auf mich…
      Sternzeichen Stier, ich glaube, ich gebe es ihr echt zurück…
      Ich brauche nicht viel um glücklich zu sein und bin sehr gerne mit Menschen und Feen zusammen, die auch verstehen, dass zu viel zu besitzen nur belastet. Zu wenig zum Leben zu haben belastet wahrscheinlich noch mehr….
      Jetzt lese ich noch kurz über den Hygge Klang und dann mache ich weiter!
      Herzliche Grüße von Pia
      Eure Zimmer sind schöööööööööööööööön!

      Liked by 2 people

    • Liebe Pia,
      wir geben dir voll und ganz Recht, dieser Meik Wiking schreibt derart oberflächlich bis schwachsinnig, dass es erstaunlich ist, dass seine Bücher einen Verleger fanden.
      Für uns geben die Bilder des schwedischen Malers Carl Larsson am besten dieses nordische Hygge-Gefühl wieder. Durch Vermarktung dieses Gefühls ist aus der Hygge etwas anderes geworden, als was es ursprünglich bezeichnete.
      Einen schönen Sonntag noch
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Zur Zeit schreibe ich in der Küche, Josi und Jonas staunten gestern auch über euer neues Wohnzimmer. Wir schwelgten in Erinnerungen…
      Josi: Wow, wie schön! Jonas: Hääh, wieso, hat das nicht schon so ausgesehen?
      Jonas hat so dicke Brillengläser wie seine Mutter…
      Die Träume, die wir damals auf dem Teppich sitzend analysierten, erinnere ich immernoch.
      Das war richtig toll, gerade habe ich wieder eine neue Erkenntnis aus der damaligen Analyse!
      Jetzt grübele ich, ob schon Kindergartenkinder sich mit Magneten beschäftigen könnten.
      In den Lernheften soll man 8 kreative Ideen rund ums Buch/Thema darstellen.
      Das Problem werden nicht die Kinder sein, die Erzieherinnen machen mir mehr Sorgen…
      Ich könnte natürlich auch als Vorlesetante mit Kreativtasche kleine Workshops für Kitas anbieten, oje, so ein Mist…
      In Julia Donaldsons Buch verirrt sich der Wal…
      Ich würde dann so einen großen Hufeisenmagneten, eine Stimmgabel, ein Zelt zum Zurückziehen, ein paar Tiermasken, Obst, meine bunten Yogafühlaugenmasken, Steine, etc. dabei haben. Man kann das auch filmen und den Erzieherinnen als Download zur Verfügung stellen…oje…
      Tschühüß!!!

      Liked by 2 people

    • Guten Morgen, liebe Pia,
      das Wohnzimmer hat damals nicht so ausgesehen, da ich da alleine war und keine Zeit zum Renovieren hatte.
      Ich glaube, das Prinzip Magnet kann man Kindern gut erklären, zumindest was die Anziehung angeht. Du musst ja nicht über die elektrischen Felder und die Theorie der Ladungen berichten. Beim Magnet sehen die Kinder doch richtig schön die Anziehung bzw. Abstoßung. Klassisch ist doch irgendwie auch dieses Experiment mit feinen Eisenspänen auf einem Stück Papier und darunter ein starker Magnet und geradezu magisch ordnen sich Späne im Muster der Feldlinien an. Wir hatten das in der Schule durchgeführt . Es hat mich sehr beeindruckt.
      Toll, dass euch Masterchens Traumkurs viel gebracht hat. Da freut er sich 🙂
      Ganz liebe Grüße vom sommerlichen Cley
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Ja.
      Allerdings wird es immer bekloppter…
      The Cat in the Rain, Abiturarbeit Englisch…
      (ich schrieb nur Blödsinn, inhaltlich war ich vollkommen blockiert, aber ohne Fehler, da sind noch 10 oder 11 Punkte herausgekommen, muss man auch erst mal schaffen…).
      Deutsch war besser: Hesse “Das Märchen vom Korbstuhl”
      Geschichte war die beste Note, aber, welchen Blödsinn haben wir da nur gelernt???
      So, jedenfalls finde ich super, dass das Mischschüssel-Licht von draußen in euer wunderschön gestaltetes Wohn-Schreibzimmer schaut, Yes!!
      Gehe jetzt Kaffee trinken bei Cousine Elisa und wünsche euch ein wundervolles Wochenende

      Liked by 2 people

    • Liebe Pia,
      unser Englischlehrer war, ehrlich gesagt, voll bescheuert. Kaum zu glauben, dass wir uns das als Schüler nur mit mildem Protest gefallen ließen. Kein bisschen kann ich mich daran erinnern, was wir in Geschichte lernten. Ich mochte sehr unseren Deutschlehrer, der uns wunderbar in die mittelhochdeutsche Literatur einführte (er wurde später Professor für mittelhochdeutsche Lit.), die dann in meinem Germanistikstudium zu meinem Steckenpferd wurde. Im Abitur ging’s um Goethes “Wahlverwandtschaften”. Das dort angesprochene Thema der Kritik an der englischen Landschaftsarchitektur finde ich noch heute interessant. Am besten kann ich mich jedoch an Mathematik und Physik erinnern. Da lag ja bei meiner Schule der Schwerpunkt.
      Liebe Grüße aus dem gerade regnerischen Cley
      Klausbernd und auch vom Rest der Fab Four

      Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you very much 🙂 🙂
      We like it as well. It was our dear Dina who visualised this transformation and got us motivated to start changing this room.
      Wishing you a happy week and thanks for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  48. This is wonderful renovation and decoration… loved so much, I can live in there… Even to watch this room makes me feel so nice, so inspired… This is amazing touching for us too. Thank you, I can also see the fairies too, 🙂 Love, nia

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Nia,
      thank you so much 🙂 🙂
      Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma always try to sneak into the pictures. They explained they can’t help it because that’s the fairy way.
      Wishing you an easy week
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Marie,
      you are a colleague of our dear Master. He was teaching at the University and publishing scientific papers and books at day time and at his sabbaticals and during the holidays he wrote novels and scripts for film and TV. But now he is just blogging with us.
      The names of colours … Most of the colours of cars, in fashion and interior design have quite poetical names. We were wondering lately if there are people whose job it is to find those names.
      Thanks for commenting.
      All the best
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Thanks a lot, dear Jacqui 🙂 🙂
      Our dear Master is just sitting there writing, maybe a bedtime story for us Bookfayries?
      Greetings from the sunny coast of Norfolk
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  51. I love that room, it looks amazing and very spacious. Very cosy and warm in Winter with this beautiful wood burner. Love the grey and all the colours of your soft furnishings. You did a great job with you library and this room! A room to be very happy in!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Ute,
      yes, it’s a room to be happy in 🙂 🙂 And it has such a great light with windows east, west and south facing. It took us years to get the ideas how to renovate it.
      Thanks for commenting. Have a happy day
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  52. God, this is beautiful. You did an amazing job on the renovation. The light is incredible––especially with the white and color by the windows. Thank you for sharing!

    Blessings to you all 🙂 . Be well.
    Debbie

    ps – I’m sorry to hear about your cherry tree.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Debbie,
      we are VERY happy with our renovated living room now. It took us quite a while first to find a comely colour scheme and then to get fitting furniture and accessoires.
      Well, our dear old cherry tree, it was quite old and its last blessing is providing excellent firewood for the winter.
      Thank you very much for commenting and liking our living room.
      With kindest regards
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  56. Now I see what my favorite faeries have been up to. What a lot of work, but what a beautiful outcome. Siddhartha on the mantel, preferred accessory or spiritual guidepost? 🙂
    Interesting that your workspace is so light. My writing space is utilitarian. Uninspired. I gather inspiration from the outside world, but in my writing space, I wish to be isolated from sensory input – a darkroom for the mind. I write mostly fiction. Perhaps that is the difference.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Good evening, dear Thorsaurus,
      Siddharta > preferred accessory or spiritual guidepost? Well, it’s rather our spiritual guidepost. It’s reminding us not getting (too) attached – especially not to our egos.
      Our dear Master writes fiction as well. Nowadays he nearly only writes fiction but fiction with a scientific background without being SciFi. What kind of fiction do you write?
      Thanks for commenting, wishing you a great week
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  57. I write mostly about contemporary, social issues. I find my protagonists can get into plenty of trouble without embracing the fantastical, although they do brush up against it at times. (One short piece I wrote involved a young man who thought he was conversing with the ghost of E. Hemmingway. 🙂 ) I like to say that my hauptfigurs have good hearts and bad habits.

    A great week for the Fab Four as well!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  59. It’s divine. I’m consumed with envy. The windows suggest to me your house is from the Arts and Crafts era. The topic of “which white” is contemporary here in Australia, as our rooms are often saturated with hard light. I follow two Facebook sites dedicated to “Hamptons” decorating, and another to “Chalk Painting” – they both agonise over shades of white. Recently I painted something and realised it was a bit “off” what I was trying to blend with. The base was black, when what I really needed was a yellow/brown base. I had a half a litre left, and had it re-mixed, so ended up with a licorice all-sorts finish. But it works. Anyone walking in to my apartment would call it white LOL.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Gwendoline
      as modern colours are mostly water based nowadays they mix easily. The disadvantage with self-mixed colours is that you don’t get the same shade again if you have to repair patches. We had problems with the flow of colour with chalk colours. It is not that easy to mix the right amount of water in that they perfectly cover but still flow while painting to get an even surface. Leftovers of the colours we mix as well for garden chairs, benches etc.
      With warm greetings from the little village next the big sea
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • My poor cupboard started with a high gloss mahogany oil lacquer, then three coats of bright red acrylic wall paint, and now three (thick) coats of cream chalk paint. If I ever want to change the colour again, I’ll definitely have to sand it back, otherwise I’ll never open and close the cupboard doors. But you are right, I could never colour match the shade if I chip it.

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Gwendoline,
      wow, you used a lot of coats. We only used one coat but with a highly pigmented colour. We always try to use only one coat or outside just an undercoat and then one coat. We do this because we noticed that as more coats you use as more likely are little cracks of the surface of your colours on the long run.

      Liked by 2 people

    • It’s a pity, but books can’t be used being stored in boxes. Books like people love a beautiful surrounding. That means shelves for books.
      Thanks and have a wonderful weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • but I am preparing a move, so I have to put them in cardboard for transportation
      However I still have more in the shelves to read
      There I come back with 4 other books, found on a small wall (people here sometimes leave for who wants books they read)
      Have a great weekend in the sun I hope

      Liked by 1 person

    • We know this situation pretty well. We always come home with some books we found in public book shelves or charity shops. We really suffered when we decorated two of our library rooms and had to put thousands of books into boxes. It only helped that we organise our books with a professional library programme to see where which book is to be found. Because of our books we can’t move. No way. So books are freedom and they binding at the same time.
      Today our clever Siri 🙂 found “Herculanum and Pompeji” by A. Kaiser, 1. ed. Hamburg 1841 (unfortunately 3 vol. only out of 6). These are books of (architectural) drawings, not precious money-wise, but we love having famous books in first edition of the 18th and 19th c. in our collection.
      Enjoy your books, happy reading
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you VERY much, dear Leya 🙂 🙂
      well, it took us a long time to find out the colour scheme and how to arrange our furniture – actually, meaning which ones we will give away.
      Wishing you a happy day. Warm greetings from Norfolk to Sweden
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Thank you for the warm greeting in this cold November. Most things of beauty in your home takes a long time to figure out. But that is part of the joy. Wishing you much joy and harmony –
      Ann-Christine

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Ann-Christine,
      thank you soooo much for your kind words 🙂 🙂
      We send you sparkling golden Bookfayrie dust to warm up the cold November night and makes it cosy.
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Dear Ann-Christine,
      good things come to those who wait. It took us half a year to get everything sorted as we wanted to have it. It was a lot of trial and error too.
      Love from dark Norfolk right now – well, outside it’s pitch dark
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
      ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

      Like

    • Dear Amy,
      well, it’s one for our dear Master and the other for our beloved Dina. We Bokkfayries have a library room each with a writing desk upstair.s Yes, books everywhere in our house.
      This here is our Master’s room and the room you see in our post “Not Only a Room Full of Books” is Dina’s room.
      All the best wishing
      Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma
      and the rest of The Fab Fur f Cley

      Like

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.