A passage homage

My poor Nora and Helmer have had to cope with an open bathroom for years, with no wall between the bathroom and the passageway outside the bathroom. But finally they can get some privacy doing their business.

This is what the bathroom looked  like before. (The floor in the passageway had been damaged by previous owners before the house was bought by Nora and Helmer)

And now with the wall. Doesn't it look like it's been there forever?

 (And maybe it has?)



 

The new wall is removable, it leans to a simple cornish in the top and has a small bend at the side to make it stand on it's own.

The burgundy wallpaper is from "Søstrene Grene" and the two prints on the wall are by Bruce Holwerda. I really love his work!

The rug is a fabric sample from work, the new cupboard on the side landing is vintage Lundby or Barton,  I believe. The silver traditional ale bowl on it is a charm, and the chest was my grandmothers.  She displayed it with other miniatures and small items in a shelf in her kitchen, and I always admired it! 

The pictures the top of the stair walls are the same I have in my stairway. (see below)

 

 This one is painted my my grandmothers oldest sister, as a copy of the well known Gauguin painting. I inherited both these paintings from my grandmother when she passed away.

I made a miniature copy of the second one, but have given away the original (this is by the way the original size) and just used a printed copy for Nora and Helmer, which suits the Lundby scale better.

A royal occasion

Yesterday Nora invited all the girls to come watch the royal wedding in the basement livingroom, chosen since it had the most regal colours! What she didn't think of was that the TV in the basement room was old-fashioned and small, and didn't provide the picture quality one finds in TVs nowadays. But no-one seemed to mind.

Almost all were there: Besides Nora, there were Polly Line and her cousin Carol Line, wearing a blouse with a heart in a weapon shield for the occasion. Also Nora and Helmer's respective aunts were invited; Fiolett paa Traadén (Aunt Violet's It Slip) and Dolly Barton. They both loves weddings in general, and royal weddings in particular!
Being a huge lover of festive occasions involving fancy outfits and hats, Karl Edo invited himself to the party as well. Cocco Flanell was there too, but like Karl Edo, she said she was just interested in the outfits.

But I'm not sure that was the case, because when the happy newlyweds kissed on the balcony, a unison aaah, was heard from all of the guests...

All the romance and happiness caused Polly's mind to go drifting. In her mind images appeared where Kate and William's faces were replaced with hers and her Doctor Whatson's. Oh, if only, she thought, but had no hope it would ever happen, that they would ever become more than good friends. Her daydreams were interrupted by Cocco, who, intrigued by all the fabulous masks on the wall, asked Nora if they were souvenirs, like so many other items in the room.

Nora told that they were a precious gift from her good friend Oese in Germany, and so was the large oriental floor vase by the TV. "I was so happy to get the masks" Nora said, "because I could never find the right decoration for that wall, and now ... don't they look just perfect there?"

Credits: The basement livingroom is a mix of vintage Lundby leather furniture, re-ment furniture, a selfmade bookshelf and finds from the last 30 years. Thank you, Oese, for the masks and the other wonderful gifts you gave me last year, and sorry for being so late posting about them! For unknown names and backgrounds, see who's who.

Prize and Printability

One afternoon when Nora came in from the garden she was surprised to find a large load of parcels waiting for her in the entrance hall. She guessed they had arrived with the post and been brought in by Helmer or the children.

Each parcel was beautifully packed and when Nora took a closer look she saw that they were from Marottesud in the South of France.








Did you spot them? Nora's keys.
Click on the images to enlarge them



Nora loved the envelopes!



She brought the parcels up to their livingroom to unwrap them there, but they were so many she spread them out on the floor so she could show them all to you! They were the complete works of Jane Austen, one of Nora's favourite authors and they were all collectors editions with beautiful pictures inside on every double page!



See the huge pile of books on the rocket chair!





Here are some closeups of pages from some of the books, aren't they exquisite?
And again, to get a closer look at all the wonderful details click on the pictures to enlarge them.



And what a better place to read Jane Austen than in the gazebo? :-)

Credits: The books are by Danielle / MAROTTESUD, who was so kind to donate these treasures as the prize for the second MINI TREASURES WIKI's contest in July. One just had to edit a page or more to be part of the contest! I almost never win anything so I hardly couldn't believe my luck that I was picked as the winner of something as beautiful as these books! And so many! Thank you both to Johanna at the wiki and to Danielle! They have just started a NEW CONTEST where there will be a winner on FRIDAY the 20TH! Join in and edit a page or more if you want to be part of the contest!

The tiny keys was a gift long ago from Anne Mari or Mimmi as she calls herself in blogland, but I didn't get around to make a key chain for them until now.

A garden variety post

Last year I showed you Nora and Helmer's new gazebo.
Now Nora has done more with it, she has tiled the floor and bought furniture in a style she thought fitted the gazebo better than the modern alumnium furniture she first used. She has also been working a lot on the garden and now she's eager to show you all the result of all her efforts!

Being a busy bee, Nora loves to work in the garden

and is very proud of all her blooming flowers.

Welcome inside!

- and mind the steps!

Nora is also very fond of her Virgin Mary statue, made by the famous artist Christel Jensen.

Views from the gazebo.

Details from the garden. A ballerina bronze figurine

and a sweet little angel.



When all the job's done Nora loves to sit in the gazebo with a book.
Now she's reading the "Arabian Nights" tales.

The gazebo in the afternoon sunlight.

An early photo taken before she had finished the decorating.

Credits: The madonna statue is made by Christel Jensen. The steps are made by my son Bendik. Tiling and the bead lamps are done by me. Most of the flowers inside the gazebo are from Sans. The furniture is Sylvanian Families, but spraypainted white. The square side table is an ebay find. Book from TreeFeathers. Flowers outside are part plastic and part real flowers from my garden. Nora's outfit is a scrapbook embellishment. Some vases are beads, some by Elisabeth Causeret. The ballerina figurine is a kinderegg toy from my childhood!

Throwing a party in a glasshouse

In my last post you saw Karl Edo preparing his living room for a party. But the day for the party arrived with sun from a blue sky and Karl Edo decided to turn it into a garden party to show off his outdoor furniture and his pool.



The windows can slide up for a seamless transition between indoors and outdoors.



Two cafe chairs by the small pool. Even though Karl Edos has strategically placed plants to secure some privacy, I still don't think anyone will be using the bathroom during the party...



The terrace outside the bedroom on the first floor, with the staircase up to



the roof terrace. Karl Edo is pleased with his new slimline furniture from Dedon.





A vintage deck chair updated with new fabric.



And then the guests arrive. Nora and Helmer brought their children Tomy and Annika and also Ida, the eldest daughter of Helmer's brother Henrik, joined them since she loves swimming.



Arne, Nora and Helmer enjoying the sun and the view from the roof.






Polly Line is back from her journey with dr Whatson. She's tired from all the excitement, but everyone is eager to hear all about her adventures!



Poolish fun (a foolish pun)

Credits: Cafe chair, table and parasol from Mighty World. White deck chairs are by Lundby from their Stockholm series. The vintage deckchair is a Lundby chair from my childhood with a new fabric. The "slimline furniture from Dedon" are made by me, it's my first try on making sofas. The potted plants are also made by me, I used floor protections for chairs. Vases are by Elisabeth Causeret and beads.