DDIY

Hubby and I have reached a stage (and age) in our lives where we believe that it is better for DIY to become DDIY, ie Don't Do It Yourself. Yes, we have indeed reached an age where we believe it is better to 'get someone in'. I'm not claiming that we were ever expert DIY-ers, but we (mainly hubby) were happy to have a go at painting, floor-sanding (a very bad idea), putting up shelves, and a few other jobs. However, gone are the days when we could afford the time and the energy to do any of these and so, this week, we are 'getting the decorators in' (and that's not a euphemism for any lady business). The only trouble with this is that we are under pressure to choose the colours we want in the hallway/stairs/landing, in Arthur's bedroom, in our bedroom and in the bathroom. If we were doing the job ourselves, we could take as long as we liked choosing colours, but because Lewis the Painter and Decorator is coming on Wednesday, we need to decide asap. I think if we were doing the painting ourselves, we might actually go for the safe option of magnolia all over but because we are getting it done professionally, it feels like we should choose 'proper' colours and make the most of paying to have it done. Does that sound silly?!

We are also having some wallpaper put up on the chimney breast in ours and Arthur's rooms. This has added to the problem, as we have to find paint that 'goes' with the paper.

Anyway, we think we have made a decision after just over a week of pondering. Hallway/stairs/landing plus Arthur's room and the bathroom are going to be 'Coastal Glow' by Dulux (seen here in the hallway, bottom right. And, yes, we know it's just a fancy name for cream and we might as well have stuck with magnolia...),and our room is to be Light Verdigris by Fired Earth (fancy name for green; see here below the wallpaper.)The chimney breast in our room will be papered in Antique Rose by Cath Kidston and in Arthur's room it's Circus Elephants, also by Cath Kidston (aren't we posh?!)

And one last thing: has anyone lost a small, Mediterranean-type baby as we appear to have found one in our back garden...

Funny how the flash has made Arthur look like he was born and bred in the local kebab shop; if he hadn't looked so much like hubby when he was first born we might wonder where he'd come from... Here's a photo without the flash just to show he's actually not quite that olive-skinned in 'real' life. Apologies for the blurriness, but I wanted you all to see that cheeky little grin.