La Dolce Vita 2026

TheGrubbyGardener

Exciting that you're getting a lovely new sofa @helensbiggestfan! Are you redecorating too?

And gosh, shampooing rugs sounds like fun…not! You're braver than me. Are they large and how are you managing to dry them?

I don't think I've ever shampooed a rug, although we did borrow a friend's vax for a fitted carpet when we used to have them back in the day and it didn't end well!

I've actually been moving a couple of our vintage rugs today - swapping them between rooms - and they were stupidly heavy! DGDog thought it was a game, bless him 💙 I'm much happier with the placement now as the Oka kilim (online charity shop find) looks so much better with my vibrant 1987 Osborne & Little curtains than the more muted one did.

helensbiggestfan

I'm using a vax. It's pretty effective. To make sure the rug dries properly I set up a dehumidifier. I did the big one first. Pretty heavy work. It's a charity shop bargain, vintage, pure wool and gorgeous colours, 12ft x 10ft so very heavy to move. Only paid £15 for it. The other two are smaller so hopefully they will be easier.

Today made a start on the garage. Back breaking work. I've just woken up after crashing out afterwards and sleeping for 2 hrs, I think maybe I'm getting a bit too old for this kind of work…..lol.

TheGrubbyGardener

Ah, great idea to use a dehumidifier to aid the drying process! Thanks for the tip 😁

What a bargain - that's an amazing price! We paid £250 for the Oka one iirc (which had an RRP of £1200 or thereabouts) and I thought that was good. I'd love to see it in your room when you're all finished with the room refresh - seeing other people's spaces can be so inspiring.

Currently we have six rugs/kilims, all old except one that looks vintage, being shaggy. We had to sell two that we had no space for here, but replaced them with the Oka and another antique kilim, both of which I love and I've made my peace with letting the others go, lol 😆

Our best rug (an antique Persian) only fitted in the house after we'd removed some awful 60s built-in cupboards. Tbh, we wouldn't have bought the cottage if I didn't think we could squeeze it in!

I've been working on a piece of art over the past few days. It's not quite finished and far from a masterpiece, but it's original, cost nothing as I already had the canvas/paint and suits our style, so I'm happy.

helensbiggestfan

my £15 bargain. Sorry picture is so big, don't know how to reduce it.

helensbiggestfan

new sofa. Ignore paintings, accessories. It's a work in progress. Lol

TheGrubbyGardener

Your rug is gorgeous ❤️ Thanks for sharing! And the sofa looks very comfy…great colour choice too.

We had to sell our big sofa as it was way too tight for the 'snug' here and too huge/bulky to get up the winding stairs to the larger TV room. It sold for £400 which was OK, but the moment it went I regretted selling. The replacement whilst a better size for the space, is inferior quality-wise and ideally needs different colour loose covers as we chose it for the shape, lol!

helensbiggestfan

Took the sofa photo yesterday to show my kids before I had finished dressing the room, so the room looks a bit bleak there. As well as facing east It also over looks woodland so can be a bit dark on a summers afternoon when the trees are in full leaf. As I write the trees are just starting to turn, In a couple of weeks it will be a riot of autumn colour. Autumn is my absolute favourite time of year.

It's been a busy couple of weeks, gardening, made a start on the garage and as the nights draw in I am enjoying cooking proper food again and cosy evenings catching up with films, and a couple of tv series.

Last night I watched the very last in the 7 Up series. Now 70 Up. I have watched every single programme and it's been fascinating. I feel that I have grownup with these people. Last nights goodbye was very moving. Definitely the end of an era and it has made me reflect on my own life, the highs and lows, the successes and failures, the good, the bad and yes the ugly. My life has been a bit of a rollercoaster - hopefully there's still plenty to come. As I type this I'm listening to some of my favourite music from the 70s on You tube.

We sure had some "banging tunes" back in the day. 😂

I've also watched the second series of The Gentlemen. It was an absolute cracker. A classic stylish thriller in the Guy Ritchie tradition. Not for the squeamish because it is violent and the humour is rather dark, but the dialogue is witty and clever. The "hero" is the gorgeous Theo James, although in the second series he is definitely going over to the Dark Side. 😂🤣.

I await Series 3 with bated breath.

Wednesday2000

I met my friend last night and she talked about The Gentlemen too. I haven’t seen it.

I was telling her about the show Reacher and showed her the pic of what Alan Ritchson looks like (❤️) and I was getting confused by the film I saw with Alan Ritchson was The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. I thought that was quite good.👍

TheGrubbyGardener

I love Autumn too @helensbiggestfan and your woodland views sound utterly perfect…that's something I miss, living back by the sea!

Dressing a room is probably my favourite part of a renovation - we've collected so much 'interesting' (for want of a better word!) stuff over the years, that I have plenty to choose from in this smaller place. We have treated ourselves to a few new (mostly vintage) bits though - including the original oil painting of a nude with disproportionately large head lol 😆 Found at a car boot sale for £40, it felt like a real bargain…but now I'm not so sure 😂🤣

Here's a few pics of our little snug with £20 fireplace surround, charity shop rug and vintage eBay curtains. It's still a work in progress as we can't lay the terracotta floor tiles till the boiler pipes are in. But it's a vast improvement on how it was (this was the kitchen plus utility and lobby with no fireplace at all) two years ago.

annieb64

I love your snug.My type of room.