So we are really lucky in that the new house has four fireplaces. This is one of the main reasons we fell in love. It has all the Victorian characteristics but has a modern vibe meaning we didn’t need to do much except add our own spin on it. There is only one fireplace that is a working so I am now trying to fill and decorate the others to make more of a feature. Some of those are easier than others.

The main bedroom has this gorgeous off white surround and has been finished nicely with tiles by the previous owners. The empty grate just seemed bare and needed something. I am in no way a plant person so getting something living would just be neglected and forgotten about. Fresh flowers are out of the question as this requires so much up keep that I am just not dedicated or organised to do. One day I hope to use something dried and naturally fragrance like lavender but for now I have used these. These are artificial flowers and are a combination I made from B&M and Ikea. They were relatively cheap or on sale and I literally just shoved them together.

I know these technically are not eco friendly as they are made from plastic but I will reuse them in the future to make something else or place them elsewhere. So they wont be thrown out for many years if ever. It takes me so long to get around to doing things that I wont change these for a while. Part of doing this blog is to push me to keep creating and crack on with the 60,000 jobs I have to do here. Just below you can see a picture my very talented friend painted. I don’t plan on keeping it there but it is waiting to be hung up, so far its been there 5 months. Just one of the many jobs that I need to do.

The boys room has this exposed floor around the fireplace and it is hard concrete that hasn’t really been finished. My plan is to find a rug or some carpet off cut and attempt to hack… I mean cut it to fit. J has suggested something involving a rainbow but I doubt my skills would be up to that and I am not buying a rug just to destroy it. So my back up plan to hide the shambles I will most likely create and to put a rug over the mess. I also need to hang these canvas boards we made months ago and make the room personable. If you like the look of them and want to try make you own click here

Recently I learnt how to use a jigsaw saw. I felt like a complete bad ass and had only minor palpitations over losing a finger. Now that his new skill has been unleashed I thinking of cutting a board to block off the hole to reduce “air flow”. What I really mean is reduce spider webs and weird areas that I have to clean. I am just lacking any ideas on what to add to it to give it extra flare. If anyone has previous done something that has worked please let me know.

There is also a fireplace in dining room but as with everything else I have yet to do anything with it. Its finished as in no work needs doing to it but it is an empty grate with a black surround. The problem is its deep and wide so everything I have attempted so far looks peculiar. Some people just have an eye for house stuff and its so clear to them. I lack that ability to plan and visualise a theme and I just wing it as I go along with trial and error. Some things I tried and failed are the now bedroom flowers – they just looked wrong in there but luckily suited upstairs better. The second idea was scented pine cones for Christmas. What an absolute disaster it took an enormous amount of them as they were tiny and looked shit and they just made a mess. Although I just had a different idea, fingers crossed I remember it tomorrow.

Let me See you fire places! Tag me on instagram @jenjensdesignsuk