Progress Report...And Keeping Festive.

Just to keep you posted; I've been at the shop most days since being given the keys and have been busy gutting the place!

Before: ......................................After:
The old shelves and battens have been taken down and I've been filling all the holes in preparation for painting.

Some of the wood will be recycled for shelves that I need elsewhere...

The electrics have been done and new lighting has been fitted. (The funny star lights have gone...they may look cute at this time of year, but weren't really appropriate for what I wanted.)

Window niches before:

The side window niches have had their lower doors removed to let in more light and to allow people passing by to see into the shop more easily. Sadly this led to some unwelcome discoveries...

Over the years the roofs of the two windows haven't been well maintained and so rainwater has got inside. There is a lot of penetrating damp, woodworm and rotten timbers...not nice... :(

If I had been told earlier in the year that I would be spending the run up to Christmas dealing with such things, I doubt I would have believed it...

Once its all been treated and repaired, I'm sure it will be fine...

Elsewhere in the shop; there is this little storage area which I have plans for...the tiled shelf was removed and then the wall was skimmed over in preparation for some wallpapering, possibly...still not made my mind up totally about that yet...

Before.........................................After

I'm sure all of this is very tedious and boring for you, but I wanted to keep everything documented on my blog so that I can see the progress that I'm making in order to keep a positive attitude. It will be good to look back on in a few months time, I think.

What is also keeping me positive is the lovely view from the front windows. The large Christmas tree with blue twinkling lights has gone up on the market place, not far from my shop.

A quick glance outside and I feel happy and festive and ready to crack on with all the tedious preparation. I'm sure once the painting starts, it'll come together quite quickly...first the damp windows to sort though...

Anyway, moving on from those nasty photos of rotten wood and mess...

I did allow myself a little thrifting time at the weekend...I still need my fix, even when there is more important things to be done! ;-))

My latest vintage finds all had a festive feel, too...I was really pleased to find these...lots of kitsch decorations and funny little treasures to add a smile and a reminder as to what this time of year is all about...

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And as a slight contrast to all that retro glitz, I was treated to a more refined pleasure too.

My hardworking hubby (his enthusiastic wielding of a handsaw to take down the unwanted fixtures in the shop is very welcome!) took me out for a meal last night to celebrate securing the shop. A relaxing evening was spent at The Moody Goose, where we were spoilt for choice with their gorgeous menu.

Ready to face another day of smelly damp windows and woodworm!

Niki x