Work, rest and play....

These arrived one Friday evening in the dark, on two enormous pallets....all the way from Farmhouse Flagstones in Gloucestershire. They are authentic reproductions of old flagstones, the moulds taken from Old Mill floors...

With all the riven, worn, scored marks of time, but with a regular thickness for comparatively easy laying.

Saying that, the big ones are so heavy and lifting them into place onto the adhesive without jamming fingers is an art in itself!

So the next day with the oak furniture pushed to one side... ( Not ideal for floor laying I know, but there is nowhere to put it at the moment. )

A quick layout of the random rows and off we went.

Heavy work, but it certainly works well now running into the stone walls.... There will be no skirting boards, just lime pointing at the edges.

Even the Scary Lady in the old lime plastered, blocked doorway seems to approve of her new floor.

Working from the fireplace towards the kitchen door....

Looking the other way towards the big inglenook with the original, old Bastle doorway we discovered when we opened the fireplace.

Now grouted and sealed they look like an old floor but with the luxury of underfloor heating.....can't wait to switch it on and feel the gentle warmth in my stockinged feet!

Yesterday afternoon we went to lime plaster the big fireplace wall... Messy job but it has certainly accentuated the wonky stone surround.

Little helper was in her element... Dustpan brush, cloths, trowel.... Far more attractive than silly dog toys. 

Such hard work deserves a well earned sleep in a makeshift banana box bed next to the stove. 

I think she is growing in her sleep....

Julie x