The fireplace and front door have been away from site for a couple of weeks having the last century of paint stripped from them.

The fireplace was nearly chucked out at one point, but after a little investigation we decided it was most likely original to the house and was therefore, a keeper.

Here is the fireplace late last year, not long after we’d arrived…

And now…

It has some beautiful hand carved details…

These rosettes are carved from the core of the wood, so are a darker shade than the rest of the fireplace. I can’t wait to get some wax on it!

We also had the original front door’s broken panes replaced and the wood stripped, I think it’s been pretty much every colour throughout it’s history, but it’s finally back to it’s natural state, once it has a few coats of wax it will bring a bit of warmth to the hallway.

Here is the outside view, I love it! Is it acceptable to put the Christmas wreath up yet?

It still has the original letterbox…

And handle…though it’s located for people several feet shorter than Ronnie and I.

Thanks to Dave at Regency Antiques for his work on both of these, love them.

In other (totally unrelated) news, I picked up this Indonesian side table at an antiques fair today for a bargain price of £18, it will fit in perfectly with the vaguely colonial lounge design that is floating around my little head.

We also bought an antique caster’s ladle…no idea what we’ll do with it, but had to be mine.