From the outside the house looks the same but changes have been happening inside. New windows on the north side let in lots more light, toilet is moved, bathroom is sorted. However the biggest and most noticeable change for us has been the addition of 2 Velux windows above the kitchen.
Inside the difference is dramatic…two windows…one to the south…one to the north flood the former dark kitchen with light. Previously a light would always be on here but no more. Such a pleasure to be in this room now. Good light is so important for one’s health and wellbeing in my view.
We searched high and low but failed to find a nice wide non plastic lampshade for here. One website had one for a couple of hundred pounds which was a non starter. Visiting our previous neighbours I asked them where they got their shade. Turns out they had a spare one exactly the same lying in the shed. It does have a chip in the enamel but that just adds to the rustic country feel. There is a hook to raise and lower the light.
All this made me curious about Velux windows…who invented them etc. Well I’ve done the research and they were invented by a Danish man called Villum Kaun Rasmussen. He was a civil engineer from Denmark. KR’s (as he was known) vision was “to develop a roof window which in every respect was just as good as the best vertical window.” He set up his company in 1941 and in 1942 developed the first Velux window.
I wonder what makes Danish people so good at design?
In the garden everything is doing well. Blackcurrants are just ripe and flowers are loving the hot weather. This Galega (Goat’s Rue) looks cool in the heat. The early days of this week have been cooler…around 20 celsius…however the temperatures are set to rise again towards the weekend. According to the New Zealand weather forecaster Ireland is not to get rain again until September 11th. Already the ground is starting to crack…if it lasts until September our green will be turned to brown.
Evening primrose has also started flowering. Will save seeds of this as it’s larger than the one I had in my old garden.
Shasta Daisy is in a large pot outside the conservatory. I brought this one from Arigna but there’s lots of it in the garden here too. I really like it as the flowers last a long time and fit in with any planting scheme.
Rosebay Willowherb has also just come into bloom. Regarded as a weed by many I love it…I will of course remove it when it finishes flowering as I don’t want it to take over…it is a rapid spreader. The leaves do have some herbal use…a decoction or infusion is used to treat headache and migrane. Apparently it is much used in Russia as a tea. It is very high in Vitamin C. The thing I don’t like about it is those fluffy seeds that come after the flowers but it will be gone before those get a chance to make their appearance.
fromacountrycottage 
Totally agree on the need for good light and your windows look fantastic. By coincidence, I noticed just this morning that the rosebay willowherb is flowering in the field where I walk the dog – must be the sunshine that’s suddenly brought it on.
Yes I think it is a bit earlier than usual. Where we walk our dogs, in the nearby forest, is full of it. Gorgeous!
The garden is looking gorgeous Bridget and I love your “window to the world” addition. 🙂
The garden is at it’s best right now. Very dry though, it’s ery hard to water everything. Hopefully the New Zealand weather forecaster has it wrong. We need rain!
These flowers are so colourful and beautiful!
I really like them.
I think quite a lot of the wild flowers are a bit early this year and there seems to be far more of them, Lady’s Bedstraw is looking particularly good around here, it would look good in the garden. The windows look great. Are we still on for Sat and do you like Lemon Curd?
Yes definitely! Same time? How many Lady’s Mantle can you accommodate? Lemon Curd…love it!
Would six be OK?
No probs Anne.
You must be so busy with a new garden to grow and all the work in the house too. The kitchen windows look great – I’ve always thought a velux window right over a bed would be good, so I could lie there and watch the stars!
Beautiful…inside and out!
Trust me; We’re not ALL great at design… In fact I dropped out of Architecture School after two years, realising my love of great design would never be enough to make me a great – or even good – architect… 😉
That said, your kitchen looks great; I love that high ceiling and the single light hanging down from the roof. Are you going to tint the tongue’n’groove or will you let it age naturally?
We will just let it age naturally. I would love if it stayed the nice light colour it is now but I know it will darken with age.
A matt varnish with a slight white tint might prevent – or at least minimise – the colour change in the fir wood. But it would be a hell to apply, and after all the orange of aged fir planks should tint the daylight a warm colour that will make the kitchen feel cozy even on a grey day.
You make that sound so perfect.
Well, let me know how it looks ten years from now… I’m fairly confident that even the North light – normally blue and cold – will look warm when reflected by aged fir… When people think of light, far too many think about the original source of light and far too few about the reflection on the surfaces it encounters. After all, a ray of sun will only be as large as the opening it enters through, but the rays will be reflected and fractured hundreds of times in any normal room.
Oh your windows are fantastic! I so agree that natural light is so important. I have to laugh because along the other side of our fence (a farmer’s field) behind our house has the Rosebay Willowherb (I didn’t know the name before your post). I do think it is lovely, but it really does spread! No rain until September??? Oh I do hope that is wrong. It’s hard work watering the veggies!
Glad to be of help with identification. People here in Ireland are starting to talk about rain as well. All the hay is cut and in the barns but grass is dying off in this heat.
It is interesting why the Scandinavians seem to be so talented in the design field. Maybe if you’re surrounded by good design it inspires more. I’m a huge fan of natural daylight and lots of it. I don’t think I could live in a house with tiny windows that felt really dark unless there was some way we could flood it with light. It’s hot, hot, hot here in Wales. I’m loving it. Watering is exhausting and I’m desperately hoping my plants on the plot will hold out until the final photos for my book on Monday. We’ve gone from me thinking I was never going to achieve summery photos to worrying everything is going to wilt or go to seed. Still, compared to last year I’d take this any time. Although no rain until September . . . maybe a drop or two in between would be good. 🙂
So hot here and it’s building to be very hot by the weekend. Watering is difficult as the ground is very, very dry. The fields where hay and silage have been cut are now going brown. The very, very best of luck with your book. Looking forward to seeing the finished article.
No rain in Ireland until september…unheard of…
and the weather forecasters say temperatures of over 30 celsius again next week!
Now that you’ve gone through a Winter with your Velux windows, did you have any problems with leaks? I’d love to have skylights in our house, but around here it seems if they are put in after the house has been built, they tend to leak. We get about 80 inches of rain a year, although the climate change means it is less each year.
Thankfully there are no leaks. We did get a reputable builder to install them. They make such a difference to the kitchen…amazing light.