How to cover up chimney smoke stains...

So we have been struggling to deal with old smoke stains in the inglenook (and in the bedroom above).
When you lime render/limewash in these areas where smoke has been getting into the walls for years, it just leaches through the lime and produces a brown stain. No matter how many layers to add, it always comes through. Advice online talks about covering the areas with cow dung first, then limeing....but we aren't up for that !!.
so we decided on the "hide it with another colour" approach. This may not be suitable for the bedroom above (still ruminating on that one), ,but we thought it could work well in the Inglenook.
We have always liked "burnt umbre/dark red" as a traditional cottage colour, so we tried the "strong Red" limewash from Ty-Mawr lime..
Looks pretty amazing...

This is it still wet, and where it has started drying, it seems to dry lighter(hopefuly not Pink!). Another couple of coats should deepen the coulour and soften the texture.

Hope you like it as much as we do :)

A wet weekend, and lack of materials, meant I couldnt carry on the work in the top room, and couldn't work in the orchard, so did a few small jobs in the workshop.

I have had Jan's fathers old ladder in the corner waiting to be repaired for ages (three broken steps and a broken leg). So took out the broken bits and replaced with pieces of old floorboard. Reduced the height a bit too, so that Jan can finish, and decide what to use it for.

I think a towel rail or a stand for blankets&throws....what do you think?

Recognise it Roy???

2014 - first post

Forgot to mention in 2013, that Lloyd and I had started to build a cupboard in the alcove of the Inglenook room (another attempt to make it tidier and give us some safe storage).
I built the frame, and Lloyd started the facing and panelling.
I have this idea of creating false panelling on the partition walls between the Inglenook and the Hall and the Library and the Hall, so wanted to practice on a smaller project.
The cladding is simple T&G, and the panelling is made from 70x20mm (you will have to get used to me swapping between metric and imperial all the time). It looks ok, not perfect, but ok.

Slight complication, I wanted it to be a "hidden cupboard" with a concealed door. This worked fine excect the door opens onto the raised panelling pieces and so doesnt quite work yet...finding hinges is an ongoing project in itself.