DISTRESSED SHUTTER'S ARE A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND ..........

Now, I'm probably going to lose a lot of my followers when you find out what one of my birthday presents was.
Many women would be yearning for diamonds, a little something in gold, a designer handbag, a holiday in Tuscany or the like but, what did I have ? ......... a pair of weathered, distressed, grey/blue French shutters !!!!
I came downstairs on my birthday, and there they were.
Mr. Home had got them all on his own..... and, they are not the easiest present to hide !!!! It would have been a lot easier if I had wanted an eternity ring !! haha.

Peeling grey/blue paint, rusty hinges and latches ........ perfect. I LOVE them.

                                                 .....  AND .....

 ....... look what I managed to do ..... all by myself.....without the help from any member's of my family.... nor friend's......or neighbours..... or wine ..... A COLLAGE !!!!
I am very pleased with myself ..... all of this from a 60 year old ....even though I now haven't a clue where all of my photographs have gone  or how to retrieve them. ha ha.

 ........ and finally, I must thank each and everyone of you for your lovely comments and birthday wishes......they made my birthday even more special so many, many thanks.

.....and, a very special thank-you to my Aussie mate Mill's of  The Laurel Hedge.

Millie wrote a special birthday post, just for me, which is going way above and beyond the duties of a blogger and is such a kind, and special thing to do so many, many thanks Mill's.

and also to the lovely Deej of Dustjacket Attic who did another very personalised and beautiful birthday post for my big 6-0. 

You're a couple of great Aussie girls to do that for me. I am very flattered.  

I am off to London tomorrow, for a couple of days, to celebrate some more of my birthday.....London Style.

I'll tell you what I got up to when I return .

SHUTTERED WINDOWS.......................

There are obviously lots of things that I love regarding interiors , and I'm sure that I will say this again many times , but my favourite ( at the moment !!!! ) are shutters. Upstairs, in our house, we have solid wooden shutters and downstairs, we have plantation shutters at the windows( Note to self : must take pictures of my shutters for posts !! ) but in the following pictures , you can see that shutters are not just reserved for windows.
Just propped up against a wall . Fabulous.

A slight indulgence , this one , as I think that this could be an old door but its such a great picture I've included it.

Isn't this gorgeous ? And not just the shutters...I love this grey / Zinc look.

Long gasp of delight.......this room ......OHhhhhh

Here they are , used in the traditional way on the outside of a house....... I don't know why but this doesn't seem to work here in the U.K.

Perhaps a bit more furniture would be a good idea here but the original shutters are wonderful.

More external shutters....these are in Tuscany.

Isn't this perfect ?

Sorry , this one is tiny but can't you imagine sitting here , warm sunshine , drink , friends....... heaven .

Ahhh......... Wisteria ......so beautiful and adds a certain something to the lovely shutters

I don't always like everything painted white and I think that the mellow finish to these shutters would have been ruined had they been painted whereas...................

.................. it works really well here . I hoped you liked that little look at shutters and , maybe if you see an old shutter looking lonely in a junk shop , don't buy it . It's mine !!!!!!!

Jackie