Warning: Betsy spam and wafflings contained in this post!

I spent the better part of yesterday scrubbing the old girl out. i have tried to discover her heritage, too - but as of yet, i still don't know who made her.

first jobs - new tyres (whitewall, please) and new foam cushion/mattresses (the existing ones have rat holes, are uncomfortably stuffed with coconut fibre and contain 59 years worth of dust and old flatulence - i am scared of them). it may take time to source fabrics similar to the original coverings (i love the red piping) so we may temporarily cover the new foam initially. my husband also wants to do some (minor, we hope) structural work to her.

then i think we need to find new linoleum for her. i adore the original lino but it is rather stained/dirty and fragile. i am scared that scrubbing to clean her will destroy it. but i also fear we shall never find either new old stock lino, or new retro look lino that we love. being (i imagine) the hardest thing to find,  it needs to be the first purchase. then we can select new fabric for the mattresses, curtains and paint which work together.

 so yes - we also want to re-paint the interior and the exterior. we think the exterior was originally off-white, and the interior green was a pale yellow. we would like to go back to the original colours, and i would also like a few red accents here and there, to tie in with the piping on the cusions.

the couch transforms into a bunk bed, and the table folds down to become a double bed. just the right size for my husband to lie down with neither head nor feet touching walls - lucky!

the laminate on the table and bench is pristine. very excited about that blue marble laminate! *squee*


Betsy has her original ice-box and gas oven - gas oven perfect, ice-box a  bit peely and needs work.


the curtains were the saddest part for me. they were rotting and filthy, and of course disintegrated despite my most gentle hand-washing. it was rather devastating for someone who loves vintage fabrics =( luckily the privacy curtain had been stored in a cupboard so i have a good idea of what the original fabric looked like before it became brown and rotten! i have purchased a seersucker in similar colours/pattern but once painted etc shall choose something more to my taste.

long, waffling post. there is sure to be more to come! haha (=  so excited to welcome Betsy into the family and am looking forward to building happy memories as my kids grow and we take her on fun trips!