h&b: renovating

Showing posts with label renovating. Show all posts

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Hallway Update

It's been a while since I did a house update - the little things take time I think.

Repenting in leisure does not suit me .. especially if I have to walk past something
"not quite right" everyday, and especially even more if that something is an art work,
which usually, being a thing of beauty, has a pretty price-tag too.

I wanted something to go above the hallway bench.

I'm not sure where I got the rest of my idea from. Things tend to come to me in dreams,
so we'll go with that. I know I was aware of steel words you could buy from stores,
but they weren't quite right for me - size, pricepoint, or font.

I know I did steal some inspiration from them though.

A cheaper copy, if you will.

And I wanted to mount it somehow.

I know it's a bit trendy, but I do love the pallet look. I have a pallet coffeetable, and have
always loved a rustic edge. Also, I have Scottish blood, so you know .. hello pricepoint - ✓

This pallet was gifted from a friend who actually made the most awesome deck seating
system with built-in flowerpots. From pallets. Oh yeah. 'tis sweet. Very sweet.

So there you have it .. a bit more of my house.

I dismantled the pallet and put it back together to the size I wanted, and then I shaped
wire to make my word. Once happy with everything, I wrapped the wire in wool and
fixed it to my pallet.

By the way, try finding a nice thick wool in Melbourne in a good hue.
I seriously bought the last ball of this stuff and I looked in a fair few places.

That frame with the bunny in it?
I bought that on my honeymoon 18yrs ago. The frame that is, the bunny print was
another gift from another friend ( I have good friends, huh? )

There's more hallway, obvs .. we've just put some prints up on the other side too ..
but I haven't finished tweaking, so .. another day.

I just wanted to share this because it's one of those projects that worked out just how
I wanted and I so love walking past it and I love it. I think it looks great with the
yellow and red and green and orange .. I couldn't have planned it any better if I tried :D

xx
Lea

Tuesday, January 07, 2014

The Bathroom .. Now with a Touch of Green ..

We renovated the bathroom in 2009.

Previously, it was used as a workroom by the previous owner who ran a therapy business
from home. It had bright blue walls and grey lino that smelled like old rubbing oils.

There was a lantern style light that you could pull down, I guess either to use as heat
therapy (?) or get a closer look at a client's body? Unsure.

There was also a mini sink and a working handdrier by the door
( stripped from the pic below .. made a nice little $ on eBay with that thing ).

We originally used it as a junk room.

And a kiddy art room.
And the place where I did my makeup and plugged in the hairdrier ( the old 1950's bathroom
had no power outlets ). It was also the room I took all my maternity selfies :)

Eventually, the older style bathroom began to clunk out on us. I can't remember now
what the issue was - I think it was the shower falling apart? Maybe the fact it lacked
electrical outlets. Or storage? Anyway, we thought it would be a good idea if we renovated
the junk room into the long luxurious ( and central ) family bathroom we wanted, while still
having use of the tiny grotty old bathroom before it died completely. So that is what we did.

Original bathroom ( now our post-reno WIR ):

I found a copy of the Herald Sun HOME magazine in the garage,
where the new bathroom was featured soon after finishing.

Recently, when trying to decide on a tone for new towels,
I realised how "brown" my supposedly "neutral" bathroom was.. but after a quick flick through
this mag, it seems everything in 2009 was brown/natural/tan/coffee-toned.

It's jam-packed with 'very warm toned' new houses to buy.. every room a new depressing
shade of bleah, so it seems I was just on-trend ( but still, bleah! )

Interestingly though, the layout artist has tinged my article with a lovely shade
of green .. it seems someone was thinking forward and tired of the browns anyway...

And this is the bathroom today.

Just a spruce up, but the green is such a lift and it matches in with the colours of the new reno.

I think it's very pretty :)

Saturday, January 04, 2014

Garage Finds

Another year, another skip.

But i think this may be our last!

When we moved here 8years ago there was a lot of clearing to do .. and it's been ongoing ..
we've pulled up rocks and ivy and slabs of concrete that may have been garden borders in
the older days (?) ( http://house-n-baby.blogspot.com.au/2007/03/what-lies-beneath.html )

This time it's post-renovation leftovers .. bricks .. random bits of wood and crap the
builders left citing 'oh hold onto that, you might need it'.

Um no, we're not hoarders, thanks, this is trash.

There's also the random boxes of things you pack up and then never look at again.
To be truthful, I didn't think I held on to anything any more, but it seems I do.

First up, last night, an old copy of Epicure Traveller, the Spanish issue! ( Oct 2008 )
Only last week I was perusing some Spanish cookbooks online and hover over the
"press buy' button .. so this was a fab discovery :D

Then the wedding dress. This box has moved house 6 times and been through 2 renovations.

The top of it got crunched in when it became a cat-bed at one stage, and to be honest,
after 8yrs in the garage, i've been too scared to pop open the lid lest a plague of
pestilence rushes me. Quelle horreur!
( or, to keep with the Spanish theme: ¿Qué horror )

BUT!

it seemed ok?!

Maybe it's whatever they clean the damn things in, but there was no evidence of bug activity,
no poops, no chomps. The horrid stains ( not evident after the wedding ) were caused by a
reaction of champagne with drycleaning fluids, so even the stains are well preserved.
I was pretty impressed actually.

But now, what to do with it??

I googled the designer, she's still frocking on and I liked her new stuff too, which was nice :)

I also found some old Print Award books .. I thought I threw all those out too.
Seems i'd used the couple i'd kept to file away old drawings and poems.

Most of the poems are very deep, and some .. not so much, and more like ditties.

I wasn't a MJ fan, btw, so i'm thinking I was being tongue-in-cheek witty here.
Such a laugh, chortle, chortle, chortle, ho!

.. and a drawing of my feet.

I used to draw my feet a lot ( and cats! ).
The reason being is because i'm not very good at watching movies unless i'm doing stuff ..
so with my feet propped out in front, or a handy cat lounging nearby, I could sit still long
enough to watch a movie, and add to my 'drawing of my own feet' collection.

Random photograph is one of AB's old rellies. We think. Nothing written on the back.

There's also a heap of my diaries naturally, and letter and notes. I tried to tease AB with
a note I found from another dude with fabulous handwriting and yet bad spelling
( apparently I have increadible eyes ), but he knows my days of being a temptress are
long gone and no-one's gonna come knocking to steal me away any time soon.

Old age is a Poo-bah to foiling my teasing.

Thursday, January 02, 2014

Today, I Be Cleaning..

As I mentioned earlier, 2013 was a whirlwind.
We moved into a tiny flat during a heatwave and I think I fried off several thousand
braincells. We renovated, we moved back.

The plan was to take the year off work, and I did for the 6 months we were out of the house,
but there were splashbacks to investigate and lighting to buy, and return, and buy more of.
Paint samples to obsess over.

On top of this the regular kiddy-party-playdates / kindy-drop-off-pick-up routine that
just about did my head in ( long daycare had spoiled me I think ) and everything else,
we kinda moved back in and got busy working again to pay for what we had spent.

Thus it is only now, in these Summer holidays, that I feel I am finally home,
and discovered I had a "junk drawer" already.

The builders started it.

We got new doorhandles, so they popped the old ones in the 2nd drawer down.
Excess screws and warranties, 2nd drawer down.
A caulking gun, and some weird bits of metal with stickers on them warning me
not to throw them out. Err, ok, weird excess bit of metal. You can stay for now.

In the 2nd drawer down.

So today I be cleaning, and tomorrow we be getting a skip to sort out the garage
( where all the bigger post-reno junk went ). We love a good clean out.

So when Dettol's people called my people ( err, that would be me, I dont have people )
and asked if i'd like to trial some new cleaning stuff, I was all 'um hello, yes please'.

Also, Dettol is really into a green theme atm, and so am I. Call me vain ( i'm ok with that )
but I like the pretty, even with my cleaning products. Dettol matches my house.
I only buy the Dettol handwash in my bathroom because it's a pretty Lime colour/scent
( I used to decant into refillable fancy containers, but have never found one of those suckers
that ever worked properly, so have given up )

Also, I have two boys. One was born nice and clean and tidy. I could take him anywhere
and people used to remark how I ever got around without a nappy bag, or really, any bag at all.
He just never made a mess. Other babies were always gooby and ikky, but not mine.

But then I birthed the other baby and this one was the Anti-Clean.

Seriously, even now at 5 1/2 yrs old, he's still perpetually grotty. He will eat one tiny little
thing and manage to smear it all over his face. No-one wants to sit at his place at the
kitchen counter as there is food EVERYWHERE .. spills, splatters, crumbs.
The floor beneath his seat is usually repulsive and as I type I find my nostrils flared and
my mouth pursed in disgust.

Lucky he's also very cute and witty and fun and cheeky, but By God I hope he learns
where his mouth is soon.. or at least has the good grace to clean up after himself. Ugh.

So the new Dettol Floor Cleaning System is perfect for me. I find mops rather gross
to be honest .. especially those string ones. I have a sponge-mop, but I always end up doing
most of the work on my hands and knees with an old towel anyway as they always seem
to leave streaks - or dull my floors. I hate dull floors.

Floor Wipes are easy, hygienic and clean really well without leaving residue.
Pop one on, and once done, pop it in the bin and admire the mess-free result.

Mmm ... fresh Lime & Mint!
Especially fresh for around the toilet ( boys remember.. I have boys .. )

Are you cleaning the house too for the fresh New Year?

I have another pack to give away that includes:

1x Dettol Floor Cleaning System ( plus refills )
1x bottle Dettol Power & Pure Kitchen Spray
1x bottle of Dettol Power & Pure bathroom Spray
1x Dettol Power & Pure Surface Wipes.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck and Good Cleaning! x

Friday, June 21, 2013

Gaga over Gaia :: Love the Look

My Carpet arrived yesterday!

We've carpeted both the bedrooms, and chose the Gaia Wool Collection,
exclusive to Carpet Court.

I've never bought carpet before and if you haven't either, you will find there is
a LOT of it in store, and it's kinda overwhelming if you don't know your loop
from your plush from your twist.

I started by looking ( a LOT ) at the Carpet Court website.

Things I knew:

- I like natural products whenever possible
- I have kids, and cats
- I love a loop pile
- I have cats. With claws. So no loop pile.
- I didn't want a carpet that left vacuum cleaner lines
- that's about it

So .. pretty easy.
A cut pile, in wool. I think ??!?

Doing your homework first online really helps in store I think.

I suggest compiling a shortlist of carpets & colours you think you'll like, then pop in.

I found once in store, it was then easy to then whittle that list right on down when talking
with a consultant about care ( it was in-store I learned that PLUSH carpet was the stuff
that left the vacuum cleaner lines, so an automatic line went through I a whole heap of
products I was going to look at )

They also knew how to work those rolls and samples quickly, as I had kids in tow ..

Too brown, too blue, that's nice, wrong blend, too mottled, ooh, yum, what about that,
no that, and the other one? Hmm, yep, nope, the first one, ok, yes, done.

I also had to force myself not to look at the loop designs.
Those cats are lucky I like them a lot, I swear.

And this is what I ended up with:
GAIA Wool Carpet, from The Rivers Collection, and I bought "Swan" - as in the Swan River.

Hello Perth!

I'm a sucker for a good name, or one that resonates. All the GAIA collections are
locally named, and I admit I was hoping for a Melbourne experience
( we laughed that there was no "Yarra" to chose from in the Rivers Collection ..
the poor old Yarra .. it gets such a bad colour rap ... )

But we could have bought Sorrento, darling ( Coast Collection ), and I was looking at
Southbank form the ParkLife Collection for a while too .. that combines Melbourne
( and Blur ).. or any number of Numbats and Eucalypts. A bit of Australiana, darl!

Pretty, isn't it?

Next job is to get my bed in there and out of my front room.

Might go do that now.

x

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Still Moving.

We started moving in this Tuesday past.
AB is working 7days at the moment, so the routine is:

- drop off kids to school
- drive to flat
- up & down stairs until the car is filled
- back to house, unpacking, cleaning, washing, sorting
- pick up kids
- go to flat, lather, rinse, repeat
- ignore whining
- afterschool activities
- arrive home exhausted and realise I need to cook dinner.

But it's beeee-yooo-ti-ful!
I just wish all these boxes would unpack themselves and the flat would clean itself.

There's still things to be done .. like my cupboard handles only all went on today, and the
sparkies were here yesterday doing things. The splashback needs to be sealed,
and the bedrooms are sans carpet.

I love my Escapees cushion above. Seems apt somehow..

Kids are spoilt. We offset sharing the smallest bedroom in the world by putting a tele
on the wall for them to play their Minecraft on. ( I am anti-bunk-bed after (a) having them
myself as a kid, and (b) having already dealt with a broken arm once in this motherhood,
I am not going to be tempting that kind of fate again..)

And for all those that thought it was a bit weird that my kids shared a QS bed, you'll be
happy to know they now have their own beds. I love the red frames with their grey striped linen

Not sure what's the story with my kid staring at the tap. He's weird.
Also: the under-bench kickback thingy yet to arrive..

And a pano after dinner the other night when I sat back and went
"I freaking love this house, how's the serenity?" ( ignoring the mess )

Removalists booked to get the last of the furniture out of the flat tomorrow.

Home Straight.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Countdown!

It's been 6months! The lease is up! Time to u-haul home!

So, this was the weekend past: we had lots of things to do, which meant staying past dusk
and getting to play with the lights ( ooh! )

As you can see, my stove is now in! Bought cheap ex scratch-and-dent before the reno
ever started, freighted from Sydney sight unseen. Phew, it looks ok ;) I really wanted a
dual oven, but not a wall oven. I'm looking forward to honing in on my suzie homemaker
mad skillz ;)

Down the hallway .. my exposed brick wall is looking the goods, and the drum pendants
are perfect. I had a cut out of those pendants blu-taced to my laundry wall for like 2years ..
luckily they didn't go out of fashion!

Finally .. my bedroom..

The WIR is now in, and the funky bedroom light that will make instant wallpaper patterns
on my wall. Love.

Just the carpet to go in now. I have picked a Carpet Court exclusive - the GAIA wool range,
and from that, the Rivers Collection ( go look at the names - I am a sucker for a good product
name and feeling *invested* ) .. so I picked the colour Swan. As in the Swan River, Perth.
Makes me feel all dinky-di and patriotic. I had to laugh they didn't have a Yarra River to
choose from. I probably would have picked it too. The poor old Yarra gets a bit of a bad rap :/

I would have loved to have gone a loop pile .. but i'm worried one of my naughty cats might
pull at it when my back is turned and then I would cry. So a cut twist pile it is.
I can't wait to see it installed!

Today they are waxing my boards. I went with an oil/wax combo rather than your usual poly.
No idea how that will go, but I want the grain and depth of the wood to be cranked, and
apparently this will do it. The wood is still a lot lighter than I prefer it, although I know from
wood-bought-past that it does indeed darken with age and exposure to sunlight.

I want my boards to look like an old ship's deck, me hearties!

This is how it looks with just the oil so far:

Wacky angles due to me just sticking my head around the doors etc.
Very tasty!

Well, I can't believe we're finally here!
I kinda have to keep pinching myself that it's true!

xx