And so it begins… 28 February, 2009
Posted by Kt in Bathroom, Extensions, Kids' rooms, Kitchen, Lounge.3 comments
We had a draftsman over this morning to talk about our plans to extend the house and build a granny flat (or, in this case, a grandpa flat). He’ll get back to us on Monday, and then it’s all systems go.
The draftsman (Phil) thinks we might be able to get approval in 10 days once the plans are done, using some new guidelines/regulations that come into force today.
Our plans are to add another bedroom, study and dining room to the back of the house; rearrange the front of the house to give us a bigger master bedroom and family room; change Polendino’s current bedroom into a bathroom (with bath!) and build a one-bedroom cottage at the end of the yard for Wing’s Dad.
We’ll all move into the front of the house while the back bit’s done, and then move into that while the front bit’s done. Then we can fitout the new bathroom and re-do the kitchen.
Phew… I’m exhausted just writing about it.
So take this as a heads-up that the next 9 – 12 months will see lots of activity on this blog as we get stuck into this major project!
‘Dino’s room 19 November, 2007
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Before:
And after:
Hamble’s room 19 November, 2007
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Before:
And after:
Booboo’s room 19 November, 2007
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Before:
And after:
The blue-ish room 14 October, 2007
Posted by Za in Kids' rooms, Whatever.3 comments
So far, I want to have these things in my room:
- A white rocking chair at the end of my bed. A standing lamp would also be excellent to read by (hint-hint, Mum)
- My small light in an old water bottle
- A photo-frame
- New white shelves from Ikea
- A wardrobe (also white)
- My skateboard and rollerblades
- A magnetic whiteboard
‘Course, some of these I’m just fantasising about, like the whiteboard and photoframe, but the rest is very doable.
The right mauve… 8 October, 2007
Posted by Kt in Before, Interior design, Kids' rooms.2 comments
…for Booboo’s room turns out to be Dulux Violet Tinge.
It looks as though it’s one of those nice colours that will change with the light – more blue-y in some corners and more pink-y in others. With her white furniture, it’ll look fresh and fabulous, I’m sure.
Elf Green 5 October, 2007
Posted by Kt in Before, Interior design, Kids' rooms.2 comments
Yup. It’s just like in the colour chart.
Here it is, Hamble – your new feature wall. Hope you love it.
Wall! 17 September, 2007
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I love our builder!
He’s been doing bits and pieces for me for the last 14 years, ranging from a bifold door to a complete extension. The reason I first hired him was that nothing seemed to faze him, and that’s been borne out over the years. He doesn’t always agree with what I have in mind, but he always does a brilliant job.
I met him at the house last week – just returned from Greece with a tan and a Zorba ringtone on his mobile – and pointed at a few things that need doing. We prioritised them, and agreed that he’d get started today.
So this arvo, I turn up to make sure he has his own key and see how he’s going, and lo and behold, there’s a WALL in the sunroom! What was a large, but not terribly useful, room across the back of the house is now a bedroom for Booboo and an office for us.
Of course, it needs plastering, a door and all those cosmetic things, but heck – today there’s a wall where yesterday there was none!
From the office side:
From Booboo’s side:
This week 16 September, 2007
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The painters started less than a week ago, and they’ve already managed to strip ALL the wallpaper – even inside Polendino’s built-in wardrobes. This despite having a lot of their gear stolen from the house on Wednesday night.
Yup. Thursday morning early I got a call to say that they’d arrived to find the house entirely open (front and back doors), and that all their electrical gear (steamers, sanders, power drills) was gone. Since then they’ve noticed a bunch of other stuff that was taken too – including a mop-head and masking tape, for goodness’ sake!
The cops came and fingerprinted the joint too, which the kids thought was very exciting.
Unfortunately, when they removed the wallpaper, they discoved a second layer of old paper underneath. In some places, removing that took the paper coating of the old plaster sheets beneath. Because of that, the walls need to be painted with a binder before thay can go any further. Even just the white binder coat makes a huge difference to the look and feel of the rooms.
Here is the dining room before:
And in progress, with the wallpaper and shelves gone, and with the binder coat:
On Friday they pulled out the carpets as well, and the floorboards are in great nick. There’s only one small part that needs patching. The wood seems quite pale too – probably pine – so that’ll help to keep the spaces light.
Friday the locksmith was through too – eleven window locks, two deadlocks and a patio bolt. We were freaked by the fact that the Wednesday-night thief apparently gained entry with a key. So no more of that, thank you very much.
Today my dad came over with his chainsaw and did a simply miraculous job felling most of the huge stand of privet out the front. Only one big trunk to go, plus a 30ft high camphor laurel “sapling”. The kids lifted and carried prunings, and weeded dandelions out of the lawn for 10c a pop.
Next? Our lovely builder, Chris, starts on Monday morning. He’ll start with building a wall in the sunroom, to divide it into a bedroom for Booboo and an office for the growed-ups.
And so it begins 29 August, 2007
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The first tradesfolk came through today – these ones to clean the gutters and down pipes. Ten autumns’ worth of leaves had turned to black humus throughout the stormwater drainage, and as a result, every time it rained, the flow off the roof backed up into the ceiling above the front door.
Tonight, Boo and I pulled down the sliding door in the kitchen, took the doors off the built-ins in ‘Dino’s room (we’re going to replace them with curtains to make the skinny space more usable) and ripped handfuls of nails and screws out of walls, windowsills, doorjambs… Wing joined us to dispose of the disgusting microwave and some other kitchen bits.
It’s already looking and feeling different. More ours.
