Preparing to attack
Let me take you back… the lounge was one of the first rooms I “rushed” to complete so that I could move in. You could say its decor was quite individual. The pictures speak for themselves. But just look at her now. Continue reading
It’s the small things that matter and its sometimes the small things that take the longest to finish! The last time you saw this room it was settling into it’s newly painted “Ebb” blush walls. What wasn’t going to settle into this room was most of the dining room furniture from my apartment.
I had lovely square 8 seater dinner table and chairs that worked fabulously in the open plan unit but were not going to fit into this room. Well, it would, but nothing much else would have… (Disclaimer: ignore the rug!!) Continue reading
If you’ve ever attempted a semi-small renovation, you’ll understand when I say that it’s the final stages that seem to drag on forever. I think it’s because with demo work, the results are virtually instantaneous – here’s a wall and now it’s gone. But the fiddly bits don’t have such instant visual gratification for me and I really have to push through to see my vision come to life… Continue reading
Due to the L-shape of the original kitchen, the fridge didn’t have a home. It sat across the room on its own looking like an afterthought. Totally impractical. So I had to give it a home…. which involved completely shifting a doorway! But that one change, created such a huge difference and much more user friendly wall.
Continue reading
Knocked into one – Inspector Buddy on hand
This is where the exciting stuff begins – the building. That was until we hit concrete, literally. But a bit more about that later. First off, it was time to knock out what was left of the back window and door frame. With a few support beams in place, the builders made relatively quick work of taking down the double brick. For such a small section, there were hundreds. And hundreds… Continue reading
Original Kitchen
I’d been lovingly doing up the house for a couple of years and apart from a lick of paint, I had consciously not touched the kitchen. You see it just didn’t work. It was a big open space but not big enough to include a dining table or anything substantially functional. And it was cut off to the deck which is where I did so much entertaining. A renovation plan had been brewing… Continue reading
After freshening up the paint work and adding new wood trims, it was time to do something with the “drive”. The pavers, whilst serving their purpose perfectly, were too hectic and just not me. So they had to come up. Luckily, I had enough of the 40x40cm pavers I’d removed from the backyard to re-pave the area, with plenty to spare.
At this stage, it was about transforming without spending much money and those transplanted pavers (at a saving of around $9 each) did just that. In time, I’m sure I’ll update again. Continue reading
Pretty in pink
Many moons ago, well six years ago to be exact, I attempted my very first bathroom update. It all stemmed from the fact the 1960s steel window in my unit needed to be replaced. It didn’t have a latch so swung freely in the breeze thus becoming a potential danger should it drop off its rusted hinges and fall onto someone below.
The Body Corporate arranged it’s replacement. Unfortunately, the man who undertook the work was a) like a bull in a China shop, and b) sleazy/creepy crawly. (Note to self – this is one time I wished a male friend was present). Continue reading
As I bought it.
Given it’s a Federation semi, there wasn’t a whole lot I could do to improve the facade without breaking the DIY bank. The original windows had been replaced with brassy olive thin aluminium windows. Who knows why. That in itself was the major sticking point for me. I really, really dislike them. Really.
They jar with the original character of the house and are just plain ugly. They take away some of it’s identity and charm. Unfortunately, replacing them was going to be a [very] long-term project.
The old laundry door – had to go!
The vestibule area was an unusable space. I had grand plans to eventually re-work this whole space so all I could try to do was lighten and brighten and make its usability more friendly. The previous owners had built a single bi-fold door for the laundry area that, would flap around should there be a window or door open. It was bulky and well, ugly don’t you think?!
girl up a ladder 