Saturday 11 January 2014

Reno - Week 31

Whilst most of the new fixtures and fittings were itemised on the building schedule prior to construction, a couple were overlooked - one of which was the front door hardware. We are replacing the existing front door with an old internal door (they are both identical) as it's in really poor condition as well as having a rather large gap in the bottom of it (not good for keeping out unwanted guests such as insects or mice for that matter.) I've also been in two minds about keeping the existing front door hardware. Gotta have a good first impression - right? After visiting a number of local hardware stores, I couldn't find anything that I liked so I did what I do best and shopped online. The only ones that appealed to me were all from the USA (we really have a very limited choice here by the way), but when I finally found an entrance door set that I liked, it just so happened to be discontinued. Back to square one....


But then I stumbled upon this one from Baldwin Hardware which was almost identical:


It's a solid forged brass handleset with an emergency egress egg knob - a little pricey but I guess that's the way it goes with a quality product.  I've since ordered it (with Antique Nickel finish as shown above) which will be fitted onto the new door which will be painted in, you guessed it, gloss black. So with that out of the way, the only remaining thing to select now is the letterbox.

Not too much else happened this week other than lots of painting and some more tiling, however the plumber did make an appearance to fit some of the taps, including this one in the kitchen:

Perrin and Rowe Oberon Tap with Round Spout and Spray Rinse
Most of the wet areas in the extension have now been tiled, including the subway tiles in the laundry:

Marble benchtop with integrated shelf - how lucky am I?
The tiles are yet to be grouted, but the finished product will look similar to the image above as we are using a grey grout. The tiler has done such a marvellous job.

All the rooms are now slowly starting to come together. Here's a sneak peek at my new office nook and storage/linen cupboards which are located in the hallway. I've ordered an Artek E60 stool for the office so that it can be tucked underneath the desk and out of the way when not in use.


Next week the carpenters will be fitting the traditional Queenslander battens around the base of the cottage - yes, the old girl is finally getting a new skirt. There's still handrails for the front stairs, stainless steel benchtops in the scullery, window hoods and a whole raft of other jobs programmed to be completed as well.

So to finish off, here are a few more Before and Currents starting with the front verandah:



And the rear elevation has changed from this:


To this:


And the front:

Green weatherboards
Crisp White weatherboards - much better
Still plenty more to do........

11 comments:

  1. You're not wrong when you say we are limited for choice Caroline, having spent two years in the USA, not only is there more choice with home products for renovations, but they are substantially cheaper as well. We have also been shopping recently for new bathroom vanities for the next house, and it is crazy but the choice of vanity tops appears to have reduced significantly over the last six months - very strange. I love the study nook in the hall and all the storage. So many walls and halls become dead space - yours is a great example of how to better utilize the area. Photos are great, looking forward to seeing the end result.

    Cheers, Col

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    1. Thanks Col. I wonder if the range of vanities has reduced due to the fact that a lot of people are choosing to have them custom-made? Fortunately for us it was one thing that didn't require any consideration as we are using wall-hung basins in our bathrooms. You're definitely right about hallways being dead space - not at ours though! xx

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  2. I know-I hate reading US blogs becuase they have all these amazing options at great prices! Your reno is coming along so well! x

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    1. Cheers Ness - it's only when you start searching that you realise what we are missing out on! xx

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  3. So close now! Nice selections. You must be so pleased with how it's all coming together!

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    1. Each room is looking great - still lots of things to complete in the next couple of weeks though. xx

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  4. Looking fab! Just a bit envious!

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    1. Thank you! It's feeling rather surreal for me - this house was purchased back in 2007 so it's been a long process to get to this point. xx

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  5. It is looking so, so, so good. I hope it is exactly as you pictured it.
    And tell me about it…nearly every day I curse the fact that I am aware of how many options there are in the States and how cheap they all are! Luckily for me the thing that I buy most…trains…are about the same price here as they are there!

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  6. Thanks C - I think it even better than I pictured it. Still lots of finishing touches left to do before move in. xx

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  7. Not long now! I had the same dilemma with door handles. So, I opted for a Deadlock 001, the simplest, with a small pull. Love the integrated shelf in the laundry. I meant to comment on your black picket fence query - yes, our black picket fence is going in next week! To match our front back door. I love how a black picket fence 'disappears' with a white weather board house and once there is lots of green in the front, it always looks great! Good luck this week.

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