Reno - Week 39

I know these last few posts have been written way after the fact, but I am determined to finish documenting the construction which took around 40 weeks to complete - the same time as a pregnancy in fact!

By Week 39 the house was all but complete - just lots of little jobs left to tick off the list. One of them was installing privacy screens on the all the windows that faced windows on neighbouring properties (this happens to be a requirement of the small lot code.) Towards the end of construction we found out about a local company (Thurlow Blinds) that both refurbish and manufacture external chain blinds. The same type of blinds were attached to some of the windows on the old cottage, but were thrown out during demolition, so it was good to discover that we could get identical ones made.

The service from Thulow Blinds was excellent - they do a free measure and quote and the cost includes painting and installation. We chose to have them painted the same colour as the weatherboards. They fit neatly into the window hoods and are fully adjustable.

I wanted to wait until the blinds were fitted before I chose window coverings (which to date I have done nothing about.) I don't think they are particularly necessary except for perhaps the main bedroom.

Here's what they look like from inside the house

Another job included installing a hanging rail in the laundry - I use it ALL the time and don't know how I lived without one before. I'd like to say I use it for hanging up the ironing, but in fact I've been using it to hang up clothes to dry on those days when rain seemed imminent (and on other days when I couldn't be bothered to go outside and hang them on the line.)

Other jobs consisted of fitting toilet roll holders and towel rails, etc. We chose a brass Futagami handtowel rail for the main bathroom to match the brass edging on the mirrored cabinet.

I had some cushion covers made up for the daybed in the sitting room and they also arrived at about this time. I already had the feather inserts which I bought from Ikea months ago:

Here is a photo of the same room prior to the renovation - just a modest-sized room with no storage in sight (it was used as a bedroom):

An opening in one wall was created to allow views from the front of the site right through to the rear enhancing the sense of light and space:

OVP signature utility rack in the kitchen

The good thing about the cushions on the daybed is that they are actually made from an outdoor fabric which means that I can take them outside too:

Unpacking still continues (even to this day) as a short stint in hospital has hindered my ability to lift anything too heavy. However we did manage to find some artwork in amongst our things to add a bit of colour to our very white walls. Here's another before/after - this time it's the main bedroom which again consisted of a basic room with zero storage:

We knocked two openings into the neighbouring room (that was once a kitchen) to create an ensuite and WIR, added some built-in joinery and hey presto:

I am just loving this Autumn weather we are having - the sun is already sitting much lower in the sky creating a sunroom on the front verandah which until recently has been cool and shady. Still need to find some furniture/chairs - any suggestions: