Reno - Weeks 29 & 30

Just when Christmas kicked in and most people took some well-deserved time off, the painters kept the renovation momentum going at the West End Cottage during the holidays. But everyone is back on deck come Monday so we should see a few more of the outstanding jobs being finished very shortly - and there are quite a few to get through before we can move in.

I'm going to show some before/currents again this week to show just how far we've come in six months. This room (previously a living room) is now the space for the kitchen/dining room:

Before

Current

Most of the kitchen joinery has now been fitted. The marble benchtops have been sealed, but we are still keeping them covered up. A bespoke utility rack that was built some time ago has now been painted, but it's not totally complete yet. A panel of decorative glass will stretch across the middle third of the frame and will be backlit (you can see the wires protruding from the wall at both ends). You can't have too much kitchen storage I say.

The original window on the right-hand wall was removed and replaced with an opening that leads into the scullery.

As you can see we've also created an opening in the wall on the left that provides access into the Sitting Room.

The joinery in the Sitting Room, a former bedroom, was also painted during the week:

Before

Current

We still have to install the blackbutt kicks and banquette seat cushions. And to finish the room off I've ordered an armchair and a George Nelson Bubble lamp to hang in the corner of the room, creating a cozy spot to sit and read (if that's at all possible with four small boys.)

Love the detail in the joinery here, including the criss-cross decorative shelf framing:

The painters also undercoated the FC sheets that line the walls on the terrace:

This grey-coloured undercoat is what is usually used when your finished topcoat is a dark colour (i.e. black.) And speaking of black paint, that will be a job for next week - finally getting another coat of black onto the weatherboards at the back of the house:

I've made a few minor alterations to the landscape design I put together a few weeks ago and eleven advanced trees have now been put on hold, waiting for our landscape contractor to commence and plant them into position.

I've even played around with some more fort designs - this one is Option No 2, and is based on a Scandinavian-style Summer House that also mimics the rear elevation of the house. It is perfectly scaled for little people and has a large awning window that can be used for role play (i.e. shop/cafe) and also includes a loft.

I'm thinking about using the above fence detail for the front fence (to replace our old falling-down picket fence which has since been removed.) The question is - should I paint it white or black?

52/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2013." via Che and Fidel

MY BOYS
We made it - after two long years of living in an apartment it has finally come time to pack up our belongings and move back into a house - our house. Our newly renovated West End Cottage.

51/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2013." via Che and Fidel

OUT 'N ABOUT OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD

Playing catch-up with the 52 project - I ran out of puff right at the end...

50/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2013." via Che and Fidel

Oscar - still self-soothing, the 'raggy' and finger sucking go hand in hand.
Charlie - your latest thing is to dress up, and any old super hero outfit will do.
Harry - even if you can't read all the words, you will make them up as you go.
Jack - you have the thickest hair I have ever seen, and it grows so, so fast. Must be time for yet another haircut.

Reno - Week 28

This week was the last working week of the year - the house is almost complete with just some finishing touches left to do. Fortunately some of the tradesmen will be working over the Christmas break so we are still on track to move in by the end of January 2014.

The main focus over the past week has been on the interior - loads of painting, joinery (most of which also requires painting), waterproofing and tiling.

For those who have been following our renovation from the beginning, you will remember that the original specs for the bathroom floors were a pistachio green porcelain tile. However just as we went out to tender I changed my mind - as much as I liked them, I wanted to try something different. I decided that a grey-coloured hexagonal tile would compliment the other finishes and also provide a textural element to the bathrooms. I was always intent on going with a small format tile - I have lost count at how many times the kids have slipped on our large glossy floor tiles in our apartment.

So I narrowed it down to the three mosaic tiles on the top row here: (L) Grigio Marble (Middle) Calacatta Marble (R) Bluestone.

The Grigio Marble is even coloured throughout and could almost pass as a porcelain tile -  I felt that each individual tile was a little on the large side and it was the most expensive of the three. The Calacatta Marble is gorgeous but despite the fact that we have marble benchtops in the kitchen, I just wasn't comfortable about using it on the floors particularly as we have four small children. The Bluestone seemed to be the obvious choice, however I felt that the tiles on the sample were a little too small. I ended up ordering custom-made hexagonal mosaics (with skirting tiles to match) which I felt were perfectly sized (the one at the bottom of the photo.)

So how do they look laid on the floors? Just like this:

Ready to be grouted

They feel wonderful underfoot and I trust they will stop any more accidental falls. All in all I've got to say I'm very happy with them - I actually like the slight variation in the colour too.

There is a lot to consider when tiling, particularly if you want the tiles to line up with the other architectural elements in the room, but my Tiler is doing a stellar job at ensuring that everything is centred and lines up perfectly:

The Laser Level does not lie

The WC (photo above) is now fully tiled. If anyone is wondering, we are using charcoal-coloured grout which make the gloss white subway wall tiles pop. A small timber shelf will be fitted along the top row of wall tiles to finish off the room.

This week I thought it might be fun to show some before and afters (or should I say before and current), so let's start with the Sitting Room:

Before - it used to be a bedroom

Now - Sitting Room

The sitting room joinery (built-in bookshelves and banquette seat) has been installed and is now ready to be painted. The bookshelf is made up of cupboards, open shelves and an inclined shelf to display our favourite reads. The fabric and foam for the seat cushion has also been ordered and should be ready just in time before move-in day.

This earlier photo taken from the front door shows you just how small the original four-room cottage once was:

Before - looking toward the back door

Now - it's such an unexpected sight, a fireplace at the end of the hall

The view from the front door leads you straight out onto the terrace (or outdoor room) that is enclosed on three sides.

A rather unusual thing we did with this renovation was to convert the old bathroom into a Living Room (it was a large bathroom by the way.) Basically the whole room was gutted to make for way for a small, but comfortable TV Room:

Before - the small louvre window was removed

Current - a sash window taken from another room was installed 

Before

Current

This room will be simply furnished with a sofa, armchair and wall mounted TV. We have no need for a TV cabinet - which are usually chunky and take up a lot of room. When it comes to watching movies we either rent or purchase them through iTunes or wirelessly stream DVDs straight from the computer.

And here is the wee little window that sits high in the brick wall above the arch that we have come to call the 'owl hole':

The window, which is roughly the size of a sheet of A4 paper, splays out into the room on the other side. It forms into a large opening situated above the robe in one of the kids' bedrooms:

It's a cool little detail that provides a glimpse of the sky beyond. At night, a light hidden behind a bulkhead in the opening will bathe the 'hole' in light providing indirect lighting for the room.

This will probably be the last Reno post for the year - I'll see you back here in 2014 for the final few weeks.

Have a safe and Happy XMAS. xx