Project Bathroom/Laundry...

Is almost complete!!!

We have re-gibbed, plastered, sanded, painted walls; re-plastered, re-sanded and even given the floors a coat of white paint! Now all that remains is for sealer to go on the floor and white-ware to be reinstalled. Oh my God, you have no idea how excited I am to have a washing machine again!!!!

Proper photos and entry coming soon. x

"Blog Guilt" and Bathrooms

Hello out there - I wouldn't blame you if you'd decided to totally give up on me.. I've been sick (again and again), lazy and suffering from tremendous Blog Guilt. And the more you think about it the worse it gets and the more you feel you have to make up for.. uuurrgghh!!!

There has finally been some progress on the reno front..

We are having our gross laundry/second bathroom gutted and renovated this week. So far, it's been pulled out, re-gibbed, plastered and is in the process of being sanded.

As you can imagine - with no washing machine within close reach (it's under the house, hooked up mind you) and a toddler, the pile that is Mt Washmore is getting a little out of control. It's just been so miserable, I can't be bothered going outside in the freezing cold and rain to constantly reset the wash cycle because it's on a slight lean that seems to be harder than it would seem, to fix. And i'm just not that motivated.. lazy cow ;)

Luckily I have a Mother in Law whose main game is laundry and who likes to help out with a load here and there. She'd challenge Shannon Lush as the Queen of Clean, I would have to say. But, I digress...

This a very simple reno. Not a lot of room in the budget for flash cabinetry or new white-wear; actually, none at all!

We are fitting a new (but not designer) vanity that was left under the house when we bought it. It's perfectly fine and hasn't been used at all. I think there may have been plans to use it in the main bathroom that we then updated without that in mind.

I think we've saved ourselves at least $500 right there! And it will serve it's purpose well in our second bathroom-come-laundry.

We are however, getting a new shower, because the old one was so grotty.. and broken, and had mould under the silicone that you just could not shift. So that will be the star of the show.

All I really need to do is decide what colour i'm going to paint it...

I'm looking at neutrals from the Dulux Colours of New Zealand palette. It can't really be a stark white like the other bathroom, because it's on the cold side of the house, so it needs a bit of a lift.

This is a front runner at the moment -

Dulux Cadrona Quarter.

And, a warmer white around the architraves. Yet to decide what that might be.

Anyhoo - hopefully in a couple of weeks it will all be finished. In the meantime, here are the 'before' photos of the 2nd bathroom-come-laundry.

Hole in the ceiling above old shower cavity, and the hole in the floor that was left once we removed the huge concrete slab that was under the shower!

Where the old vanity was, and the site of the old loo. We are putting it back in, but had to take it out in order to gib.

We are going to sand the floors and paint them white. A good budget option that also uses a lovely feature of our old bungalow as a statement look. Go wooden floors!

A Little Girl Waits..

Since writing this post i've been waiting for my wallpaper samples to arrive. Well, they have! Just need to have them sent to me and we're all set. Too exciting.

In dining suite news - I had my eye on the most GORGEOUS table and chairs set on TradeMe, that I was sure was MEANT for me. Danish design, amazing condition, perfect colours.. but all my destitute designing dreams came crashing down when the price went from $300 to $500, to nothing at all when they cancelled the auction, only to put it back up with a reserve of $500 and a buy now of $900!! Gutted.

And so.. the search continues.

However, imagine my conflicting glee, having already semi decided on the wallpaper I want - when this arrived in my inbox from Lil Magoolie. 2 Modern have a range of 'tempaper' - temporary wallpaper - that is just as gorgeous as the Ferm options. With conversion rates and shipping it would probably work out to be roughly the same price per roll.

Anyhoo this stuff looks fantastic because, like a decal, it's self adhesive - no more mucky pastes! - and can be removed at any time! AND the designs are to die for!

The Dining Room MEGA POST!

Decorating a room from top to bottom is a daunting task. Let alone, when you are trying to do it on the smell of an oily rag, so to speak. You really have to choose carefully. What will we splurge on, what will we save on and more importantly - what can we get for free? :)

This is the first room in the house to get a makeover, aside from the new bathroom (which i must remember to post before and after shots, once it's finished); so it's a little overwhelming.. and a lot of pressure!

Editing all the ideas in my head, distinguishing my wants from my needs and weeding out the items that would just be overkill in this room is also a mammoth task. For some reason I'm great at telling other people what works, but when it comes to my own house.. well.. that's another story. Perhaps it's a touch of performance anxiety?

First thing's first though. What is this room for?

It's not just a dining room, it's family room - a place to play, to chill out, to snuggle up in front of the fire, and to eat. It's connected to the kitchen, so a lot of my daughters time will be spent in there just hanging out and waiting for tea.

I'd like a couch in there or some comfy lounge chairs. You can see in the photos I posted, there's a sofa in there at the moment. I'd like that to stay, but it depends. Downsizing to a pair of chairs might be a better idea.

Walls:

I am in love with vibrant, unusual wallpaper designs! And there are some really interesting prints available now - though most of them are overseas. Luckily there are a couple of stores importing some of my favourites. Netti and Gee have a fabulous collection, as do PaperRoom, whom I've linked to before. I have a stack of sites in my favourites now - of course all the ones I like are the most expensive! But I can kind of get away with this, as the area I want to wallpaper is quite small. Just 2 walls - one with no window, and one with a huge window.

I know I would like a pattern to feature heavily, but not take over. And I love the idea of blues/aquas.

The darker greeny/blues would compliment my colour palette of warm browns (this will be achieved with furniture), greys, and greeny, mustardy yellows.

Ferm Living's collection of gorgeous wallpapers has me sold. I love this deep turquoise blue - it's so rich and warm, cosy and inviting. Quite the opposite feeling you normally associate with blue tones. I love the prints too. But is this tooooooo dark for my dining room?

Resene Optimist and Festival

Aqua (and duck-egg blue) is one of my favourite colours. In fact, one of my favourite colour combinations is this, teamed with a vibrant red and white.

Great for kids rooms. Actually I painted my daughters chest of drawers in this combo and it looks awesome :)

Resene Foam and Pursuit.

I'm having a real problem deciding between this lighter blue and the darker shade. But I must say, at the moment, the Deer print is winning. It's bold, but at the same time it's shade subtle enough not to overpower a room either. My only reservation with a print like this, is will I still like it in 5 years time?

For longevity, perhaps the Ferm Living Ribbed (to the right) is the way to go?

WHAT DO YOU THINK??? I'd appreciate your opinions!!

Furniture:

I love 1950s Danish furniture - everything about it. Solid, well made, beautiful lines and lasting design. I fritter away hours online looking for a reasonably priced sideboard to call my own. Never happens, people are onto it. I need an old lady to start selling off all her unwanted 'old' furniture and for her not to know what she's sitting on..!

However, a sideboard is not needed for this room. But a great table and chairs are!!

via Makingitlovely.com

These Eames chairs are originals, but there are plenty of replicas available in the shops these days. They're still not cheap, but they aren't toooooo badly priced. There's a great store in Aussie who do fantastic replicas for a great price. Unfortunately, I don't think Matt Blatt ships here. Boo!!!

There is however, Homage in Newmarket who do a lot of the same pieces. Oh, and Republic Home also stock a chair very similar in design to these. I will be going a chair hunting very soon!!

via marieclairemaison.com

This is the kind of table I would like. A danish one would be nice, but I think i'll save and splurge on the chairs instead. They're more statement pieces.

Lighting:

Left: via design*sponge; Right: Bubble Chandelier by Jeanpelle via Mochatini

via Diana Vinoly

It's not a huge room, so I don't need A LOT of lighting, but I'd like to make it a feature.

At the moment there's one lone halogen bulb that throws out next to no light, and to top it off it's a really harsh blue/white.. stark and horrid! I'd like some 'mood' lighting. And i'd like it to hang, please.

Don't you just love Jeanpelle's Bubble Chandelier? BUDGET TIP: You can create your own version with this tutorial via FemTalks blog.

Soooooo I hope I haven't bored you to sleep with this mega post! Until I get to grips with Photoshop though, I will have to keep painstakingly setting out my posts all higgilty-piggilty and drawn out like this.. methinks I better get onto learning, fast..!

Nan passed away early this morning, with her family by her side. I was dreaming about her at the time.

RIP Nan. xox

I'm not dead....

The last couple of weeks have been full of sickness and and now my Grandmother is nearing her end.

So as you can imagine there's not a lot of room in my head for much else, unfortunately.

Dear Nan - I know we've had our ups and downs and for many years we didn't have much to say to each other that didn't involve a terse word or a screeching lung, but nevertheless, you are my Grandmother and I love you no matter what. There was a time, up until quite recently, where I questioned whether this was the case. But seeing you there, innocent, aged and now in need of freeing, I knew I couldn't NOT love you.

I don't want to see you in pain. I don't want to see you not knowing who any of your family are. I don't want you to suffer anymore; I just want you to be at peace. Go with Granddad. Go with your brother and your many friends. Just be free, be young and be the happy-go-lucky, carefree spirit that you oughtta be. I don't want you to just keep on going because you feel you have to. But I do want you know that all your many children and grandchildren cherish the time spent with you. It was one hell of a life, after all.

xxx

Just a little something I made