Home Is Where The Heart Is - Kitchen and Lounge

I purchased my current home on a whim, I saw it online one day and bought it the next. You see, it was a sad little place that someone had lovingly started to renovate but didn't finish (and it was cheap!) Then came Roge (the hubby) and I. Young and keen we saw this house's potential, however there were a few problems to sort out. Problem 1, we already had a house that was half way through a renovation. Problem 2, the house we had just brought (our now current home) couldn't be rented out in it's current state. The water from the shower was draining onto the backyard lawn, it had no oven or sink and there was no back door!

So we embarked on a 6 week adventure of late nights after work and every second of our weekends, finishing the place to a point where we could shove a tenant in it and walk away and worry about our then current house and getting it finished.

Fast forward 2 years and keen for a new renovation/decoration project, we kicked out the tenant and moved into our now home. (note: the tenant was fine. It was a blessing in disguise for them because they went onto buy their first home and now they're happier than ever.)

We don't have a lot of money but I believe we are pretty good at making what we have go a long way. Simple changes can make a house look so much better and lucky second hand buys can fill up a space with loads of practical function as well as good looking design. Plus you get to use your creative juice and turn something that might be a bit old a grotty, into something new and cool again.

This is our living space:

It's an open plan, kitchen, dining and lounge. Lovely because you feel amongst it when you're cooking or sitting on the couch talking to the person in the kitchen but a pain when the dishwasher goes on (the TV volume goes up a few notches!)

These boxes are old apple crates found under the town hall stage by my father in law. A quick clean, a bit of linseed oil and some castor wheels and viola, very cute storage. I use mine to put our recycling in until I can be bothered taking it outside to the big bin.

This chair was sourced from the Hobart "tip shop" for $10. Again, a quick clean and new covers made out of an old army blanket make it a cool addition to our lounge room. It is Roge's chair although he has to fight the cat for it!

These utensil holders are again a tip shop find. They cost me 50c each and I've used them as vases on odd occasions too.

Speaking of vases, this is my latest find from the Longford tip shop. They're huge old Fowlers preserving jars but I'm going to use them as vases for my flowers. I love the look of old glass, it has such character.

So by now, you are thinking that I spend my whole day at the tip finding my furnishings! Well I do have a few big ticket items too that cost a whole lot more than 50c! My table for instance is a solid myrtle timber table. I did a job for someone and they paid me with grotty looking slabs of timber. I then took them to a friends brother who whipped me up this little beauty. It cost $600 but would have cost a few thousand if I had have gone to a furniture maker to have it manafactured. Around the table are Eames replica chairs and they were brought new from Love Furniture in Hobart although you can also find them at places like clickonfurniture.com.au or mattblatt.com.au. They cost $170 each so there was a fair bit of investment there. However I love them and they are timeless.

The light pendants are a big feature of this room and they were a purchase from Hermon & Hermon in Melbourne for $90 each. Well worth the cost in my opinion as they make quite a statement.

Markets are another place I like to source furniture and nick nacks. The buffet for example is a find at Mill Market Geelong and we've turned it into our entertainment hub. Hidden in there is lots of cables and electrical stuff. You'd never know though would you!

So that's your first glimpse of my house. Trust me, it won't be the last time you see it as there are many more rooms to go and I've barely skimmed the surface on hints and tips to get your place looking spiffy. Hopefully you are inspired to use some of my ideas in a similar way at your place.

Fore more inspiration, have a look at my kitchen and lounge room or The house formally known as Bluebell. If you want to get some tips on how to get a discount on something you are purchasing then, If you don't ask, you don't get is for you.