My New Laundry Come Second Bathroom

For the first time in months, I've logged into Blogspot intending to get back into the swing of things and the bloody thing might have as well screamed "who the heck are you"! I know, I know, it's been a long time between drinks (or blogs) but what can I say, life has been getting in the way.

Where to start! Well, it's been a fantastic Summer here in Tassie which alas is almost at an end. I've finished my downstairs reno, celebrated Christmas, partied in the New Year, hung at the beach, sent my eldest child to school for the first time and spent oodles of time in the veggie patch to name a few special things that have been going on in my world.

So, for months and months last year I promised that I'd take some pics of the downstairs reno (and never did). Well today I intend on showing you PART of it, namely the laundry come second bathroom. I have taken some pics on my iPhone (yup, the lazy bloggers tool of choice, LOL) 

I wanted the finishes to be really similar to the upstairs bathroom in order to make downstairs feel less disconnected from the rest of the house. Whilst similar in a lot of ways, it is not carbon copy of the main bathroom and I have to say, I love the result.

The copper wall light is a retro fixture that my mum pulled out of her house when renovating. Her trash, my treasure I say! 

The same tiles were used on floor and walls. The toilet suite was the same and the taps are from the same range as the ones in the main bathroom.

A cheap mirror (with cupboards behind) and inexpensive vanity basin hung on the wall completed the simple look. One day I'd like to put a shelf to the right of the basin but that isn't on the priority list at the mo.

What's behind the door you might ask? And isn't this supposed to be a laundry you say, well, wait no longer...

The washer is hidden behind a wall of cupboards and I love it. The best bit, there's a laundry chute from the hallway upstairs which comes directly down into the basket on the bench. Best decision I made in the WHOLE reno, (upstairs and down).

Not everything is perfectly finished yet. The glass for the shower screen has to go in and there's no handles on the cupboard doors but in time those little things will get finished.

Can you see the relationship to our upstairs bathroom? Similar but slightly different.

Certainly a darn sight better than what it was!

So there you go, one mostly completed laundry-bathroom. I'm yet to do the final costing but it should come in less than 10K. We had to spend a lot of money on trades for this room which always makes it a bit more expensive. We did a lot of the demo and carpentry but the rest was the experts.

It is my intent to get back into the blog again so keep an eye out for more posts to come. I've been busy and have lots to share.

I hope you're all well

Alex

Sunday Cleaning

Chaos. That's what my house has amounted to. With the renovations going on continuously, I've thrown my hands up when it's come to the housework (because I clean and then someone starts up a concrete cutter five minutes later and all my hard work has gone up in a cloud of dust!) Today however, I've realised it's got to that point of crazy.

Soooo, not what I'm feeling like doing on a Sunday arvo, but I'm cleaning. When I do a major clean (as opposed to small spot cleaning which I usually do through the week), I do it methodically. I put the kids in front of a DVD and start in one room. When I'm done I close the door behind me and move onto the next. Lastly I vacuum and mop the floors and yay, we're back into the 'under control' again.

Always one to easily get distracted, I find a big clean like this often means I start re-dressing certain areas of my house. Yesterday I re potted all my indoor plants so today I've repositioned them everywhere. They're actually getting a bit out of control, it looks a bit like a garden nursery in here!

I don't know about you but having a clean (ish) house is something that centres me. Maybe it's a 'Mum thing' (?) but I find that if I have the house reasonably under control, it makes all the unpredictable things (like my children's moods) easier to deal with. So with that in mind and given that Spring is only a week away, I've decided to start a bit of Spring cleaning.

Here's my 'roster'. So instead of wasting spending  my weekend doing all these little jobs at once, I'm going to spread them out and do one a day. That way, it will get done but not at the expense of my precious down time.

Monday: Wipe out the fridge and microwave

Tuesday: Wipe the shelves in the pantry and throw expired crap out at the same time

Wednesday: Re organise my clothes drawers and take a pile to the op shop

Thursday: Wipe over the skirting boards, window ledges, pictures on the walls and the tops of the architraves

Friday: Re fold and tidy the linen cupboard

Saturday: Tidy kids toys and books

Sunday: Wipe the insides of the kitchen drawers/cupboards, the bathroom vanity and the entertainment cupboard (under the TV)

I'm sure there is plenty more to Spring clean but that will be enough for now. It will certainly cover the things that I have noticed need immediate attention at my house. I've shared my Spring clean to-do list. Why don't you follow my lead and do one too. Let me know how you go!

New Linen Joy

Yay for the weekend eh!

This weekend I've been re-arranging a few things around my house (just for the fun of it). I will admit that I have a penchant for bedlinen and when Aussie designers Kip & Co had their recent end of season sale, I may have bought a few lovely bits and pieces. The boys both got new "pizza sheets" for their beds and they're ultra fun. Ewan pretends to eat his bed every night when he gets into bed!

I'm continuously rearranging Ewan's corner of the bedroom. The deer head is one I've had for years but has recently found it's way to above his bed. Looks cute I think. No doubt I'll move it all around again next week. Hahaha.

On Monday I'm off for my first holiday away from the kids and I'm uber excited! Its only for two nights but I'll be making the most of it. Shopping, eating, cinema and spending some quality time with my hubby. Bring it on!

Enjoy your weekends everybody (but bring on Monday!)

Alex

Where Have I Been the Last 8 Months?

Howdy all!

Well, it would seem that I'm back in the blogging world. The last 8 months have been BUSY and in summary have gone a little like this:

1 - Bought a new house only days before having our second baby
2 - Kai Edward arrives in the world on 04.06.13

3 - Crazy "newborn baby period starts" - I'm lucky to get a shower two consecutive days in a row!
4 - Doing a bit of work to finish our old house so we can sell it
5 - Said "old house" goes on the market and sells (woohoo)
6 - Freak out that we've sold the old house because the new house needs renovating
7 - Start renovating new house - this one's a BIG reno, much more $$ than I've ever spent
8 - Spend a month in Adelaide
9 - Move house
10 - Christmas 2013 arrives!

It seems so simple when you put it in dot points like that but I can assure you, life was hectic, a bit stressful and I'm incredibly glad that life has settled down a fair bit.

Now for the fun stuff! Let me introduce you to MY NEW HOUSE! (the photos are the sale pics)

It is a white brick veneer, mid century style house that was built in 1969. The suburb itself is one of the best in Launceston, it's in a quiet cul de sac and it has great schools for when the boys get a bit bigger. The shape is what first attracted me to the house, a great roofline and I love the white brick. I liked that it was retro but still had the potential to look far more modern with the right updates. We purchased it from an old German couple who had lived there pretty much since it was built and without any major updates to date, it was looking a bit dowdy. That however was exactly what we wanted. We needed a house that we could strip right back and put our own style into.

It has a view right down the Tamar river which was also one of the more alluring factors but mainly, it is North Easterly facing which means all day sun for most of the house which also equals reduced heating costs. That is something we have been missing at our old house which was quite dark and a bit cold (and were always running a heater so we'd get huge electricity bills).

When we first went to look at the property, we dismissed it immediately as somewhere we could live because we felt that each room was too small. This is the lounge room.

It was only when I went home and looked at the floor plan, that I realised the room dimensions were actually much bigger than what we were living in already.

A very "cosy" little kitchen straight from the 1960's!

Again the dining room seemed very pokey and behind those curtains there is a gorgeous view down the valley to the river...why would anyone cover that up?

The kitchen and dining room is actually one space and the lounge room is through a door way off the dining room.

The master bedroom is a whopping 6.3m by 4.2m! Incredible when all the other rooms are so modest.

Bathroom is very bright and is separate from the toilet which is right next door. Again a bit pokey.

Now, the house is advertised as two bedrooms with a rumpus downstairs (and therefore the price is set a little lower than what you would expect if the house were 3 bedrooms). We instantly saw that there is huge potential to convert the rumpus into a third bedroom and convert the very large laundry next door into a second bathroom come laundry.

Lastly there is a very decent back yard which has established fruit trees and other wonderful produce baring plants. That is a huge tick for me as I've always wanted a significant working garden. 

A bit of a boring return blog but it's the back story to what I'm going to show you next; the post reno pics. Whilst not finished, it's well on it's way and there's been quite a transformation.

Yay, I'm excited to be back in the blogging saddle, I've missed it. X

Make Way For New Baby

I'm expecting a new baby in 3.5 weeks and thought it about time I put together some sort of "area" for it to reside! That said, I've had most of the stuff it needs from when Ewan was little (all stuffed in cupboards) but I have purchased a few new things for him (yes, a boy) to call his own.

The other thing you probably need to know is that we are a two bedroom household and until the new baby is big enough to reside with his big brother, he will be bunking in with us. That means, I have decided not to create a really "cute baby" kind of set up, but more of a "you'll fit in with Mum and Dad's bedroom" kind of look.

Now, I have a very earthy kind of style and not wanting to compromise too much on how my bedroom looks, I've fit the baby's decor in to suit us, which means it's a lot more neutral and less "baby" than what I would probably create for him if he had his own room. That said, I actually really love how it's come up and how the baby stuff has blended in quite well with the adult room. It doesn't hit you that this is an adult bedroom with a baby stuffed in the corner!

I have decided to put the new bassinet next to the bed so I barely have to move in the middle of the night when he wakes! I didn't have a bassinet when we had Ewan so the Seed Organic cradle is a new addition to our baby items. I purchased it second hand from the local classifieds, Gumtree for $140 which was a really good buy considering these RRP for $350 new. I knew it was the bassinet I wanted through a bit of research so I put an add on Gumtree, asking if anyone had one they wanted to sell and sure enough, had a response. I think this is a really good way to see if you can get what you want without having to wait months, hoping one becomes available (or going out and buying one new). The chest of drawers is one I already had, it used to house photo albums but I've found a new home for them and now it is the new babies. Last addition was a few Autumn leaves which I've stuck onto the wall with Blu-tack. 

In the cradle I have purchased a few new blankets. The one with cute little pictures is by an Austrian designer called David Fussenegger. They usually retail for a fortune in the really fancy home wares stores but I found a few cheap through an eBay seller for $53 each. It sounds expensive but these are organic cotton and actually not a lot more expensive than your average blanket purchased at a baby store. 

The little grey one at the end of the bed is from Waverley woollen mills in Launceston. Since we are having a winter baby, I figure you can never have enough blankets.

Under the cradle I have a large basket, found at an op shop for $4 which I have all the extra linen and warm blankets. It is in great condition and only needed a wash before I was able to put it to use.

I already had these picture frames on the wall but I have now placed a few different pictures in them. The birds are a print a dear friend gave me by an artist called Leah Brown.

The smaller frames have cut out pictures from a Little Golden book in them and a photo of the new baby when he was only 19 weeks in utero. On top of each frame I have stuck some Crayola crayons to again "kiddify" the frames a bit more (subtly)!

Over the other side of the room I have placed a comfortable rocking chair which I purchased off Gumtree for $50. The table was one I had, as is the lamp. 

The blanket is another by David Fussenegger and the cushion by designers Pony Rider (which I already had). I think this spot will be lovely for sunny Winter days when I need a quiet place to relax with bub (rather than out in the hustle and bustle of the main living area).

I've been having so much fun washing all the clothes and putting them away, ready for the arrival. Fortunately I didn't need a thing clothes wise as I had it all from Ewan and it's all still in perfect condition.

So there you have it, my non conventional baby space. I'm pleased with the results and the small amount of money I've had to spend to create it. Most of all, I had lots of fun putting it together whilst Ewan napped today. Now for the baby to come and try it out...

Ewan's Bedroom Makeover, For the Third Time!

Once again, for the third time in the last 22 months, I've had to give Ewan's room a semi makeover. Kids grow so quickly I'm realising, there's this constant requirement to evolve in some way or other!

Recently Ewan decided he didn't want to sleep in his cot any more (and was waking me in the night as a result) so after a quick trip to the local sleep shop, we had a new mattress but not a bed. The reason for this is that I'd like a really nice set of bunk beds which will be suitable for both Ewan and the new baby (when he's big enough) but after a bit of research I've realised the shops don't stock what I envisage in my head and it's possible that Roge is going to have to make me what I want (sorry honey, another job to add to the list!).

So with that in mind, but still lacking a bed (to use temporarily until bunks come into fruition), I did my usual ask around the family and search in the free classifieds. I came up with a very boring, entirely daggy but completely suitable (for now), single pipe-line bed.

The reason I wasn't entirely worried about having a less than fashionable bed (given that I tend to like nice home wares and furniture) is that I knew that the doona cover I wanted for Ewan would totally steal the show and no one would even notice the ho hum bed it was on. Yet again, I made a purchase from one of my favourite designers, Orla Kiely, a UK home wares designer and creator of the bedding I have on my own bed as well as numerous bags I own.

At approx. $100 and a 2-3 week wait for arrival from the UK, it was totally worth it in my mind. It is fun and colourful, just as a child's environment should be but not tacky or covered in children's cartoon figures (which I personally can not stand).

After a quick re shuffle of things he/we already had, Ewan's room now looks like a little boys room at a cost of $225 for the new mattress (an important investment), the bed was free, the linen was $100. It wasn't a total overhaul but still looks quite a bit different than before (baby room here and toddler set up here).

Ewan thinks he's pretty special being in a "big boy bed" now but more importantly (to me) is that he's sleeping through the night again, phew!

I'd also like to show you something which is related to this post. I originally was given this bed, a more traditional Queen Anne style set up which I could see had potential but I personally couldn't be bothered doing anything with.

I gave it away through the free classifieds and the lovely lady who picked it up sent me this "after picture" of what she had done with it for her Paris obsessed daughter. It looks fantastic and I was so chuffed that 1, she sent me a pic and 2, she had used her creativity to make such a wonderful bed for her daughter. It goes to show, you don't need a lot of money, just some love and imagination.

Attic Ladders and New Windows

Phew, what a week it's been and it's only been week one of a month of crazy at our house.

Last weekend a unit we have came up for re rental. It needed a good spruce so we've been painting, organising electricians, removing old heating, patching, cleaning to name a few things. On top of that Ewan has been sick, one of the chooks has hatched 6 chicks, I've been doing the conveyancing for my sister's new house and both Roge and I have been working our day jobs in between. Oh and did I mention we installed a new window and an attic ladder. Yep, I said crazy and I meant crazy!

Upcoming we have another rental coming vacant which means a lot more of the above. My sister is doing a mini make over on her new house before she moves in and she has enlisted our expertise (ok so I may have told her I'd do it...I am a bit of a control freak!) and Roge has to work all long weekend (here in Tassie we have Monday off), DJ-ing and helping some friends with a big festival they put on in Launceston (Breath of Life, make sure you are going if you love good tunes!)

So lets talk about my new window.

Our house, as lovely as it is, is a typical old house. It faces the wrong direction to get the best natural light and it's bugged us the whole time we've lived here. Our North side of the house has zero windows except for the one in the bathroom and whilst it gets lovely morning sun in the main living/dining/kitchen area, by afternoon it is quite dark. In Summer this isn't an issue as having the back of the house dark and cool is quite good but in Winter we have no sunlight or natural light. Therefore we waste a lot of money on heating and unnecessarily turning on the million down-lights we have.

When we moved into the house two years ago we had a split heating/cooling system installed on the North wall of the lounge room. In hindsight it was the wrong place to put it as the hot air blew over us in Winter, didn't reach the bedrooms and only made the kitchen hot. So recently we had the electrician move it to a much better position (we've already noticed the difference - in a good way) which left us with the option of putting a new window in. It's been an awesome decision and for a bargain at $560, Stegbar manufactured us a cedar window that makes the most of the Northerly light and combats all the light issues we had previously. Yay!

At the same time, because Roge was on a roll and the house was already covered in plaster dust, I suggested that Roge instal the attic ladder that we had always planned to do. Bunnings Hardware have a great range of ladders but even their cheap brand was entirely suitable for our needs and at only $299 a total bargain.

All it needs now is a bit of ceiling paint to blend it into the roof and you will barely know it's there. I can't wait to lay the flooring up in the roof and finally get some of the junk that's laying around out of the way.

All up if you're handy, an attic ladder can be installed (with the help of a friend) in a few hours. Will cost you $299 plus for 20m2 of flooring at $280 approx. That's much cheaper than buying a galvanised shed and you will be using otherwise wasted space in your ceiling. Ingenious don't you think!?

Anyhoo, no time to sit around blogging today. My preggers belly and I need to go attack a list of "to do's" before I start this weekend's jobs. Seriously, sometimes I think we are crazy, surely I should be enjoying these 31 degree days at my beach shack, not demolishing fireplaces and pulling up carpet!

Also, I will have to keep an eye on this one when the ladder is down, sneaky sausage!