Window hoods

It's been quite a while since my last post.. very slack of me!

It's really starting to feel like Autumn now.. the deciduous trees have started to turn their colour, the nights are cooler and we have been having some perfect clear sunny days.. if only it would rain! (and good rain is predicted for later this week :)

Dad has built and installed a window hood above one of the bedroom windows on the northern side of the house. It's amazing what a difference it makes to the overall look. (I think this window will be replaced with a timber one down the track.)

There's something about lines and stripes that I'm visually drawn to .. I think it's because of the uniformity and nice 'clean' look that it generally gives. 

Here's the new hood being built...

BEFORE - Here's the window 'undressed'...

AFTER - Here's the window dressed with its hood... I love it! 

Dad is also building a wider matching hood for the kitchen windows (on the left of this photo). Everything to the right of these windows will open out onto the new verandah once it is built).

Here's a photo of the roses, camellias and Japanese box today. The roses are now enjoying their autumn flush and have grown so much. Am loving being able to pick them for family and friends. 

Have a lovely week!

Painted french doors & resurrected shadow box

Painted french doors

The new french doors on the northern side of the sunroom/living room have now been painted and look really great. Dad is using old rim lock handles on the doors, which look really great. He has painted the plates black (along with the silver handles) to bring them back to life .. they look lovely and very 'fitting' for the style of house.

The new doors have really transformed this room by letting light in and freshening the space.. remembering it used to be the former kitchen in the front flat. 

The security door on the right of this image will be replaced with another fixed french door (the top of which will open as a window). 

Shadow box resurrected

The original shadow box that used to separate the former kitchen from the lounge has been resurrected (on its side) into a lovely divider between the new front door and the sunroom/living room. Dad has built another timber podium (similar to the one in the dining room) for the shadow box to sit on. 

BEFORE...

AFTER...

Long Weekend progress .. French doors

It has been a very busy afternoon with fantastic progress in only 4 hours! 

We removed the old glass louvres and security screen from the northern wall of the former front kitchen. This room will eventually become a sunroom/sitting room which will open out onto the new verandah - it has such an inviting aspect on the north western corner of the house. For now, this room is my lounge, and I'm really enjoying spending time here. 

BEFORE

So here is the exterior wall with the louvres (just after the security screen was removed). 

... and the inside view

Louvres removed...

Ready to frame up for the new doors...

Inside view...

AFTER

Doors in (just in time to lock up for the evening). Eventually these will open out onto a new verandah and be painted white.

Inside view tonight :)

Summer!

It's been a little while since I wrote my last post. It has been a lovely Christmas and is now great to be enjoying a break over the Summer holidays. 

Dismantling the old front kitchen

Dad has started dismantling the kitchen (from the former front flat) now that the new kitchen is in use. The lovely old white timber shadow box has been removed (it used to sit above the bench closest to the couch), and will be incorporated near the new front entry. The rest of the kitchen will be dismantled soon and some of it sold. This will open up the front living area with alot of space. 

Summer entertaining

It has been great to have the new dining room set up for entertaining over the holidays. It has been painted ('White Salt' - to tie in with the new kitchen) and we have laid temporary carpet until the back lounge area is complete and this lounge/dining area can be carpeted as a whole). The piece of carpet we used was from the former lounge in the back flat and was a very handy (and lucky!) fit. 

Summer in the garden

Everything is flowering and thriving in the garden (despite some incredibly hot days recently). The frangipani tree loves its new pot and position on the north Eastern corner outside the new kitchen. I have never seen it flower so much!

I also planted an olive tree today (an early Birthday present from Nikki and Tony) in a pot on the front landing. I love the grey-silver foliage of olive trees. 

First room complete!

The new kitchen is officially operating as of today. It feels so exciting to have now moved in! What a fantastic job Dad has done. 

This area of the house has always been somewhere to gravitate towards.. filled with natural light and providing a great outlook into the backyard and down the driveway to the front. It also now provides a great view of the standard roses and camellias along the northern fence and the new little white fairy lights along the back. There are summer storms rolling around tonight and it has just started raining outside. So lovely to hear the rain soaking into the lawn and gardens. 

Old kitchen.. End of an era

The kitchen that I have been using for the past 6 months (on the front north western corner) has served me very well (as it has for others before me.. especially Lorraine and Catherine). The sun floods in during winter providing so much welcome warmth. The cupboard doors and red and chrome handles are quite 'retro' and the white painted timber shelving and shadow box are lovely. Dad is going to re-use the shadow box as a detail near the new front door entry.. in fact many of the existing materials such as the beautiful old solid doors and windows will be somehow incorporated into the new house design.. very special, I think. 

New kitchen.. a fresh new era :)

Just cooked my first meal tonight in the new kitchen. I love it. There's a new home for everything and it feels so functional. It also feels very luxurious to have a dishwasher again!

Painting..

Meanwhile, the new dining room (formerly the kitchen in the back flat) is being painted at the moment... a clean, fresh white - to tie in with the kitchen. We are also looking at carpets for this room - thinking some sort of natural berber or sisal. 

Stage 2..

I will be moving into the back bathroom (south eastern corner) soon, which will leave the front bathroom area ready to start transforming as 'Stage 2' gets underway...

 

Christmas plans

We put up some little white fairy lights on the weekend. They're so cute.. dotted all along the back fence. 

The plumber also came today to hook up the gas and water in the new kitchen. Really looking forward to hosting Christmas dinner in my backyard, using the new kitchen :)

A productive weekend

We managed to get lots done this weekend which is always a rewarding feeling. 

DAD'S WORK IN THE KITCHEN IS DONE

Dad has finished everything in the kitchen now.. Splash back tiles are in, the small white mosaic tiles on the bench 'hob' have been grouted and the timber hob painted white. 

All that's left now is for the plumber to come and hook up the gas and water. Will be very exciting to start using it! ;)

'LITTLE GEM' GARDEN

I planted another 'Little Gem' (Magnolia) near the front side corner of the shed, and have surrounded it with Japanese Box to tie in with the Box planted in front of the standard roses nearby.

LAVENDER GARDEN

I also tidied the lavender along the northern side of the house. It has been growing there for many years now and should respond well to a good trim!

BEFORE...

The lavender had become really woody and each plant had grown to a different size. There was also a timber frame around some of the lavender plants, and the space to the left of the garden was grassed and a bit difficult to mow properly. 

AFTER...

The plants have all had a big trim and should hopefully thicken up into low bushes. I will fill a couple of the gaps with new plants next weekend. I also dug out the grass on the left side to make the garden bed stretch to meet the driveway, and have removed the timber garden frame to neaten things up. 

Will mulch the gardens next weekend. 

A NEW LIFE FOR OLD POTS

I had a couple of old terracotta pots which were getting pretty tired, although it didn't feel right to get rid of them altogether. So I have painted them a neutral brown-grey colour to freshen them up and tie in with the fairly neutral colours of everything else. Not sure yet where they will go or what plants they'll house, but am hoping they will look nice somewhere... will see.