“There’s always room for ‘home’ improvement”.

22 Apr

Why didn’t anyone tell me renovations would create such a difficult stage in our lives!!!

Just kidding. I have been told many times. Although going through this process myself is something else.

For the last 4 weeks we have had some pretty major structural work done to our kitchen/lounge/dining area. We have drastically opened up the floorplan to allow for a much more livable and functional space.

For us, the stress hasn’t come so much from the actual building work, dealing with the builder, trades (who are lovely and extremely good at what they do!), or decisions that have to be made, but more from the perspective of disrupting the normal family day to day life and living in other peoples’ homes, while the dust settles. Albeit extremely generous for each of them to have us, and how grateful we are to have somewhere to live. (It may also have something to do with having a two year old who has well and truly hit the Terrible Two’s.)

I have always been a homebody, but it has made me appreciate home and my sanctuary even more. Once its all finished, I may never leave!!

All that aside, I am beyond thrilled to see our ‘new’ home coming together. Alby (the two year old) and I have finally moved back and the end is in sight.

To give you a little project summary, here is the breakdown;

Requirements/Brief

Open plan family living with a relaxed coastal feel
Raw timber, aged brass, neutrals; embrace the age & current style of the home
Longevity for our young family to grow and run amok
Abundant natural light
Functional lighting plan across the multiple spaces

The Work

Structural walls were removed and 3 larger than life steel beams were erected to keep our duplex neighbours upstairs from ‘moving in’.
The laundry has been reduced in size to give us additional space in the dining area. A new gyprock wall has been erected and we are installing a sliding cavity door with glass panels between the rooms.
Tall Timber Louvered windows are replacing our laundry door, which will look out to the deck.
Our very old and broken timber double hung windows in the kitchen are also being replaced with timber louvered windows.
Timber/glass Bi-fold doors are being installed, leading from the lounge to the deck.
New timber flooring has been laid to fill the gaps where the walls were removed, and all will be sanded and varnished.
Our electrician has worked his magic and we now have multiple down lights throughout the space. This will make a huge difference in itself considering we only had 3 ceiling lights to begin with.
Our electric awning was broken (and actually could not be used in the rain or wind), so we have installed a new retractable awning that can withstand the elements and still retracts. It is something else! It really is a whole new living space, especially when summer arrives and the Northerly sunshine.

Next week is BIG and hopefully the end to the major works.

Follow along on Instagram and I will share the progress and end result!!! …

AND then it will be time for the final decoration & styling elements!!!!

One piece we have purchased is the timber island bench from Provincial Living. It has lockable wheels and is truly multi-functional. We will use it as a preparation bench and our dining table. It also allows me to move the bench to a position I can watch Alby in the backyard. This was one of the most important factors to the whole renovation and the functionality of our home and living with a young family.

The Team - Builders, Suppliers & Trades