Nine years in our first house, here's what it looked like before we moved out:
Outside
Kitchen & Dining
Living
Main Bedroom
Bedrooms
Bathroom
Click here to see the before photos (there's a massive change to pretty much every room!)
Showing posts with label house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label house. Show all posts
05 October 2019
30 September 2011
More Bedroom Renovations
Just over a year after moving in to our house, we can finally sleep in the main bedroom! Owen and I had decided to make a few changes to the room as soon as we had the keys in our hands, but a few delays meant that everything took a lot longer than we were hoping. Owen did pretty much all of the work, with a bit of help from friends, family, and me. Things we did:
Some of my inspiration for the finished room:
And the list of what I want to get sorted over the next few weeks:
- Removed the wallpaper (which had been painted over)
- Took out the old plaster board, wardrobe door, trim and skirting boards
- Installed some insulation
- Put up new plaster board on the ceiling and walls
- Had a builder friend put in a cavity sliding door for the wardrobe
- Had an electrician friend install an extra light switch and power point
- Plastered and sanded (Owen swore this was the first and last time he'd be doing it!)
- Painted the ceiling plain white and the walls half spanish white
- Put new trim around the door and windows then painted it
Some of my inspiration for the finished room:
And the list of what I want to get sorted over the next few weeks:
- Finish restoring the chest of drawers (Owen's in the middle of this)
- Buy a full length mirror
- Frame some photos for above the bed
- Get a new light fitting that we both like (we have quite different tastes, so this might take a while!)
- Buy some artwork or a small mirror to hang above the dresser
- Make a quilt (this would be my first attempt)
- Buy some plants
20 July 2011
Bedroom Renovations
When we moved in to our house last September Owen and I decided that our first project was going to be repainting the largest bedroom. The walls had been painted yellow and blue:
And I was so impatient to change them we started stripping the wallpaper within ten minutes of getting the keys to the house (hence the bare wall by the window!). We were planning to patch up any damage to the wall and repaint, hoping that the room would be ready to move in to after a few weeks. But then this happened:
Since the walls weren't in the best condition we thought it would be a good opportunity to replace the plasterboard and add some insulation. But once the walls were taken down some new problems emerged: uneven rafters and a sagging ceiling. Once we realised what a big and expensive project we had undertaken things stalled, and the room stayed like this for months.
Recently Owen decided to finally finish the room, so within the last few weeks he's evened out the rafters, rounded up some friends to help replace the ceiling, and last weekend we installed the insulation.
With all the progress we were on a bit of a roll, and managed to get the new plasterboard up as well. The next job is plastering all the joins, and then we'll finally be ready to paint!
The only thing holding us back now is earthquake related. Our house didn't suffer any major damage but it's settled a bit, which means the whole place will probably need to be lifted so the foundations can be fixed. When the house is lifted the existing cracks will most likely be made worse and new ones might be created, so finishing the bedroom now may mean patching and repainting again in a few of months.
Out latest plan is to finish the plastering, see if either of our parents have paint leftover from their recent renovations, and do a couple of coats of whatever paint we end up with. Once the foundations have been fixed and the house is sorted we'll buy some paint and redo it properly. This means that hopefully we'll be able to move in to the bedroom in a few weeks, even if we have to wait a little longer to finish it completely. I can't wait!
And I was so impatient to change them we started stripping the wallpaper within ten minutes of getting the keys to the house (hence the bare wall by the window!). We were planning to patch up any damage to the wall and repaint, hoping that the room would be ready to move in to after a few weeks. But then this happened:
Since the walls weren't in the best condition we thought it would be a good opportunity to replace the plasterboard and add some insulation. But once the walls were taken down some new problems emerged: uneven rafters and a sagging ceiling. Once we realised what a big and expensive project we had undertaken things stalled, and the room stayed like this for months.
Recently Owen decided to finally finish the room, so within the last few weeks he's evened out the rafters, rounded up some friends to help replace the ceiling, and last weekend we installed the insulation.
With all the progress we were on a bit of a roll, and managed to get the new plasterboard up as well. The next job is plastering all the joins, and then we'll finally be ready to paint!
The only thing holding us back now is earthquake related. Our house didn't suffer any major damage but it's settled a bit, which means the whole place will probably need to be lifted so the foundations can be fixed. When the house is lifted the existing cracks will most likely be made worse and new ones might be created, so finishing the bedroom now may mean patching and repainting again in a few of months.
Out latest plan is to finish the plastering, see if either of our parents have paint leftover from their recent renovations, and do a couple of coats of whatever paint we end up with. Once the foundations have been fixed and the house is sorted we'll buy some paint and redo it properly. This means that hopefully we'll be able to move in to the bedroom in a few weeks, even if we have to wait a little longer to finish it completely. I can't wait!
27 December 2010
House: Starting Point
Planning a wedding meant that a lot of other projects have been neglected over the last few months, one of which is renovations of our new house. This is going to be a long term project but we've already made a start and I want to keep track of our progress.
The first step is to share some before photos, hopefully the after photos will begin soon!
Main Entrance into Kitchen
Due to a change of the layout from previous owners, the open-plan kitchen and dining room is the entrance to the house. This gives us more motivation to keep it clean (I love the dishwasher!) and also motivation to make a few changes to so it's more inviting.
Lounge
With neutral walls and carpet, the lounge is probably the last room that needs big changes. New curtains are on the cards though!
Main Bedroom
Our first project. There was no way I could live with the blue and yellow walls, and you can see in the photo below that we starting peeling wallpaper the day we moved in!
Other Bedrooms
Judging by the colour and decorating choices of the previous owners, the two other bedrooms were intended for children. Now we'll be transforming them to a guest room and a situation room (we got this term from a bad movie and immediately adopted it - I think "situation room" sounds way more exciting than "office").
Bathroom
We have lots of plans for updating the bathroom. As long as we keep a full sized bath I'll be happy!
The first step is to share some before photos, hopefully the after photos will begin soon!
Main Entrance into Kitchen
Due to a change of the layout from previous owners, the open-plan kitchen and dining room is the entrance to the house. This gives us more motivation to keep it clean (I love the dishwasher!) and also motivation to make a few changes to so it's more inviting.
Lounge
With neutral walls and carpet, the lounge is probably the last room that needs big changes. New curtains are on the cards though!
Main Bedroom
Our first project. There was no way I could live with the blue and yellow walls, and you can see in the photo below that we starting peeling wallpaper the day we moved in!
Other Bedrooms
Judging by the colour and decorating choices of the previous owners, the two other bedrooms were intended for children. Now we'll be transforming them to a guest room and a situation room (we got this term from a bad movie and immediately adopted it - I think "situation room" sounds way more exciting than "office").
Bathroom
We have lots of plans for updating the bathroom. As long as we keep a full sized bath I'll be happy!
01 August 2010
Big House-Shaped News
As of last Friday Owen & I are officially home owners! After a couple of months of house hunting we found a house we loved, made an offer which was luckily accepted, went through all the legal hoops, and last week the contract was confirmed!
We won't be moving in for a couple more months, which gives us time to sort out a few details but also means that it doesn't really feel like we've bought a house. It's strange to think that there's still another family living there at the moment!
There isn't really any work that needs to be done on the place so there won't be any stunning home makeover photos, but as we get settled in and do a bit of decorating I'll post a few before & after shots.
At the moment I'm making plans and lists (naturally), and looking at interior design websites with renewed interest. Do you have any suggestions or favourites to recommend?
We won't be moving in for a couple more months, which gives us time to sort out a few details but also means that it doesn't really feel like we've bought a house. It's strange to think that there's still another family living there at the moment!
There isn't really any work that needs to be done on the place so there won't be any stunning home makeover photos, but as we get settled in and do a bit of decorating I'll post a few before & after shots.
At the moment I'm making plans and lists (naturally), and looking at interior design websites with renewed interest. Do you have any suggestions or favourites to recommend?
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