Welcome 2019! The year started off with chaos at home, with hubby being on leave for 4 weeks as well as the children being at on holidays for 5 weeks, the house has been a constant buzz of activity! We did get some things done, not nearly what I'd had in mind for hubby's time here, but as long as we keep the goal in sight, we'll get there!
Last year we did a major reno that started the day the boys went back to school in January and ended in May! We had builders come in a demolish the wall between our living room and kitchen and rebuild the hallway entrance and brick up the original kitchen door, and break out the wall between what was a detached toilet and the pantry. We did pretty much everything else ourselves, from tiling to cabinets, wallpaper and electrical!
The pantry door is now the entrance to my scullery, it had two smaller windows (one for the toilet and one in the pantry) which were replaced by a slightly larger window which over looks the backyard, my fig and pomegranate trees are right beside the house. I can't imagine anyone actually enjoying dishes, but I must say, this is the favorite part of our reno as I get to stand in a fresh breeze and listen to the birds sing whilst I get the job done.
We also did up Bella's room, a project that makes my heart so very happy! I get to have my Oumie Daisy's (my dad's aunt) armchair in my home to sit and read bedtime stories to my sweet daughter and I get to see my Ouma's (my mom's mom) bedroom linen in use!
This year we have quite a lot on our plates, I must admit, I'm worried about how we are going to get it all done!
BUT, it must be done! For the sake of our family's comfort; here's why. When we broke through the toilet in the back of the house, we had to put in into the only bathroom we have (which is tiny! only housing a bath and basin) and so we had to remove the basin to get the toilet in. Now we brush our teeth over the bath! it's been a year! We need to fix our bathroom! Here's some inspiration I've gathered and have started to gather. I've got the hexagonal floor tiles that went on sale at Tile Africa last year, the freestanding bath off FB Marketplace, the ornate gold mirror I got for an absolute steal and some fixtures that came with the bath. We still need a basin and to build the ladder, sliding door and basin vanity unit. It's very exciting! I can't wait to paint that mural, which will be seen in the reflection of the mirror.
The colors will be wood, white and grey. I love exposed pipes and the shine in the mural is a must for me! The idea of the bath being a focal on the feature wall excites me and I can't wait to see it all come together!
The other important project we need to undertake is moving our two older boys, currently camping in their sister's pretty pink bedroom whilst she still bunks with mom and dad, into their own room!
We live in a three bedroom house and have outgrown it, no doubt! But fortunately the house can with a sunroom on the back which although I've dreamed of tiling in in checker pattern and filling it with plants and a cosy reading chaise and small cafe table and chairs; it is to become a double en suit for the boys! What makes this project a huge undertaking and a bit of a headache is that one would walk through the en suit to enter the room, logistically, it's the only way we can achieve our goals (of finishing the project at all!) as we have no budget for builders and will be doing the bathroom plumbing and building ourselves.
The test run for the building was me getting hubby to utilize the random bricks from our demo last year and build my water feature wall. I'm very impressed with the results considering he'd never mixed cement before, never mind laying bricks!
The plan is to build storage beds and put them against the only wall in the room (the other three are windows!) The wall which is painted face brick will be repainted deep blue and the white washed pine paneling reused to cover the lower sections of the window walls for safety purposes.
I'll keep a neutral, boy friendly color palette that will work with both their likes which we will limit to vintage themed framed prints. We'll be making them flap down desks which will double as headboards and I'll be making my own roman blinds out of denim for the many, many windows. We're redoing the ceiling as well and plan on leaving the beams exposed.
Those are the two large projects for this year! Smaller projects include relaying our hallway parquet into a herringbone pattern and sanding and re varnishing along with Belle's room which has not been done yet, nor has it got skirting in yet.
We need to build the pond section for the water feature and put in the second garden bed to flank the walkway which leads from the front door to the water feature. I'd like to plant hedging, Duranta gold is what I has in mind as suggested by Ramona from Ruffles and Rust to bring in a different shade of green to my Iceberg Roses and Agapantha. I also want to plant a pink Bougainvillea along the front wall.
We also have a playhouse for Bella which needs to go up and required quite a lot of work, it's a steel wendy, about 2x2m which needs to have the rust sanded off, retreated and have a floor and inner wall panels put in to conceal the framework. The place in the garden I have in mind for this large playhouse requires some work as well, we need to chop a step and level etc. So this won't be a weekend job. It's be adorable when it's done though! My head is brimming with ideas!
I also have six 3m gumpoles I got at a good price last year which I want to build a pergola with, the question at the moment is where!
I have to keep telling myself; one project at a time!
Stay tuned though, I promise we'll get them done and I'll have stunning photo's to prove it and tell you how we did it!
Looking for more inspiration? visit the ladies from Romancing the Home to see what they have planned! Welcome Kylie from Our Unique Home! Ruffles and Rust / Sawdust and Highheels