Friday 5 October 2018

How the other half lives.....

As we prepare for the long awaited and much needed kitchen and bathroom renovations, I have been thrust into the world of tiles, stoves, floor coverings, benchtop colours and so on and the choice available is just overwhelming. In our forty years of marriage I have never really had to choose what type of stove or what colour cupboards etc. to buy as the CEO always picked up specials from garage sales and the cupboards were left over from a house his father built back in the 1970s :-) I am starting to feel like I have entered a different world.


 I am a bit over the whole idea of renovations at the moment and feel more excited about seeing my roses opening up like the beautiful Blue Moon above. So I have narrowed down the choices and am going with a kitchen of off white cupboards and drawers and apple green splashbacks like Wendy has in her kitchen. Check out her blog post My New Kitchen for a look-see. The bench colour is much like hers as well but mine isn't stone.





Then there is the choice of floor coverings and I was surprised to find that vinyl isn't used much these days and some kind of planks are in vogue so I was given a sample of one of them that is the closest the shop had to the colour of the old vinyl but the CEO doesn't like it so it's back to square one with that choice :-(



Then there is the bathroom which is going to be completely gutted and you would understand why if you saw it as it has been just 'added on' when this house was shifted here from a farm years ago so we believe. The rows and rows of tiles were just too much for me so I just picked one for the shower that the CEO was happy with...



...and these tiles are going to be cut to be used as a trim and I believe it will also be used as the splashback in the bathroom. Apparently I still have to pick a colour for the vanity unit and the linen cupboard so it will be something from the assortment of colours above. Actually that tile looks much nicer in real life and is quite pretty. I can just imagine how cold wall to wall tiles plus tiles on the floor are going to be in winter but I have been assured that the heater and light thingy they put in will make it warmer. I am not so sure though but I daresay I will find out next year. 

I will be glad when the renos are over and the house has been painted outside but the inside still needs painting after so long but it is all too hard to even think about at the moment. Maybe ten years down the track will do. Ooops, I will be eighty by then. LOL! 

I still have to choose a few things but I think mostly taps, a new toilet and other bits and pieces have been picked as I really can't be bothered with it anymore. I am not complaining as this wouldn't be happening without an unexpected windfall that came our way but it does feel strange to be in this situation of making choices so that colours match and so on. It definitely does feel like it is a case of 'how the other half lives'. 


Don't forget if you live in our region that the Lost Trades Fair starts tomorrow and finishes on Sunday. We have had a little rain but the sun is shining at present so I doubt it will be too wet there tomorrow although Sunday might be a better day weatherwise. It is lovely to see the rain and I hope our farmers are enjoying it too if it has reached them. 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.


21 comments:

  1. It will be lovely when it is all done. Wendy's green tiles look lovely and I am sure you will be very satisfied with the same colour. I remember when we had some kitchen reno's done in 2015 I trotted back and forwards to the shop with flooring samples a few times before I selected the one I wanted. Having a husband that doesn't wear shoes outside made it important that the flooring I chose would not hold grime - but it also had to look right. With so many choices it can be stressful trying to ensure that the right choice is made. Brace yourself for the noise. I was surprised by how loud the power tools were. Enjoy it as much as you can Chel, you certainly deserve it.

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    1. Sherri, my hubby comes inside with his dirty shoes on so I need something that is easy to clean as we have red dirt here. I will be spending a lot of time in the garden or at the library during the renos I think.

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  2. You're not going to know yourself Nanna Chel! Very fancy.

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    1. Phil, that's what the tradies keep telling me too :-)

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  3. Oh Chel! I know that tile and have admired it also. Its really lovely! I cant wait to see the end result - your going to feel like a queen in her palace!

    xx

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    1. Emma, it is a nice tile and it was the only one that really jumped out at me from amongst the hundreds of choices.

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  4. Can't wait for the big unveil, Chel. I love the colours and patterns in that tile...I think it will make a lovely splashback! Meg:)

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    1. Meg it will mke a nice splashback I think. I am not sure where the tilers will be cutting the tile for a shower trim but I am sure they will suggest something.

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  5. Oh Chel, you really made me chuckle this time. I love your casual attitude to your (very exciting) renovations instead of being super precious about it all. I really like the green kitchen tiles you've chosen, and the mixed floral ones for the bathroom are just wonderful. It's fabulous to hear that you're able to spend up a bit more than you probably usually would. Gosh, you so deserve it.

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    1. Sally, if only the renos were done twenty years ago and not when I am 70 when lots of people my age are going into those retirement places. At least the asbestos in the old bathroom will be removed so that will be nice.

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  6. Chel you aren't going to know yourself once you have your new bathroom and kitchen. I will have a new kitchen one day. Until then the early 80's one I have now will do. It is yukky but it functions. Have fun with all the renos.

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    1. Jane I hope it happens for you one day. Our benchtop is a yellow one from the 1970s. I guess it would be called retro these days :-)

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  7. I love the tile you picked for the bathroom.
    Renovations can be very stressful, but you will be so happy with your new kitchen and bathroom once all is done.

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    1. Hopefully, Nil. I will just have to spend a lot of time at the library to escape the noise during the renos. LOL!

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  8. It sounds beautiful but I know how stressful all that decision making can be, however sounds like you have just about got it sorted. I love the sound of a heated bathroom in your Winters, and if I had my way, even here in the tropics I would also have heated towel racks, just a little touch of luxury which I hope your budget might stretch to:) They can be turned off during a hot summer. Hang in there and good luck. Pauline.

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    1. I still need to pick out towel racks, Pauline. I thought I had worked everything out but forgot about them.

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  9. At least when I went looking for fit outs, for our new house, the building company was nice enough to erect mini, demo kitchens. Makes it so much easier to make a choice, than looking at endless swatches in enormous books, or pallets of only one thing. You've got to be able to see those things together, to make a choice.

    I like the neutral colour palette you're going with. Especially those ornate tiles. What about terracotta tiles, for the flooring? Or is your house on stumps? I suppose cork is out of the question, as it's normally so pricey. I've always wanted a cork floor though.

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    1. Chris, that would be great to see how the colours work together as I am a visual person and need to see it all together. So I am taking the cabinet maker's advice with the colours. He said just to use part of that coloured tile as a strip as the bathroom is very small and it would be better to keep to the neutral colours for the bathroom splashback. I haven't been shown any cork flooring. Our house is now on ugly metal stumps :-(

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  10. You will love it at the end. It's just that going through it is a tad tedious. Your house sounds a bit like ours. Right at this moment we are having a new laundry and back bathroom redone. The laundry was an add on extension to the original verandah and yeah!! The bathroom was getting to the ugh stage. Then there is the plaster dust, lol.

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    1. Brigie, there are a few add ons in this house so it is bit hotch potch. I think the ladies who work in the tile places that I visit wonder what they have struck when I tell them what it looks like. LOL! They are very concerned about everything matching which I guess is their job but it all goes over my head :-)

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  11. I feel you Chel - all those decisions would do my head in. Hope it all goes well :)

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