Retail Therapy

Shopping on the 'Net' is the quickest and most convenient way of finding that particular item, which you're either in need of, or would just like to have. It could be that you simply enjoy retail therapy now and again.

The ability to do this on your home computer is amazing and it's astonishing how far we have come in this ever growing electronic world we live in. I love to shop, but I also like having the choice of whether to go to the mall or have a cup of coffee whilst I browse on my laptop.  What I love the most is a bargain!

Whilst renovating our home, Internet shopping has been invaluable to me - it's been very handy to look around at my leisure, day or night for that special something or an item I need and have no idea where I'm going to get it. As well as looking for renovation materials and accessories, I love to shop in general, from clothes to books.

I don't think that on-line shopping is lazy, I think it's innovative and  gives me choice and an alternative way to shop.

Most importantly - we get the chance to shop around for a good offer! and the best deals are always on-line.

http://www.victoriasonlinemall.com

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Retreat, Slumber & Relax

Another room finished and further up the renovation hill we climb. Our bedroom and bathroom is complete and ready for us to enjoy and slumber. We've gained back our privacy after sleeping in the lounge for weeks and now we can relax for a while until the next project begins in a couple of months time.

My husband has done exceptionally well with the building work and I am pleased with the atmosphere we have created. The room radiates with the peace and harmony I wanted to achieve.

The lath and plaster walls were already plaster boarded, which saves time and money. They'd been papered a couple of times and then painted yellow. The paper was therefore stripped and the residue was removed using a sponge and water. All imperfections were filled in and rubbed down. The corner wall joints were prepared with builders joining tape for a better finish and then plastered and sanded down until smooth. A 'miss' coat of emulsion was painted on to the walls. Any further imperfections from the prep then showed up and were re-plastered and sanded ready for the first top coat of colour.

The original doorway from the bedroom in to the bathroom was blocked up and moved to the right for optimum space in both areas.

After

We had changed our plans a few times. We considered a walk-in-robe from the bedroom in to the bathroom, but it would have reduced the bathroom floor space dramatically.

 We opted to spruce up the existing built in wardrobes, decorating the inside in coordination with the bedroom and I drew up a plan for the inside storage to gain maximum usage for both of us. The original doors were discarded and my husband made new doors using MDF and added decorative beading, paint and new handles. The wardrobes were transformed.

I wanted to completely move away from all typical bedroom colours that we'd had over the years. Fortunately the carpet was in good condition and just needed cleaning to freshen it up, so that saved money having no flooring in the boudoir to replace. I handmade roman blinds, contrasting the colour scheme. The material has a shiny sheen with a subtle white pattern throughout. They complement the bedroom well and I finished them off with heritage brass blind pulleys. 

The brass chandelier compliments the colour of the room and is also complimentary to its other brass counterparts: the blind pulleys, door handles and door hooks. They are also heritage and to add to the old style, an Edwardian mounted light switch is fitted to complete the look. I purchased the chandelier second hand, which in turn saves money. Dressing the bed is an important factor and I have a couple of different looks with colours to pick out different aspects of the room. A change on the bed is good so that boredom doesn't set in. The duck egg blue cushion was a gift and this colour goes lovely with the colour scheme, which I have also continued through in to the bathroom with towels and pottery.

 Bathroom design is just as personal as a bedroom, whether to have a shower or a bath? There's plenty to think about. We had a decent space to work with after knocking down the wall that housed a separate toilet. We wanted optimum space and although we could have squeezed in a bath it would have been squashed, therefore we fitted a corner shower, a good sized vanity unit and a new toilet. This left more than adequate space and also we added a piece of our bedroom furniture. 

I'm guessing that the en-suite was originally created and fitted in the 80's and comprised of a seperate toilet, a curtained shower with a stainless steel tray and a vanity unit. It was well used and tired.

The picture on the left shows the toilet wall coming down. Below is the bathroom door that lead to the hall way, which we decided to block up and just have access via the bedroom. This also maximized the area and freed up space.

I'm delighted with the space and new fixtures. It's spacious and it is a vast improvement. We purchased the shower from the internet, which was much cheaper than in store. The vanity unit is a good size and we have actually used the mirror from the old bathroom. Two extractor units are in place to keep moisture out - very important with old houses. There's one above the shower and one in the ceiling that is also a combined heater and light.

Finished off with some stylish accessories that bring it all together with warmth and personal taste. Sufficient storage, towel rails and space to move around.

 With a second project now complete, and probably the largest to come with the exterior of the house, it's always a learning curve and renovation on a budget takes planning. My project book is beginning to look very active now.

Renovations Underway Part II

I previously wrote about the prepping and decoration of our first project, including photographs.

I am not an experienced or qualified builder nor am I a qualified interior designer. In fact it's my husband who works in construction and can turn his hand to most things in building, from carpentry and plastering to fitting kitchens. And we've shared our life together for the past nineteen years, therefore I've partly grown up in a construction world - from running our own business together specializing in suspended ceilings, partitioning and office refurbishment - to renovating a house a long time ago.

I have managed to pick up some knowledge along the way. However, my passion, determination and frugality mixed with my husband's extensive career makes a good combination to take on the project. And let's not forget an abundance of patience! or get carried away in my optimism - it's only room one!

I will give most things ago and if I fail, then I'm happy (mostly) with knowing I've tried. Therefore, I don't believe I need a diploma in Interior Design to create a home.


 Before
This is the bedroom when we first took possession, which my daughter had to sleep in for a couple of weeks until we settled in ...moved her out and started the renovation.

After

This is the room now complete. She had an input on the kind of room she would like - "I'd like it to be more grown up - my dream room - and purple!"

Furniture

The only item of furniture that is new in the bedroom is the bunk beds, which were bought locally and are New Zealand made. The wardrobe and chest of drawers are pretty old, but suffice at the moment. Designing a room for a pre-teen is a little tricky, so it's best to be frugal in the furniture department because in a few years time it will all probably change! New handles can give furniture a new look at a reasonable cost and this is exactly what I did on the wardrobe, but unfortunately the supplier has let me down and I haven't received the handles for the chest of drawers.

A long mirror and some grown-up wall art creatives a little dressing area all of her own. And somewhere to hang all those little bags - wrought iron chicken coat hooks to add a subtle essence of our farm style surroundings.








Restoring furniture

Giving old pieces of furniture a 'spruce' up is definitely worthwhile and cost effective. The desk in this bedroom has had exactly that, and serves its purpose and it's an item of furniture we've owned for over ten years. It used to be a computer table, but with some parts taken off and a good detailed sand down, new handles and three coats of varnish it's a new desk to be enjoyed.

A pin board is a great idea for pinning up favourite animals or pop stars and shelves are essential to store books and personal objects. The shelves have been measured and cut from a sheet of pine - sanded down and given a couple of coats of varnish. The brackets have been bought from a local hardware store.


Window Dressing

I find apparel quite difficult to decide on - the colour - the pattern and so forth, as it's going to adorn the window for quite some time. However, I did decide to make a roman blind myself. They're cheaper to make than curtains as they require less fabric and I felt that a blind would suit the position of the window best as it is situated so close to the wall. It was experimental - as it's my first one and I also wanted to find out how economical I could make it. I used dress fabric, which you're not really supposed to do, but it's less than half the price of drape fabric. I did purchase the lining at no cost difference as the backing had to be right. Because of the fabric I used I couldn't get the required width, therefore I opted for a border to overcome this. I then referred to my 'how to' book and my sewing friend's advice of: measure twice, cut once! The total cost of the blind, including all materials worked out at $106 NZD


Accessories

Is a room complete with out accessories? Of course it isn't - it's the final touches that bring it all together, whether it's a few scatter cushions or an ornate lamp. You can plan and shop for the room's accompaniments before or during the refurbishment. These last components don't have to cost the earth if you shop around - online stores and local shops, they all have sales. I check into Internet sites on a weekly basis looking for their weekly sales - searching for accessories that would suit the room and also what our daughter would like. She chose a few herself too.

© Victoria Clements 2011

Renovations Underway

Situated amongst a rural setting in a desirable Canterbury location... our renovation adventure begins with the first room. The time has come to bestow tender loving care upon an old kiwi homestead, which was built in the late 18th century. It could have been an early settlers home, steeped in history and times gone by are buried in the heart of this character home. It's worthy of preservation.

This bedroom awaits a transformation in to a haven for a little girl who's at the stage in her life where she still wants to play with dolls and toys, but she also likes to be grown up and have her own space to do 'whatever'.

The walls had been papered four times with the final layer painted lime green as show in the picture.

The door and architrave, skirting board and sash window were painted blue with layers of white paint underneath. The carpet had seen better days to say the least and didn't have any underlay.




Preparation

Stripping any room for decoration is painstaking yet vital. It's the 'prep' that requires attention to detail, whether you are going to wall paper or paint. The walls in this room (and any old property) were fragile and re-plastering was inevitable.

To remove wall paper it is worthwhile investing in a competent steamer, which will soak the paper thoroughly and allow you to scrape if off much quicker. Always use caution when using anything hot and electrical and read the instructions before you use it. The same applies to stripping paint off woodwork - a heat gun is an effective tool and you must also use this with caution, read instructions and wear a face mask as the heat of the paint will emit unpleasant fumes.

Interior Walls

A quick and simple way to achieve perfect walls is to (GIB) plasterboard them. This room in particular had one wall already done, which meant that a steamer was not appropriate to strip the paper as it would soak the plasterboard too much. A wet sponge was used instead. We chose to plasterboard the wall beside the door as it completely came away during preparation and the lathe and plaster was exposed. We decided not to plasterboard two of the remaining walls as the boards would be sitting on top of the skirting board. To avoid this you'd need to re-fit the skirting. It's personal preference. Therefore, two of the walls were re-plastered.

Wall Preparation:

1. Strip wall paper using a steamer or sponge and water and a good scraper.
2. Sand walls to give an even clean area using an electric sander.
3. Re-stop (re-plaster), joints on existing plasterboard. Sand down.
4. Apply a 'prep' coat of emulsion in your chosen colour. This allows you to see all the imperfections that require further plastering.
5. Sand down any re-plastered areas.
6. Emulsion all areas. Two coats or more are recommended for a good finish.

 The Woodwork

If you're not replacing it - try to preserve it the best that you can. The door, architrave and skirting boards required a lot of attention in this room as they had been painted with a dark colour. We chose to strip them and paint them white. The side of the door in the bedroom, we stripped and painted white and the outside back to its natural wood. For best results use a heat gun, but be careful - you don't want all the wood burnt. Take it easy and read the instructions. Keep the gun at a reasonable distance from the area you're doing and when it begins to bubble scrape the paint away. Try to get in to a 'flow' as you go! and wear a face mask as much as you can. Keep little tools at hand to scrape the nooks and crannies!

You can't always get wood this old back to looking like new and there will be areas that are tougher than others - sometimes the paint glides off and other times it doesn't. Paint strippers can be used as well, but obviously not at the same time as the heat method.

When all the wood is stripped back it will need a good sand with an electric sander and even a detailed sander to get in to the more intricate areas (a piece of sandpaper folded does just the same job). Go down in grades with sandpaper from coarse to medium etc. Note: If borer is evident you may want to treat it before you move on.

Apply a prep coat and then you can see imperfections that require filling with wood filler. Once all the wood is prepped, apply at least three coats of paint. If you're leaving anything unpainted and prefer natural wood you can use a stain or a varnish.

The Ceiling had been lowered at some stage using  plasterboard and was unfortunately papered. Therefore, it required the laborious job of using the wet sponge method to scrape it off, followed by three coats of paint.

The sash window needed fixing. A new sash cord and catch. Stripped and painted in the same manner as the skirting board and door.

The door required a lot of work - heat stripping, paint stripping, scraping and a vast amount of sanding, new hinges and a new door handle.

Lighting was simple enough, nothing to sand or paint! Just a difficult decision for our daughter to make whilst perusing different lights - with a price limit!


Flooring consists of a short pile carpet and underlay. Materials included a door bar and gripper rods. This carpet was purchased at low cost as it was a factory second. Colour - silvery grey.



© Victoria Clements 2011

Next blog ...coming soon: Accessories, window dressing, furniture and the completed bedroom.

Renovating

The first transformation of any renovation in your home is very exciting and when it's finished it gives you a clearer view of how your home could look and feel when every room is finished. Whether it's going to take one year or five years to accomplish this, it gives hope and encouragement when you have done the first room. It also gives a good insight financially.

Project planning is vital for your budget and to document ideas, materials, measurements and plenty of lists! You can set up a plan on a computer, using just a simple word document, but if you want to be able to stick in your ideas that you may have cut out of magazines for instance, then a project book would be the best option. They can be purchased at stationery stores and choose carefully, you need at least one hundred or more pages. Alternatively, you could use a ring binder and plastic sleeves, what ever suits your needs.

I prefer to hand write everything and my book consists of pages, which includes:

• A list of all immediate jobs that the house requires, for example: Insulation, chimney re-pointing, clear guttering, service heating, repair windows etc....
• Another list of  jobs, which are not as urgent.
• Costings for all works and materials.
• Several pages per room for the 'before and after' photos (you don't want to leave these out), colour schemes, ideas, planning, material lists and details of labour, whether you're doing the work yourself or have contracted a registered builder to do the work. 
• An index of the pages - for a quick reference as the book begins to fill up.

Magazines can be costly to buy - however, you don't need many of them to be able to put together ideas for colour schemes, furniture or lighting. Cut out what appeals to you and stick it in your project book.  This can be a wonderful way to give you inspiration. Alternatively, you can search the Internet and print out anything of interest.

Colour Charts are free from DIY stores and you can cut out the colours that you like and stick them in to your book. If you're going to need sample paint pots, they will probably have to be paid for: check with your DIY store for prices.

Do the work yourself? or Sub-contract in a professional?

If you can do a lot of the work yourself it will save a lot of money - electrics and plumbing however, are best left to the professionals. If you're in the 'know' and are capable of tackling most jobs in your renovation then that's the best option. If do-it-yourself is not in your vocabulary then seek out a good builder, painter and carpenter or some one who can do everything! If there is no-one who comes highly recommended to you, make sure you obtain references from your chosen contractor and always get three separate quotes. Always use a registered trades person.

Quotation of works are imperative and insist on a complete breakdown of costs, so that you can see exactly where your money is going. A breakdown should consist of all materials and labour for one job at a time. The invoice should contain exactly the same information: there shouldn't be any hidden surprises when it's time to pay. Some trades people will require a deposit before works commence or interim payments depending how large the project is. If it's not in the quote, then you're not paying for it. If any extra work arises during the job, ask them for another written quote, which includes the extra work.

Shop around for materials and don't just rely on your local store. Look out for special deals and discounts. And if you know any trades people who could get materials for you, then they can most likely get them at trade cost, which could save you money. You will not know this, if you don't ask them. Any leaflets that come through your door or are left in your mailbox advertising drapes, blinds, bedding - the list is endless, keep them, you never know when you might want to refer to them at a later date.

Your existing furniture may be looking a bit drab and worn, but it's not difficult to bring them back to life and give them a new look. Whether it's sanding down wooden furniture and giving them a fresh coat of varnish or just changing the handles, it's amazing how different they can be with a 'spruce-up' without spending money on new items to furnish your home. Grandma's table that she kindly gave you, could look amazing with some creativity! The same applies to curtains or blinds, if you're a capable sewer then have a go at making your own window dressings and shop around for fabric. Take a book out of the library with step-by-step guides to help you.


Renovation takes time with an abundance of patience - from the building work to the interior design - if it's a passion you have to achieve your dream home, the time it will take will be insignificant to the excellence and satisfaction you will gain.

 

© Victoria Clements 2011