Last Lazy Days ……..

Hi Vintage Lovers,

 

Hope you are having a lovely weekend and enjoying celebrating Australia Day.
I am still in holiday mode here but the slow summer days are coming to an end as the kidlets go back to school tomorrow. Once tomorrow ticks over the crazy busy year will start ....... so I am making the most of having a lazy day at home today. J

My sunflowers have loved all this rain we have been having.

We really haven't had summer so to speak of yet here, really strange weather.......we have gone from a few really very hot days in early January (I did lose a few plants and others were quite badly burnt) to drenching rain with chilly days and nights. We have all been rugging up with rugs over us at night !!!! Not that I mind, I am not really a summer person, much prefer the cooler weather. We have had lots of rain which the garden has loved and it has been lovely not to rush around watering every night ....... one less job to do !!!!!!!!

 So, next week ........ I am planning to get back out into the garden to get some overdue jobs done, as well as to start demolishing the rest of the front rooms (our electrician came last week to disconnect the wiring) and I also have a new project on the go. It is under wraps at the moment, but I will keep you posted.

J

Mel xx
 

 

 

To live with a little less......

Hi Vintage Lovers,

In a few weeks it will be the two year anniversary of us owning our Old Lady. Where has that time gone ???? We are still smitten over her and wouldn't part with her for anything. We are no where close to finishing (we certainly didn't plan to do it all at once and that's part of the fun of it !!!!), but our lady has come a long way and we are loving every minute of it !!!

Since the very start our project has had its critiques, always wondering why we bought a little stone cottage in the first place with all this work and money to be spent on her, when we would be extending on the back of the house, put built -ins and walls to create more bedrooms, where our modern kitchen was with microwave and dishwasher, how we were going have time for the renovations with three kids, and the rest !!!
 But to be completely honest with you guys I haven't found any of these things to be an issue. Yes, our house is a little smaller than most, but not small enough that we really notice it. It's only when others ask that I think of it. Less rooms is a big advantage when it comes to cleaning and I hate cleaning !!!! Our old lady will always be a 3 bedroom cottage (so the girls will always share). Cottage's are not meant to be huge.  At the moment she is a two bedroom cottage as we have moved out of the front rooms, but certainly not cramped at all. There is a grand master plan for the back area and we are planning to put in a hallway and make the back family room our bedroom ....... eventually.

When we first moved in, after we had redone the kitchen, we decided to leave the microwave out in the laundry, since we hardly used it at all and it was just taking up valuable bench space. We have also managed fine without a dishwasher (it turns out that - contrary to popular belief - it isn't a life-changing appliance to have!). When we do end up getting one, it will be housed out in the laundry, along with the microwave. I am not finding it that hard to live without an abundance of modern appliances at all, what you don't have you don't really miss.

I have found that its actually kind of fun to downsize and live with less stuff, because you really notice what you need and what you don't. I got rid of so many unnecessary items and things I just didn't absolutely love when we first moved, and it makes keeping the house tidy now so much easier.

So there is my thought for the day......... It is much simpler than you think to live with a little less.
Mel xx
 

 

The Front Rooms

 

Hi Vintage Lovers,

 

Over the Christmas and New Year break we had a chance to start looking at and planning the renovations for the front rooms of our Old Lady.
 We were using the rooms as our bedroom and a music/sitting room, which the front door opened into.
The photos don't do the area justice ........ it is quite a large area, 8 metres by 4 metres with 12 foot ceilings.

This photo was taken just before we moved into our Old Lady (I haven't taken one since then !?!)

 

We have decided to completely gut the room or two rooms as it is right now and start over again. Previous owners of our Old Lady put in a stud wall to create two rooms rather than have one main living area up the front of our cottage. We have decided to return the front rooms to one main front to retain the original detail and character.

It will be our sitting and music rooms ......... eventually.

 

We moved out of the rooms and have started some of the removal of old skirting boards and built - in bookcases over the break.

 

We now need to get the electrician in to disconnect the wiring, which will be in the next few weeks .......then we can finish the demolition of the other built-in bookcase and stud wall.
 

 

Now this is what we discovered under the built-in bookcase we have removed already (as well as under the stud wall ) and we are certain this is what we will find under the bookcase yet to be taken out !!!!

So, needless to say we will need to replace the timber flooring in the area.

 

This fireplace is not the original one ....... so this is coming out also, as it is too big and dominates the room and is not well constructed either.

The original room had fireplaces up each end, but both were taken out by previous owners and have just left the chimneys on the roof for cosmetic value. So .......... Once the fireplace, stud wall and other bookcase is removed we will decide what the area needs and work out if it is feasible to re-construct the fireplaces in the original way.

I am certainly crossing my fingers and toes that this can happen, you know how I like to restore (as much as possible) to what it would have been when our Old Lady was first built. J

Mel xx