we moved into our new bedroom

It's bliss!

step by step: bedroom 2

I like looking back to the photos from the beginning. Like this one. I don't miss stripping wallpaper though. I wish we were already at 'before' and 'after' stage but it's not far away, so for now I'll show you what's happened upstairs step by step.


Some more painting to do, the wardrobe doors need to go on, and the floors need to be polished. But really, we're so so close now...

window shopping

I used to window shop for clothes. And shoes. Apparently something bad is happening to me because now my idea of a good Saturday afternoon is looking at furniture and adding it to my mental list of things to covet.

The benefits of this new style window shopping outweigh the disadvantages. It's cheaper than an addiction to crack cocaine or alcoholism. Rahul likes it and is concocting his own list of coveted items, which includes a tripod lamp. Yay!

PYD in Waterloo is an excellent destination if you feel like admiring things that are probably permanently out of your price range, but are incredibly lovely.

Our visit was precipitated by a need to obtain wardrobe door handles. Freak that I am I have been cutting pictures of door handles out of magazines for the last month which revealed a trend towards handles sold by Mother of Pearl and Sons. Who turn out to close at 2pm on Saturdays. And we arrived at about quarter to three. Guess where we're going this Saturday...

Exhibit did have some lovely lights to admire, and we perved on tripod lamps which apparently are the lamp de jour. I predict that we will look at so many tripod lamps over the coming months that our brains will become over-saturated with their image and we will feel like we've bought one, get sick of it, and move on.

We also stopped past the Papaya Outlet which has moved from Camperdown to 10 Flood Street, Leichhardt.
It is crammed full of decorative items that have no practical purpose. Most of which I now want. I think this desire for 'stuff' is caused by all the waiting involved in renovating. If I can't have a dining room, dammit I want some serving platters, place mats and a feature light fitting. I want an urn. And a wicker basket. Or ten. Disaster.

The sales assistant said that the stock changes over all the time so it's probably worth visiting every month or so to see what's around, advice which holds true for all forms of outlet shopping.

the man cave

I was a bit intimidated by the steep stairs leading up to our attic (aka 'the man cave'.) This morning when I left for work there were no stairs, just a hole in the ceiling from the second bedroom. I get home and there's a staircase. Super cool.

If you ever come to visit and you are allowed entry to the man cave here's a tip. Don't look down.
It's so big up there. I love it. Today I finally feel like it's all coming together and that these months of living in putrid dust and grime will be worth it.


And now for a quick look at where we're up to.

Updated Bedroom 'To Do' List

Have doors installed
Electrician to finish wiring
Gyprocker to do put up walls, cornices and ceiling
Choose wooden floorboards
Have existing floors removed
Have new floorboards layed and polished (rescheduled 10 May)
Choose lights
Have lights attached to wires
Design wardrobe
Order wardrobe
Install wardrobe
Choose skirting boards and architraves
Attach skirting boards and architraves (rescheduled 6 and 7 May)
Paint walls, ceilings, skirting boards, architraves and windows (now 50% done, tbc 8 May)
Wardrobe doors and doorknobs attached (mystery time frame)