waterproofing

The bathrooms are finally starting to take shape. In the upstairs bathroom the frame for the bath has been built and yesterday we had the waterproofer here for about 10 hours.

You can finally see things take shape because them waterproofing provides a kind of outline of where the showers will go. The downstairs bathroom, whilst not as big as the one upstairs, is looking pretty good too.
Back at the ranch (i.e. UPSTAIRS) I'm continuing to play house and make things pretty. We're both very obsessed with our new Christmas tree...

And finally, I'm learning that a pretty bunch of flowers can do a lot to soothe renovation woes.

wires, pipes and walls

Busy times. The red laser beam in the picture below is just about the coolest thing ever. How did people get level ceilings before the invention of the laser?
I love the immediate visual changes that come with the installation of walls. All of a sudden the rooms take shape and there's a sense of their size and proportions. The room below will be our downstairs bathroom and the hole in the wall is a space for a hidden mirror fronted cupboard to be installed. The gyprock guys will be here for another few days, followed by the waterproofer and then the tiler. It would seem that bathrooms are a serious job. I was optimistic that we'd have the two bathrooms and laundry done by Christmas time but it turns out that you can't measure up for things like vanities and shower screens until after the tiling has been completed. Add another delay over the Christmas period and it's looking more like a mid January completion date. Which is soon, very soon...

From the veggie garden...

So. On my 'things to achieve by 30' list is one item that sounds easier than it is - successfully grow veggies. The pictured carrot and one giant lettuce is the total yield of my vegetable patch to date. Is it enough to call the project a success? You tell me...

more daydreaming

I spend way too much time daydreaming about what my kitchen-to-be will look and feel like. So far I have decided that the walls will be painted a beautiful grey and the benches will be a grey and white marble. We'll eat our meals on beautiful Heath Ceramics tablewear.

And finally butter will be in a pretty pretty dish (go Anthropologie!)

The things I obsess over are really not normal.

graffiti

Okay, okay, obviously I was the perpetrator. Although I could almost get away with blaming it on the naughty local kids whose recent mischief has included (i) breaking into our car three times (ii) egging our neighbours' house and (iii) blowing up our garbage bin with a bunger. Looovely.

DIY graffiti turns out to be one of the unexpected boons of home ownership. Who knew? It almost makes the mortgage worth it.

Anyway, this post is really about our fabulous new window. As predicted the light it lets into the soon to be laundry and bathroom is excellent.

At the moment when you look out the window you see our garbage bins but one distant day this will be remedied and the courtyard will become a supreme garden oasis. Or at the very least maybe we can hide the bins somehow?

more brick action

It is a confusing day when you get home from work and an entire doorway has moved during the day. Suddenly temporary kitchen #1 has been transformed into the bare bones of two rooms (a small bathroom and a laundry) and a hallway flanked by an enormous window.

This current laundry, where I am standing to take this next photograph, will soon be demolished and in its place the final kitchen will be built. Look at what a great job the enormous window does of filling the hallway with light.

Okay, I exaggerated the progress a little. The window isn't actually in the wall just yet. But I promise you when it is put in you will be amazed by the light it lets into the space.

In other news we've had the electrician and the plumber in the house over the last two days, as well as a tiler come and quote on the job. No photos of any of this because pictures of dirt and piping are not all that riveting.

life is better with door handles