26.4.15

17/52


A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015.

Sofia: eating grapes (and getting a little snarly that I keep sticking the camera in her face)
Otto: in a box

There are a lot of boxes round here at the moment. It has been a week of unpacking and settling into the rental. Not surprisingly there are not many photos to choose from (of the kids that is, Ian has taken plenty of the house).



Thanks to Jodi for hosting the 52 project at practising simplicity

You can click on the button (here or in the side bar) to see all my 52 posts.


25.4.15

Things I won't miss about our pre-renovation house

When we bought this house in December 2011 we hoped to have completed our renovation within a year. Three and a half years on we are now commencing the renovation. The house has been slowly falling apart but we haven't bothered fixing anything for the last year due to the impending renovation. So here are some photos of broken, dodgy and dangerous things that I really won't miss.

Wiring inside a (disused) gutter

Water rises and floods this corner of the room when it rains heavily

The dog box - badly built in the 1970s and falling apart

Unsurprisingly this roof leaked

Uninsulated hot water pipes

Mold in the bathroom is unavoidable as there is no proper ventilation

The shower rail was about to fall off the wall

Layers of dodgy wiring (note the 1920s wooden conduit as the bottom layer)

Oven with no handle and a door that didn't shut properly. And the big hotplate doesn't work

Broken lino with asbestos underneath

Skylight with lots of junk in it

Some of the carpet is pretty bad

The boards on the verandah are so worn they are starting to crack and getting dangerous

Wisteria and years of neglect and has damaged the verandah railing

The brickwork on the steps is falling apart and becoming dangerous

This room used to be overgrown - note the window frame splitting

Ripped wallpaper

A large gap around the door frame blocked with newspaper then painted

The bay window is falling apart

19.4.15

16/52


A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015.

Sofia & Otto: eggies for lunch


Thanks to Jodi for hosting the 52 project at practising simplicity

You can click on the button (here or in the side bar) to see all my 52 posts.


12.4.15

15/52


A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015.

Sofia: a flower crown for my fairy princess
Otto: tricycling in his disco gumboots

Thanks to Jodi for hosting the 52 project at practising simplicity

You can click on the button (here or in the side bar) to see all my 52 posts.


11.4.15

The renovation is almost here

When we bought this house in late 2011 we hoped to have the house renovated within 12 months. We were deluding ourselves. Three and a half years later we are finally moving out next week so that work can start on the renovation. It should be finished by mid-October which will be almost four years since we bought the house. There have been quite a few delays along the way, like the slightly unexpected addition of Otto, but mostly everything has taken far longer than we expected.

Our architect has made a 3D model and I've included some snaps from it to show what the new place will look like. It is a fairly basic representation of the existing house and obviously the trees and neighbouring buildings aren't included. The shadows are set to be from early in the morning on the summer solstice.

The first picture is an elevated view from the back yard (about where the cherry tree is) looking towards the new kitchen/dining area. The new kitchen makes far better use of the back yard and all of the views in that direction towards Mount Nelson and the river. It will be a great place to have breakfast and watch the sunrise.


The next view is looking from around where the quince tree is, towards the kitchen and it shows the access from the laundry and kitchen to the backyard. The room in the existing house which is currently the kitchen becomes a bathroom and obviously the window will be reworked.


The third view is from just inside the dining room looking along the kitchen and out towards the driveway. You can just see the window seat on the right hand side which will be a lovely place to sit/lie and read a book in the winter time. You can also see out towards the room that is currently the kitchen (which will become a bathroom) and will also include a door to the access the backyard.


The final view is from the driveway side of the house, near our neighbour's garage - it shows the new front door and entry porch. The window at the front also has a bench seat that will be lovely in the winter sun.


As well as the new kitchen/dining addition shown in these views, there is a lot of work happening to the old house. This includes fixing the roof, floors, walls, ceilings, doors, a complete rewiring, painting everything, hydronic heating, a new bathroom and fixing the verandah. Roll on October!

5.4.15

14/52


A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015.

Sofia & Otto: dress ups with crowns and capes


Thanks to Jodi for hosting the 52 project at practising simplicity

You can click on the button (here or in the side bar) to see all my 52 posts.