Category Archives: Renovating

Starting Afresh

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Revamping our walk-in wardrobe was not an absolute priority but rather a by-product of the pantry extension. Our wardrobe is now about half of the original size but we are very confident that it offers more than enough space for our needs.

Once the new wall and cornices were installed, the next stage was to repaint the entire space. It is now white which I feel provides a clean, bright backdrop to the clothes.

We had removed all of the shelves and hanging rails before the renovations and are planning to install a more functional modular system which fits our needs. We are going to check out the components next month as the business is located on the other side of Melbourne from us and is not that easy to access. I expect it will be 2025 before we actually install the new shelving and rails.

In the meantime, we have moved some of our clothes and shoes back into the space.

There are plenty of off-season clothes, coats and jackets still in another wardrobe as well as shoes, hats and bags. Of course, I also have tops and underwear folded in drawers. However, this is a pared down selection of what GMan and I mostly wear. I will be interested to see how often I actually need to go to the other clothes.

When I look at this small hanging rail of clothes it is really easy to see why I have consistently remarked that my food is more important to me than my clothes when asked about our plans for the pantry and wardrobe.

Time Out

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Apologies for radio silence as it is over 2 weeks since my last post. There has been plenty happening but it has not been suitable material for blog posts.

We enjoyed a short break in Melbourne last week and spent time with both of our adult daughters and teenage granddaughters. A highlight was a shared family dinner at an excellent suburban Mexican restaurant.

Meanwhile work has been continuing on both the new front fence and the pantry extension.

The fence is complete apart from painting the pickets and the gates. They are already finished with a white undercoat so the overall look will not really change as the finished colour of them will be white. The large gates have been hung but it will be a couple of weeks before the mechanism is installed and electricity is connected. I am really looking forward to having the whole property fenced and secured.

The view from the other side of the road.

Looking from near the front door.

The pantry is coming along nicely. Here is a progress photo taken today. There is a bit of a delay until the benchtop and drawer fronts are ready but you can get a sense of the final result.

Looking at the other end which was the original pantry area.

It will be very exciting to rearrange things so that they are more accessible. Watch this space…………..

Flowers and Fencing

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I really enjoy this display of sweet peas that we can see from the kitchen and family room. I planted them from seeds I collected last year that were hanging over someone’s front fence. I will definitely be saving the seed pods again for next year.

This was the original front fence when we arrived.

This has now been demolished and the new posts are in place for the new fence. The rails have been salvaged and earmarked for another landscaping project.

It will be 1.5m high so will offer a bit more privacy and security as we are on a major regional through road. There will be electric gates for the vehicular access as well as a pedestrian gate in the centre of the fence.

There will be more photos once it is complete.

Work is Underway

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After almost 18 months of debating, wondering, planning and trying to find a suitable tradesman, the changes to the butlers pantry and walk-in wardrobe are now underway.

After one day this was the view.

Looking from the existing pantry you can see where the wall has been removed exposing the end of the walk-in wardrobe. The pantry extension will go right through to the wall in the background.

Looking from the door of the walk-in wardrobe.

Day 2 and things have started to take shape. The framing for the new wall is in place and I can start to imagine how things will look.

We now have a clear idea of the wardrobe space. It will be plenty for our needs.

I managed to buy matching tiles for the splashback in the pantry and today I sourced some more vinyl planking for the floor covering in the pantry. The particular colour/pattern I needed has been discontinued but thankfully there was some in the warehouse. The builder has matched the cupboard fronts, handles and benchtops so I am confident that it will all match up seamlessly when it is complete.

New Curtains

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Aside from the pantry and walk-in wardrobe alterations we also needed to consider some screens for the front of the house.

Last Friday a gentleman came to measure and quote for a security screen for the front door and look at options for screening the French doors in the sewing room as well as the large sliding doors which open from the lounge onto the front terrace.

While the weather is cool more than it is hot here, we still wanted to have the option of being able to open up these rooms without assorted insects entering uninvited.

We were also interested in alternative options to the plain grey roller blinds that are currently in the lounge. They are not practical for a number of reasons and also make the room look rather stark and industrial.

So, we have decided to remove the blinds and install curtains instead. Today we went to the showroom in Bendigo to choose the fabric for the curtains.

This is the room (albeit a bit dark) with the existing blinds.

This photo shows the colour of the sofa and chairs along with the wall.

Here is the fabric I have chosen for the curtains against the sofa and the wall.

I am looking forward to the difference it will make to this room.

Planned Changes

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We have now been living here for 17 months so have well and truly experienced the full range of seasons. Despite having some basic ideas of changes we wanted to make to the house and garden from the time we moved in, we feel that it is good to be informed by the experience of actually living in the house for a full year.

There will be a number of changes over the next 6 months or so but the first one begins next week. I think this is the one I am most excited about.

The butlers pantry and the walk-in wardrobe share a common wall and make an L-shape on the relevant section of the floor plan below.

The wall between the pantry and the walk-in wardrobe will be removed and the wall behind the sink in the pantry will be extended. This will effectively double the size of the pantry and halve the size of the walk-in wardrobe.

The extended pantry will have a long bench on one side with 2 sets of deep drawers below it and the other side will consist of open shelving.

These are a couple of views of the current pantry. It is good but more space will be wonderful.

Looking from the kitchen directly into the pantry. None of this will functionally change. The extension will be on the right-hand side of the sink.

This is the wall that will be removed. The bench and shelving above will continue as will the floor-to-ceiling shelving on the other side.

I cannot wait to have more space and I will be able to rehome the storage buckets of bulk flour, seeds, nuts and dried fruit that are currently in the wardrobe of the spare room.

Of course, there is a trade-off. A smaller walk-in wardrobe is not an issue. The existing space is huge and could almost be regarded as a dressing room although we do not use it as such.

We have managed to spread things out to almost fill the space but we know that we can utilise the smaller space much more effectively as we will install modular hanging rails and shelving to easily accommodate our clothes. Additionally, there are 2 other bedrooms with wardrobes if we find that we need to hang out-of-season coats and jackets. The mirror will go and the shelving/hanging rails will be fitted on the side (about half the length) where the existing rails are as well across the end where the mirror is currently positioned. We have a full-length mirror in the hall near the front entrance so do not really need the second one.

During the next week we will need to move everything out of the wardrobe so that it does not get covered in plaster dust. The wardrobe and bed in the guest bedroom will accommodate most of it.

The pantry is not as much of an issue as everything on the open shelves is in sealed packets or containers but some of the things at the end near the wall removal will need to be moved out of the way. The builder has estimated about 10 days for the work so I am prepared for a bit of disruption. I am confident that it will be worth it when the job is completed.

Day Out and A Door

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I went to Melbourne today as I needed to stock on on some of the dry goods that I buy in Melbourne – usually every 3 – 4 months. Graina at Moonee Ponds was my destination and I specifically chose to go today as each Tuesday there is a 20% discount if you bring your own containers. I think that is a pretty worthwhile incentive so I headed off with a list and a bag of containers of various sizes.

I also ventured to Footscray to Cheaper Buy Miles. There are stores at Footscray, Flemington, Fitzroy and Brunswick. The stock is end of lines, short-dated, unpopular flavours etc and varies from week to week. There is generally a good selection of gluten free and plant-based foods. The great thing about buying from here is that as well as saving money you are also doing something positive about saving stuff that would otherwise end up in landfill.

Today I picked up 3 x 350g packs of GF penne and 2 packets of GF crispbreads for the sum total of $7.

I caught the train to Melbourne then used the suburban train and trams to get to Moonee Ponds and Footscray before the train trip home. I was reminded of how easy it is to take familiar scenery for granted. This is a view from the train as we sped towards home.

The reason that I went by myself was that GMan needed to be at home as we had a carpenter coming to install a door at the end of the hallway. This will make it much easier to heat or cool the family/dining room and kitchen in the future as the benefit from the reverse cycle airconditioner will not be bowing directly down the hall.

There is still some finishing touches to be done on Thursday but I am really excited by this relatively minor alteration. It is going to make a significant difference.

Easily Distracted

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Today was one of those days where one thing led to another.

After putting a load of washing in the machine I decided to put the recently delivered carton of wine away in the wardrobe in the third bedroom. Yes, that is our wine cellar at the moment.

One thing led to another and I put away the deflated air mattress from when we had houseguests several weeks ago. I put the folded blankets away in the drawers in the base of the guest bed and discovered some curtains I had stashed in there. They are the semi-sheer ones which were previously in the family room. I replaced them when we first arrived as provide neither privacy nor thermal comfort.

There are 8 narrow drops and I decided that I should probably give them away rather than hoarding them, however, GMan suggested that they could possibly be used in the 2 guest bedrooms. They are really a decorative addition as there are already honeycomb blinds. The rods were already in place as the previous owners had taken their curtains with them and just left the blinds.

So, I unpicked the hems and one side seam of each drop, sewed two drops together and rehemmed them to the correct length. I have finished the set for one spare room and am working on the ones for the other room. By sewing two drops together they are wide enough to draw across if desired but in the meantime they definitely create a more finished look to the room.

Gorgeous Green

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One of our plans during our holidays was to do some painting. This may not sound like much of a holiday but we were happy to help out our daughter who lives interstate.

A recently completed renovation had completely transformed the bathroom and just needed some finishing touches of paint. The vanity, doors, wall and floor tiles are all white or very light coloured so she was looking for a strong, dramatic colour for the remaining small areas of wall. Green was her preference, however, there are many choices. After one previous false start with a test pot we narrowed our choice.

The internet is a great resource and much better than simply looking at a colour chart in a shop as we have done in the past. We were able to compare technical specifications such as the depth of colour, reflective capacity and formulation. Finally, there are photos of completed rooms so we were able to visualise how our choice might look with a substantial portion of white contrast.

Here is the result of our handiwork.

The colour is Dulux ‘Plasticine’. I would love to know how they come up with the names for some of these colours.

This is the image which confirmed that our idea would work. Although it is not a bathroom it does have a substantial portion of white or light coloured elements. The tan/natural colours were the inspiration for the light fitting in the toilet.

One Coat

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You could be forgiven for thinking that this post is about a coat to keep me warm. After all, it is the middle of a significant cold spell in our southern hemisphere winter.

However, it is actually about what I have been doing for the past day and a half – painting the front of the house around the garage doors. I have completed one coat so far and will hopefully get the second coat of paint on this section tomorrow.

It is a significant improvement on the previous salmon colour.

There is still more to do around the corner on the back wall.