Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Long time no post!

9 months since my last post, slight coincidence seeming that I am 8 months pregnant as of yesterday! Well since that August day when I last logged on to update my blog a lot has happened...

First, we moved into our beautiful new home in Fish Hoek. I love it here. It is like living in a permanent holiday town. Walks to the beach, train trips into Kalk Bay or Simons Town and even just being able to hear the sea on a still night from the comfort of my own bed. Bliss!
My bedroom
To decorate the interior I have been lucky to have my mom to help me. She has a "showhouse" (garage) full of surplus furniture and decor that I enjoy "shopping" at. I like to change things around often so I tend to keep the canvas neutral.


We have made the most of the original characteristics of the home, knocking down walls to let in more light and creating uniformity by painting the interior all one colour. We also resanded all of the beautiful wooden floors and tiled the kitchen and bathroom in a more modern way.

Pantry - kept fully stocked and tidy
My husband, Shaun, has loved doing the garden. Again, trying to highlight the charm of the house we have stayed quite classic, planting iceberg roses, lavender and hyndrangeas. I love cut flowers so am really looking forward having some blossoms to trim to appreciate inside our home too.

The trick to renovating on a budget is to remain flexible, have many ideas and pictures for inspiration as well as being permanently glued to gumtree for deals on materials you need. We found a great builder who has two sons, one an electrician and another a plasterer/tiler. It was great because they worked together well and were able to finish everything quickly. They had a friend who did our plumbing for us too. We were lucky but I would never recommend this route if it didn't come highly recommended by a friend or family member. Remember to get a quote first and to pay weekly/once the project is complete.

There are still a few projects we need to tackle. For example, Wednesday is baby room day and Saturday is D-day for the bathroom tiles to go up and curtain rails to be put up in the lounge. Yes, we have lived here for 9 months without curtains in our living area... We were hoping to tackle the next stage of the project this year; building on an ensuite bathroom and fixing up the entrance to the abode but our priorities have changed just a tad since falling pregnant. We now live in the world of prams, car seats, epidurals and ultrasounds.