A new hobby

With the end of the renovation actually starting to materialise and spring not far off,it’s time to start a new hobby and so I have signed up for an upholstery course.

It’s very expensive to get things upholstered and if I’m any good at it, this skill will open up all sorts of projects both here and in France where there are many derelict chairs just waiting to be brought back to life.

I am now scouring EBay for my first projects and seem to have bought a chair in Manchester for £10.50. Bargain!

I just need to get it to London and l’m all set for February 5th!

Four more washes

By my estimation I have four more washes at the laundrette before we have a washing machine installed. Hang out the bunting!

The kitchen is all paid for and the installation is scheduled so what could possibly go wrong… bahahahah!

Between service washes, dry cleaning and self service, we have spent much more than the cost of the washing machine and, given the joy of lumping large bags down the road on Sunday mornings when things are quiet, I have to say, I won’t miss it.

I have appreciated the time spent watching the clothes tumble around in the dirty brown water as I spend a few minutes writing or thinking. It’s quite conducive to mediation and not a bad way to spend half an hour.

Perhaps I shall watch the washing in our new kitchen but somehow I think not as there will be better things to do!

Dust to dust

Plaster dust to sawdust, it’s been another noisy, dusty week so much so that Big T has defected to Düsseldorf for the weekend.

We have two rooms to go so it’s another fun game of musical rooms, at this point we’re playing hunt the kitchen as we’ve moved it so many times we forgotten where we’ve put it!

Anyway, here’s where we are this week…

Getting groomed

Saturday morning and Agnes and I set off on an adventure to Chiswick.

One of us was getting groomed and the other one was spending the morning wandering the streets. Let’s just say, I wasn’t getting my hair done.

Living in a building site hasn’t done any of us any favours and Agnes was in a fairly disgraceful state.

Fur dirty and matted, eyes hidden under layers and of no distinguishable breed (I could be describing myself).

To add insult to injury, Agnes had spent the day out on Friday and had managed to get a very dirty bottom. I apologised profusely as I dropped her off, we certainly weren’t Crufts-bound.

I set off to explore Chiswick for three hours on a rather grey and cold Saturday morning when I could have been moving furniture. Both options ranked as less than glamorous but I ended up at Chiswick House and Gardens and passed the time quite enjoyably.

I’m sure it will be lovely in the summer!

And three hours later, one of us looked rather fabulous (and one of us didn’t!)

Herringbone pattern

We’re starting to see herringbone pattern everywhere as the floor installation continues.

Progress is good but chaos reigns as we’ve had to move our box mountain from the red room to the kitchen.

We’re camping in two rooms for the rest of the week waiting for the other rooms to be finished so we can play musical rooms again, hopefully for the last time.

I’m actually looking forward to the weekend when I can distribute boxes in their respective rooms for the first time since moving in. Kitchen boxes in the kitchen, a novel idea! Thirteen months later…

Oh Lay Parquet!

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas or rather, that sense of excitement that something is happening has finally taken hold.

We now have a landing strip of parquet down the hall and into the kitchen. Suddenly we can see the future and the future is parquet!To say we’re excited is an understatement!

Oh lay oh lay oh lay oh lay! Oh lay! Oh lay!

Chip and ply

Things are certainly moving along this week as we now have plywood down in the hall and new chipboard going in the kitchen. This gives us a new base (without rot) to lay the fancy new herringbone parquet which is waiting patiently in the little bedroom.

Suddenly things feel much warmer, brighter and cleaner and funnily, quiet as the old loose boards aren’t banging up and down when you walk on them.

With new plaster and paint, we’re starting to feel like it’s going to be a home soon.

The Dread Room

From the red room to the dread room, the ultimate in multi purpose living.

We’ll be moving everything again during the next few days. Again!!

Let the floors begin!

With new plaster on the walls and new paint looking much better and much less institutional (insane asylum green) we have turned a corner and so begins our next phase of fun.

The floor has delivered and today installation begins or rather, it will begin when the kitchen floor is replaced with plywood as not surprisingly, it’s unusable.

This week will be the ultimate game of musical rooms where we’ll end up sleeping in the kitchen at some stage but it’s all good progress so we’re getting excited.

With the kitchen to be installed the week of February 17th, it’s one month to go (with some hefty bills to pay) but things are looking much better.

Kitchen Room Three

Last night I relocated the temporary kitchen yet again, this time into the third bedroom currently known as the Red Room for its dark red wall paper.

The red room has been our storage unit for a year with boxes piled high and a sagging clothes rack. Everything’s covered in dust and it will be the last room we touch. Now, with the addition of the kitchen set up, it’s certainly asking a lot of the red room as we boil our breakfast eggs amongst the coats.

Anyway hopefully it’s not for long as the floor guys are due in on Wednesday and then we’ll be playing musical rooms yet again.

With the eternal optimism of a fool, there’s light on the horizon as the parquet flooring arrives on Tuesday and then even more fun begins as we play the jigsaw of installation!