Finally! The inside story...
Where do I begin?
Well, as you can see the inside of my old house was in need of much TLC - she hadn't had an update for 25 years or so and it really showed. The kitchen was a mess as was the brown and orange colour scheme, the bathroom wasn't functioning well as three cubicles (shower, toilet and bath all separate) and all the rooms were very tired looking. More than that though, the house had a terrible feeling to it. It almost felt like it was choking - lacking air and good energy.... To be honest I felt a certain degree of trepidation when we bought this house - there was no question that it had great potential and was in a beautiful spot but I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to erase that terrible feeling without having to resort to an exorcism!!! And how a house feels is just as important as how it looks. There was much work to be done!
The first thing to go was the old, battered carpeting. Almost every room had a different carpet - brown, cream, fuchsia and aqua swirls. Underneath were the original floors which were in reasonable condition but in good need of a scrub and a sand. We left the boards in the original timber tone - just oiling them for protection. The walls, which were painted in a multitude of different colours - mint, teal and baby blue - were given a freshen up with Dulux 'White On White' - my favourite white of all.
The kitchen was in a rather funny position in the house, squashed in between the lounge and the dining rooms - but separated by walls and half benches. Originally it was built in a u-shape - and was completely cut off from the other living areas. We decided to create an opening in the walls between the kitchen and lounge and to punch out the half bench between the kitchen and dining room - instead creating a galley style kitchen that connected all three rooms. We didn't go 'all out' in the construction - sticking to a Laminex ice blue for the drawers (the kitchen is made up of nearly all drawers, no cupboards), a Laminex white bench top and an IKEA enamel sink. The splurge was on the appliances - Miele oven and dishwasher and Highland stovetop.
Other than punching through a wall from the kitchen to the lounge room, exposing the carpet and giving the lounge room a coat of white paint - very little changes have been made to this space. The beauty of it, is all in the decoration!
The bathroom was originally divided into three little cubicles - shower in one, toilet in another and the bathroom in the third. Neither space was particularly roomy and each certainly needed some love. I decided the best way to deal with this space was to knock out the dividing rooms - creating one large bathroom. I kept the scheme simple, with marble mosaic tiles for the floor and very affordable white, brick shaped tiles for the walls. The bath came from the paddock and was sprayed in white. And the little vanity was custom built from white Laminex with a marble top.
I've always believed that you can create a beautiful home without breaking the bank. Of course, some special pieces and finishes do make a difference - however, if you choose wisely and keep your palette simple, then less expensive choices can be just as effective. I am over the moon with the way that these spaces have turned out. The simple changes have made a difference to the look and the feel of the house. Punching through the wall from the kitchen to the lounge room, literally allowed the house to breathe again - and made room for loads of good energy to circulate throughout. We all love living here. It's exactly as we want 'home' to be....
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