Splash

It has finally happened - our bathroom, toilet and laundry have been renovated!

The original just wasn't cutting it anymore. It wasn't the vintage green tiles that bothered me, or even the original features. It wasn't an aesthetic issue but one of practicality. We had a leak behind the shower (turned out a rusty nail had pierced the pipe years ago and was slowly leaking), which was bound to do significant damage if left unattended.

It was also a cleaning issue. No matter how many times I scrubbed, bleached, re-grouted and tried every anti-mould trick in the book, I just couldn't get rid of the grime. It had even started to impact on the ceiling. Add in a broken window (I assume a previous owner locked themselves out or an attempted burglary occurred), plus a damaged door, and it was time to move on.

Before:

Before we embarked on this project, we had to decide if it was worth the investment. Would we be in this home for at least another five years? Or would the money be better spent going towards a new home? After weighing up our options - working part time, being able to take time off work to care for my parents, being able to sleep at night due to having our mortgage repayments covered and expecting another bub, we decided to stay put and do up our house a bit.

We sought the services of Avado. Co-owned and operated by a friend's brother, I knew the quality of their work. Avado project managed the whole renovation, which made life just that little bit less stressful for us. They completed the whole job in one week, while we were interstate so we didn't have to live without amenities and keep Little L from all the tools and live wires.

We went for two quotes. One was our (OK, my) dream bathroom which would of required lots of re-plumbing and asbestos removal. The second quote involved not removing walls and plumbing but an overall face lift. We went with the latter option but threw in a new ceiling and window to replace the above mentioned damaged ones. We also cut down costs by getting our original bathroom re-enameled. We decided to do the separate toilet and laundry at the same time to ensure the renovation updated all our wet areas and didn't leave us with mismatch rooms.

To increase the feeling of space, I went for a modern twist on the subway tiles, a floor tile with texture and simple but kind of old-school fittings for a look that fits with our not so modern home.

After:

Supply list:
Tiles and vanity: Amber Tiles Fyswhick*
Fittings including all tap wear, towel rails and hooks: Reece
Toilet: Reece
Shaving cabinet: Bunnings
Shower screen: organised by Avado

*Amber Tiles stuffed up our vanity order so I do not fully recommend them.

Apologies for not high quality photos! I'm working on my photography skills! :) 

Focus

The universe has been trying to tell me something over the last few weeks and finally I’m listening.


It slowly came to surface when I thought about doing a post on a few personal items (jeans, bag plus a jacket) that contained more than just beauty and practical use to me, but rather invoked emotion and fond memories, along with attitudes about myself “if I can fit into my skinny jeans then I feel better about me”.
Like a lot of my ideas, I got busy ‘living’ and the post never eventuated. However, my spirit must have been ready for a new message because a few things have happened in the last few days:

• My dear friend Miss Y came over and we got talking about what really fulfils us and the consumerist culture we live in

• Miss Y and I decided to go to church the next day (something I haven’t done besides for christenings and a funeral in a very, very long time), and to our surprise but not to dismay the preacher discussed ‘consuming what is really important, letting go of the rest’

• A few blogs on slow living and de-cluttering came to my attention such as shedmom.com with the tagline ‘Create space for what matters most’ and slowyourhome.com

• I noted myself wanting to shop to get a high in a depressing kind of day

• I have spent time with my Great Aunt, who is quite wealthy and lives smack bang amongst the action in Sydney, but lives a life filled more with giving than possessions


All these situations have got me thinking. I know it is OK and even nice to have lovely things. I also think it is important to work hard and provide a home, transport and opportunities for your family and loved ones. But I am guilty of hoarding things I don’t use and putting too much emphasis on stuff that doesn’t really matter.


This applies to the use of my time, not just focusing on ‘stuff’, and yet they are linked. If I have less stuff in my house to keep organised and clean, I have more time to do something with my son. So I have started de-cluttering my home, with the help of lists/tips on the above mention blogs.


Likewise, when hubby was on a work trip I got into a bad habit of not getting to bed on time and spending hours surfing the web. Doesn’t seem too damaging, but this habit was robbing me of much needed sleep and time doing something more beneficial, like finally reading that book on my bedside table. So now I make a conscious effort to be in bed by 9pm and no phone or ipad in the bedroom.


Ultimately, we are only given so many resources in this life every day, time and money being the big two. The question is how do we want to spend them??

*image credit: noushka_styling Instagram account

DIY

Before s**t got crazy we completed our latest DIY project - outdoor furniture made out of pallets.

Dr Love and I sourced the pallets, Dr Love did the construction (refuses to let me near any power tools for my own safety) and mum and I painted plus sourced cushions.

If you want to see more pallet inspiration check out my pinterest boards: http://pinterest.com/afterlcomes/?d

Pallets: free
Paint: free (leftover house paint)
Castors: about $20
Red cushions: $50 each on sale at spotlight
Beige cushions: $90 all up at Bunnings

Sitting pretty

When I was in uni I travelled to Lao twice. During my time in this splendid country I bought some ridiculously gorgeous sinhs. These are the traditional long skirts worn by the Lao women. They come in all different varieties and materials including silk for special occasions and cotton for around the house.

Here are some cushion covers my mother and I (ok, mainly my mother as I'm a terribly slow sewer) made yesterday from two of the cotton sinhs in my collection. Been wanting to do this for AGES so I can enjoy the glorious patterns everyday.

FYI, if you are interested about learning more about sinhs I stumbled across plenty of sites just doing a google search :)