Sunday, June 17, 2012

I'm still alive

I've spent the best part of the last few months trying to de-clutter, organise, fix and otherwise have my house ready to sell, but I'm still not quite there yet.  I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm hoping it's not THE light as I'm not quite ready to pop off just yet, although I think I was close to it a couple of times.  I'd never had a panic attack before but I now know exactly what they feel like.

Part of the fixing up meant painting the bedrooms, re-oiling the decking (that was a massive job, there's lots and lots of decking), and sanding and polishing the floorboards.   Each step involved moving and relocating furniture.  All the outdoor furniture had to be moved to clean and oil the outside decks and verandahs.  All the bedroom furniture had to be moved and covered so that the ceilings and walls could be painted.  All the furniture had to be removed from the living area so that the floors could be sanded. Can you guess that I've had enough of moving furniture and living in what feels like a used furniture store.
I didn't take many photos of work in progress as it was bad enough living through it without capturing for all time, each hideous step of the journey. I do however have some pics of the floorboards. The kitchen photos are all taken at night so the colour of the boards is not quite right.


This is the kitchen, can you see that dark curved area? A couple of years ago I swapped the kitchen and the living zones, so this used to be the living room and the dark part is where the hearth used to be. (It's a high-set house so it was relatively easy to move all the plumbing etc.)

This is an "after" shot. No more dark hearth, but look how the two boards in the centre of the kitchen now stand out. The new finish has emphasised the colours in the timber.

Now to the rest of the living area. These are the "before" shots, once all the furniture was removed. They were taken early morning so it's a little hard to see properly with all those shadows.

Dining area in the background


Living area, this used to be the kitchen.

Looking from the dining area towards the hall and stairs.

Looking from the dining area towards the kitchen on the right and stairs on the left 

From the dining area to living area.

Looking from living area to stairs and bedrooms.
I really love the early morning winter sun shining in and warming up the house.

This is where the furniture was stored. 
The fridge out on the verandah and covered with a tarp.
The dining table also on the verandah and covered in an old sheet, tarp and the upside down coffee table on top.

BP's bedroom, taken from the hallway, that's as far as I could get into her room.

My sewing room, again taken from the hall as there was no way I could get into that room either.

Now for some after photos. I totally forgot to take any before the furniture was moved back.



Honestly, I prefer the way the floorboards looked before. Unfortunately the previous flooring tradesmen did a really really bad job, and because I had moved the kitchen and taken out a wall a couple of years ago, they absolutely had to be sanded and polished.

The best thing after doing all this, is now there's no cluttered spots, which means not having to crop photos or take them at a particular angle to hide stuff, yay..........and a great big sigh of relief.

So hopefully I'll be back blogging a little more often now, It may still be sporadic but I think I'm over (gee, I really hope I'm over) the worst of it and it should be a lot easier from now on. Every piece of my body is crossed...........not just fingers.



PS    Oh, and I have been able to do a little bit of sewing, not much, so I'll even have some crafty stuff to show soon too.

20 comments:

  1. It all looks beautiful - so spacious too! Good luck with the sale I am sure there must be somebody out there who is just waiting to snap it up!

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  2. I love your house! Al it needs is picking up and moving to where you want to live. Thanks for all the photos.

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  3. You have been busy! Your house looks awesome! I also think that it can't be difficult to sell it. I don't know how difficult it is for you to leave it though ??? Best of luck with everything. xx

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  4. Oh man, I want your house!!! Hope it all goes well for you :o)

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  5. A marathon effort Marg! Your house looks amazing! I'm sure it will be worthwhile in the long run!

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  6. Your house looks amazing. Good luck with selling it.
    Liz @ Shortbread & Ginger

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  7. I love the beautiful floors now, I am very partial to all that variation in the colours. I hope your sale goes well, and that you are on the downhill side of the work. I do love your beautiful house.

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  8. The house looks great .. should make selling it much easier. I pray that goes well for you so you can continue your life adventure and not be put on hold any longer than necessary.

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  9. Wow - I'm exhausted just reading your post! That's a ton of work, but your house looks fantastic! Wishing for a quick sale for you - I've missed seeing your quilts :)

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  10. Welcome back! I was just thinking of you a day or two ago and wondering how things were going. Your house looks beautiful - well worth all the hard work! (Easy for me to say :))

    I love how open your floor plan is - I think someone will snap it up quickly.

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  11. I am going through the same thing right now, with TWO houses. URGH! Why do we do all this fabulous work and make them look fantastic just to turn around and let someone else enjoy the hard work we about killed ourselves doing??? I told my husband, our next house will be done the way I want it done, right from the beginning, period!

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  12. That would have been a huge job!!! Your house is awesome. Love your dining chair covers. I'm a bit worried that there was no sign of your fur babies...

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  13. The house is looking fabulous. Even fabulous-er than before ! I didnt think that was possible.

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  14. What an epic effort...having just emptied my house for new flooring....it is a massive job! The new polish looks lovely...looking forward to see your next quilty post :)

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  15. Oh God, what a lot of work but it looks great. I feel for you, getting ready to sell is not pleasant and I hope there is an upturn in selling houses when the promised change to stamp duty comes in soon.
    Cheers

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  16. Wow what a massive job! Good luck with the sale, i dont think you need it your house is BEAUTIFUL! Im drooling! Hope youre finding some sewing time and all is well with you! x

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  17. I don't envy you all that work even though I do envy the finished product!
    Hope the next stages go nice and smoothly and you can get settled and sewing lots again.

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  18. I tell you what, it's looking fantastic! The floors have come up beautifully (even if you think they've been better) and it really has such an airy, spacious feel. What a clever idea to swap the kitchen and living areas, I'd have never thought of that. I'd just be, well, that's the kitchen and that's that. But why not? You're too clever. Fingers crossed for a good sale and no more admin!

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  19. Not joining up to "the block" any time soon then huh? ;-) it looks really awesome Marg! I'll have my fingers crossed for a quick sale for you :)

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  20. What a lot of work!! But the results are fantastic. We went through the same thing last year with selling our house and this summer with selling our cottage! Hard to squeeze in a little sewing time. Good luck with the sale!
    Marilyn

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