Sorting through some photos on my mac I came across some 'before' snaps of the house. So for those of you who don't know, we've been busy renovating our house - its not been lots of major, structural stuff but still its been a bit of a long haul. Seeing these pics makes me realise just how much we've done, it definitely feels rewarding. We are almost there so more pics will follow, but in the mean time here's the living room and conservatory snaps...
The living room before we started, when we moved in we stripped a load of bright pink flock wall paper, and paired it right back. we opted for paper on one wall to compliment the natural colour of the original fireplace. We ripped up 13 year old Karndean flooring and lived with painted floor boards for the 1st year, which I really quite liked at the time but looking back it was all a bit pale.
Then after about a year we made the decision to add a log burner, the house is pretty cold and with the conservatory being all glass its almost unusable in the winter. After a few domestic tifs about where the burner would go and getting past the complications of the glass roof , I finally got my own way and we decided to go for a through and through burner (means it is open in both sides), and we knocked through from the living room into the conservatory. My advice to anyone doing anything similar would be question the obvious. To me, this comes pretty natural, I question EVERYTHING, but my husband wasn't getting it and I was starting to feel a little ganged up on by men to say the least.
STICK TO YOUR GUNS. Yeah it cost a little more, but to me if I couldn't have it how I pictured then it wasn't worth having at all. Both my husband and the fitter were making faces when I asked if it was a possibility, but as soon as I heard him say "It's more difficult, but yeah", I snapped it right up! Don't just do things cos' it's the norm or cos it's all that your workman is capable of, if you visualise something in a certain way, PIPE UP and don't settle for less until you know that it's absolutely IMPOSSIBLE.
A stud chimney breast had to be built on the lounge side in order to create room for the chimney to be diverted away from the glass roof and out to the house roof.
We (I say we...Craig), knocked out the brick under the window, when we had new windows fitted through the house, we opted for French doors here. The idea here is that one day we will build a balcony along the back of the house...one day!
DRUMROLL....TA DAHHH!!!!....
In the conservatory besides the log burner I'd say the game changer has been painting the mahogany woodwork. It's really lifted the space as well as modernising it at the same time. The walls look so bare on these photos and were crying out for a coffee table or ottoman in this space but I'm holding out to find 'the one'.
