Altered House Plans

I have quite literally just emailed off the house plan changes to the Kitome representative XD Very exciting!!! We have kept the extra bedroom (just moved it) which we weren't originally going to. However we have been talking about maybe having another couple of children so this way there would be room for them!

I have also found an oven that I adore. It's quite exxy though so we may have to wait and see if it's cheaper closer to the date. Otherwise I may have to go for something different. I do so love ths one though:

In Sickness and in Health

Sorry I have been very slack again :/ I have had a few bouts of sickness and been very busy as well. I have had a lot of contact with Kitome though, who have been wonderful with replying quickly and answering my questions. In fact they sent through the full plans of the house design we like so that I could make changes to them and show them what I wanted. As soon as my husband has finished I will post them up here.

I should also have some furniture finished soon so will make sure to post before and after pics soon too :)

Exterior

I thought I'd post some pictures of inspiration for our house exterior that I have collected. I love the whole Georgian look as you can tell:

This one below is our main inspiration except instead of the veranda we'd like a Juliet balcony:

Busy, Busy

It's been a rather hectic week. Feels like one big whirlwind of working, staining, sanding, school drop offs, pick ups and kids after school activities. I am exhausted!

On the plus side I have 3 coats of the all-in-one stain on the table and chair tops, so tomorrow afternoon I can start the priming on the base. It shouldn't take as long because it's all water based paint and primers and so has a quicker drying time. I have everything crossed that my table turns out as good in real life as it did in my head when I imagined it. 

I think I am ready to dive into bed with some episodes of Restoration Home. I love those kind of shows (especially love Restoration Man) and they make me so jealous. I would love to have the money to do up an old building. I'm so much more attracted to old architecture and furniture etc than I am to modern designs.

Sanding!

I am exhausted. Started work on my 8 Seater Dining set today. I tried to start a few days ago and realised there was no way in hell I was going to hand sand the table top and all 8 seats, so yesterday evening I popped over to Bunnings and picked up a Random Orbital Sander. I still haven't quite finished the sanding but it's almost done:

Tomorrow I will finish off the sanding (just a bit left in the hard to reach places) and then I can do the first coat of the Chocolate Walnut Stain I bought. I cannot wait to see how it turns out. Fingers crossed I don't stuff it up!

Hessian Curtains

I have decided to have a go at making my own grommet curtains for the house to save on money. I'm not the most accomplished seamstress but I can do basic sewing through making my cosplays so I am hoping that will be enough. I have found a tutorial and it doesn't seem too scary. I actually understood it which gives me hope :D Here is the tutorial.

I have fallen in love with the idea of using hessian (or the material you might know as Burlap or Jute) for the curtains. It's a very simple, rustic looking fabric and I think the juxtaposition (bringing out the big words :P) between the elegant wainscoting on the walls with the rough fabric will look lovely. I have noticed a lot of true French Provincial homes use a lot of natural materials and textures that are practical and yet still look elegant. I'd also like to add a panel of lace to the bottom of the curtains just to add that touch of pretty to an otherwise plain fabric. Sort of like this table runner except a longer strip of lace:

 
I've also noticed in many pictures that it seems pretty common to add a differing panel to curtains so I feel pretty good about the decision. How pretty does the simple, rough hessian look with the delicate, elegant lace <3

I also stumbled across a great idea for curtain tie backs that I think I will use. Spoons! I know it sounds sort of weird but I think the result is gorgeous and looks a bit like some of the ornamental French tie backs I have seen (but with a far cheaper price tag):

Coffee Table

I realised I never posted a picture of the little blackwood coffee table I also found on Gumtree. I'm planning to do a similar thing to the dining table with it. White base and then stained walnut coloured top. I adore the little cabriole legs. Cabriole legs seem to make all furniture look more elegant. Sorry for the bad photo- it was evening when I took the picture so it's a bit dark.

Now I have all these pieces I really had better get my act together and get started on transforming them!