Garage Guttering

We have had some black square style guttering fitted to the side of the garage and shed, in an attempt to divert the rainwater away from the courtyard area.

Loft Space

We eventually intend the loft space to be a "boys space" with an electric train setup.

The central area has previously been floor boarded, and as we had a huge sheet of plywood placed up there before the new ceilings were put up, we have had this now constructed into a table that will hold the train tracks.

A timber surround has also been made with a gate for access and securely fixed around the loft hatch.

Survived the rain

Despite the recent heavy rainfall and stormy weather to hit the region yesterday, thankfully we are no where near a river or stream, spotted these lovely roses in the garden this morning, I have no idea how they have survived. I have brought them inside to enjoy..

Curtains for lounge

Have spent many hours searching for curtains for the lounge, as they need to be 90" wide and 103" drop, for the huge window.

Made to measure curtains are proving to be very expensive...quoted at £465 for a pair, dues to large amount of fabric that is needed.

Eventually found a pair in Ponden Mill in Buxton, while there on a visit to family, latte colour with embossed leaf design.  curtains now hung at lounge window, after a mammoth effort to iron them to remove creases from packing, still undecided whether to shorten them to skirting board level or leave them to drape. Think I will make decision once curtain tie backs are in place. 

Carpet Day!

Today is carpet laying day in the lounge.

After much deliberation a choice was finally made for a wool type carpet and thick bouncy underlay.

All preparations have been done, painting complete and dry and furniture removed from the room..apart from the 2 sofa bases.

2 carpet fitters arrived, and took maximum 1.5 hours to fit underlay and carpet, and tidy up afterwards.

Furniture now back in place..job complete!

First lighting of the fire!!

Celebrations...at last the fire in the lounge has been lit..

Cupboard restoration

Found a smaller version of pine cupboard on Ebay, similar to previous one we purchased.

I decided to restore it and paint in a similar colour, Craig and Rose, Moonstone Grey, distressed paintwork and waxed pine top.

Mirrors Mirrors everywhere...

I appear to have an obsession with collecting mirrors..latest count around the 15 mark... and am undecided where to hang them!

This one is above the table in the kitchen...not sure if it will stay there or not...

Range Cooker

Latest purchase, a Leisuremaster Range Cooker...love it, love it, love it!

I cannot wait for it to be connected to electric and gas and to start cooking and baking

2 ovens and grill, 4 gas burners, a wok burner and an electric ceramic plate, plus a storage cupboard

Outside Yard Wall - demolition day

The wall between the rear of cottage and garage is in a poor state, being very old and constructed with old lime cement which over time has dried and disintegrated, making the wall unstable.

We had a quotation from a builder, £350 to demolish and remove the bricks from site..far too expensive, so one afternoon we made the decision to knock down half of it..leaving some access to pavement from drive for Hubby's mini hustler car to be parked.

We stacked the bricks once cleaned of some of debris, and I placed an advertisement on Freecycle, offering the Victorian type bricks, approx 200 of them, free to anyone that wanted to collect them..
We could not believe when we had 6 offers to take them away..

Lounge Fireplace

Following fitting of chimney liner, the builder installed the cast iron fire surround, plus the pine hearth surround with a concrete base. We then had a delay whilst builder decided our tiler would make a better finish on quarry tiled hearth, then the tiler went on holiday, so eventually hubby set to and tiled the hearth and fitted the pine fire surround to the wall.

The quarry tiles were grouted, polished and then sealed to protect the surface.

We spent an afternoon cutting up into smaller pieces the off cuts of timber we had collected over some months, so now have a store of fire lighting timber,we  also bought a "chopping axe"!!

However, until the builder returns and tests the fire and chimney and provides a Hetas certificate, we are unable to light or use the fire.