upstairs bathroom reno : update 3

upstairs bathroom reno : update 3

by | Oct 15, 2019 | Renovation

So, what does the bathroom actually look like, now that we’ve completed our mini renovation, and came in under budget? Well, let’s just say that whilst it’ll never win an interior design award, it’s a million times better than the one we inherited, back in 2017…

Literally everything – with the exception of the toilet pedestal, as this was actually quite new – was ripped out and skipped. Apart from the teeny bath which far too small for bathing, but pretty much the perfect size for a re-spray and used as a planter in the garden. That awful lino flooring – which we’d painted early on, as that colour is just vile – was the first thing to come up. It had been stuck on with industrial strength glue, and took a good while to get up. The boards were also sanded back, once the lino was removed.

With the cheap, ill-fitting, plastic bath panel removed, we began to get an idea of what the room could look like, as with the sanded floorboards, it immediately felt lighter, brighter and more spacious. Once the bath and sink were removed, everything felt so much better.

We ditched the idea of relocating the bath, opting instead for a full size one, which would sit under the window, along the length of the wall. This meant we didn’t have to relocate pipework etc, making the job a whole easier and a whole lot less expensive. We chose white sanitary ware, as we were retaining the white toilet and didn’t want to go for a colour, which would potentially minimise the feeling of space we had gained. The bath and the sink were not matching, but both were quite boxy in style and so complemented one another – and the white and chrome taps, push down plugs and shower connection tied the two together.

The new sink was much larger, and therefore heavier than the previous sink, so not wanting it to stand on a vanity unit type of arrangement, we had to come up with a solution. Having made the recess which the sink sits in, feel more spacious, despite it being bigger, we didn’t want it all to feel closed in again, and came up with a very simple idea, to support it.

Table legs, secured to the underside of the sink and the floor. Perfect…

The tiles around the sink (which we had previously painted) and the bath, were taken off, the intention being to replace with metro tiles. However, we’d set ourselves the £500 Bathroom Challenge and tiles like this, would have taken us over the budget. So, another decision was taken – which we knew might have to change in the future – and we painted the tiles white and re-grouted. We’re still taking a view on these, but they look a lot smarter than they were, when they a sickly beige colour.

We were still a bit undecided about what to do with the flooring, as there wasn’t so much to cover and potentially we could spend a little more on its finish. But, we quite liked the sanded boards. But, we also quite liked the idea of painting it in a high gloss white, so that the whole room was very light and bright. We did also have the white paint, so that would cut down on expenditure. Decisions, decisions…

Before we made the choice on the floor finish, the wooden beams were undercoated and painted. Not white this time, though – that’s the undercoat going on above – because we felt that they would just disappear into the white ceiling. So, having plenty of soft grey satinwood, that was our decision made, for the beams.

First coat of soft, grey satinwood applied. One more to go...

First coat of soft, grey satinwood applied. One more to go…

We still had to replace the bath panel – and having forgotten to source one when we bought the bath, we got creative, as we definitely want to go over the £500 challenge. A spare pack of laminate flooring that had been used in the kitchen was remembered, and the panels were cut to size and fixed around the bath frame. This helped us make the decision about the floor – the laminate panels were quite rough in design. A bit too close to the appearance of the floorboards but sufficiently different for them to clash, so we decided to go white.

The luxury of finally filling a large bath...

The luxury of finally filling a large bath…

 

workaway : update 3

workaway : update 3

by | Sep 28, 2019 | Renovation

We’ve just said au revoir to our lastest WorkAway visitors, a very handy French couple, from the Pyrenees area, but on a travelling sabbatical, in their trusty campervan. They contacted us, having seen our profile on the website, and felt that their skills were a good match for what we required. We’ve had two previous fabulous WorkAway experiences, but the last one was not so good and so we really investigated our French would-be guests, as we definitely didn’t want people who were actually on HolidayAway, rather than WorkAway. Like the last one. But, we felt very reassured with everything we read and our email communications were easy, friendly and informative. And, so last Saturday Patricia and Pierre arrived in their campervan.

We always make sure that one of the spare bedrooms is made up for WorkAway guests – the whole point of this scheme is that there should be a fair exchange. So, if people are coming into our home and giving us their time and skills, free of charge, then it’s only right that we ensure that they are comfortable, warm and well fed. Now that we feel at ease and confident with the scheme, we make sure that on arrival, we discuss expectations so as to minimise any room for confusion or misunderstanding. Although they were happy to stay in the campervan if necessary, we didn’t feel this was a “fair exchange” – especially as we immediately hit it off with them – and so they were delighted, after weeks in the van, at the prospect of having a big, comfy bed, as well as a hot shower when they needed it. We also provide breakfast, lunch and an evening meal – we cannot expect people to do quite manual work, without feeding them.

We can almost see the finishing line in terms of our house renovations. We could go on forever, but we have a new, exciting plan in the pipeline and so we’ve honed our profile so that anyone looking for hosts, knows exactly what we need and why we need it. With Pierre’s background in plumbing and building and Patricia’s in landscape gardening, they came to us just at the right time.

So, what did they do?

Our upstairs bathroom hasn’t been renovated, to date – apart from us giving it a lick of paint and adding some nice accessories. But, with us starting to now market the house, we felt that this room finally needed to be tackled and so bit the bullet and made this the priority, ensuring that our French visitors knew beforehand what we wanted then to do. Although we knew exactly what we wanted in terms of the bath etc, we didn’t purchase anything before they arrived because we wanted to take their professional advice re fittings etc, and so set off, with them, to Pula, to make the purchases. Only we were thwarted by the not-very-well-publicised Pula Half Marathon, as all roads into the city were closed until 3pm and on a Sunday, Bauhaus – where we were making the purchases from – is only open until 2pm. However, once back at the house, it did mean we could set about ripping out the old bathroom. A mightily pleasurable task…

The floor tiles have all been removed but have left behind that hideous, sticky adhesive which is hellish to remove. However, with a mix of a sander, a scraper, a hairdryer and good old elbow grease, we will succeed and we will get rid of it. (We could go out and buy a solution which could make it easier, BUT this would involve a long trip back to Pula, probably, and we’ve decided that in the time this would take, we could probably have shifted a fair amount by other means). The sander is sanding away upstairs and hopefully the boards will be smooth and glue-free, quite soon. We had toyed with the idea of removing the white wall tiles and replacing with Spanish style tiles – BUT, we’ve decided against this expense and instead are going to paint one of the walls in a feature colour. We’re veering towards either Parma Gray or Lulworth Blue, and in a very handy coincidence, we’re off to Treviso for a short visit – where there is a Farrow & Ball showroom. That’s what I call a result.

 

A return trip to Pula was much more successful and meant the the new sanitaryware was purchased, meaning we had a bath in the living room for a couple of days as the bathroom floor was finished. I don’t want to give away too much here, as the bathroom isn’t fully finished, although the bath, sink, toilet and new taps are all in. Our new friends left yesterday, to head off for their next adventure in Dubrovnik, so it’s over to us now.

So, Would We Recommend WorkAway?

Absolutely, we would. The one blip we had, was entirely my fault, as I didn’t really do my research on this one. It was in the early days of us being part of the scheme, that arrangements were made and I didn’t go back to them, until he was about to arrive and I felt it was unfair to cancel at such short notice. I did have reservations, but thought we’d give this one a chance – when it became quite clear that this particular exchange was going in one direction (us providing accommodation, food, comfortable living etc) and we were getting very, very little reciprocated, we brought things to a close earlier than had been arranged.

Four experiences in, and we are very much enjoying the scheme. We have made three sets of great friends and our house has come on in leaps and bounds, thanks to the skills these people brought with them. If you don’t really like having people in your home, this scheme is probably not for you. But, we’ve found it be overall a very positive and enriching experience and has enabled us to meet interesting people who we wouldn’t have otherwise met, and we’ve learned new skills – as well as being able to tick off a whole load of tasks on our to-do renovation list.

Next week, we have a couple from the States arriving – and the agreed task this time, is to have a wooden floor, with insulation, laid over the stone flags in the Well Room. No more cold feet in the winter…