recent blogs

garden table upcycle

garden table upcycle

We have an old, rustic wooden table, which we brought out to Istria with us. It used to be a work table, so was stained with oil drops, paint splashes and cuts in the wood. We used it originally, once cleaned up, as a work desk, as being quite long and thin, could fit...

winter mornings…

winter mornings…

Our bedroom is by far the largest room in the house, and could definitely accommodate an en-suite. We've thought about this addition so many times, but it's always seemed a bit of a luxury, when so many other more pressing projects have demanded attention. We also...

house reno : stairs : update 3

house reno : stairs : update 3

It's been a while since I first posted about the stairs which lead down from our living room, into what we now call The Snug. I'm glad to say that the very dangerous wooden stairs which we inherited have now been completely renovated and made a lot safer in the...

concrete table

concrete table

When we lived in West Didsbury, we renovated our three bedroom terraced house, knocking down internal walls, and eventually creating a very contemporary, open plan home, which included a large L-shaped concrete bench, with storage underneath. When we bought our house...

garden vision realised…

garden vision realised…

Ever since I saw this photo, I knew exactly what the garden at the rear of the house needed to look like. And, luckily, our builder was totally on board and could see the vision we had. Now, four months on, I couldn't be happier with the way it has turned out. For six...

construction continues…

construction continues…

It seems as if we have once again, shared our home and garden, with builders, for a considerable period of time. But we haven't really - it's only been four months - but we've been so keen and excited to get to the finishing line, that it just seems like we've lived...

secret garden progress

secret garden progress

It's only called the Secret Garden because it's partly hidden from view and it sounds a whole nicer than the back garden. Since the weather broke and we've had lovely long days of hot sunshine, the builders have been beavering away, trying to recreate our vision. Back...

mediterranean inspired bedroom

mediterranean inspired bedroom

In keeping with a lot of the renovation and redecoration work we've been doing throughout the house, we've taken the decision to revamp the largest bedroom. This is a lovely room, with two windows with views across the fields, and over to the woods. In the winter,...

and another garden wall is built

and another garden wall is built

With a reliable builder finally working with us, we've decided that we can't let him go to waste, and so are adding jobs to his ever-growing list. The weather has been pretty dire the last week or so - rain, thunder and lightning - and so work on the rear garden and...

the demolition of our small stone house

the demolition of our small stone house

the story of the little stone house When we bought our house in Istria six years ago, this little tumble down cottage sat to the rear of it. There are lots of properties like this scattered across Istria and Croatia. There are many reasons for the properties being...