Saturday 22 September 2012

We're selling!


I know, it's been a while... but I do have a good excuse and some lovely photos over the next few days to show you! 

A few weeks ago we made the decision to sell our house, not the one we live in, we rent, but our former dream family home. It was the dream family home, near the beach, open plan, interesting features, towering ceilings... until our dream of family changed. Originally we had planned to have more children, however having children can alter your dreams as the reality of day to day living plays out. We also became too focused on creating a great space that we spent all our time renovating and missed out on what was important, spending time with friends and family. So we bailed on the four bedroom family home in the suburbs and moved into a two bedroom apartment in the heart of the city, selling a vast majority of our 'stuff' along the way.We had the best year of our lives, hanging out, being spontaneous and saying 'yes' to joining in with things happening in the city... it was bliss. We moved a stack of times since then and are now very settled in our one small orchard, walking distance to our beloved old apartment. 

The decision to sell our former home was made in one evening over a short conversation. It was easy as we aren't attached and it just made sense. The next morning I called the agent who sold us the house and I met him that afternoon. 

Then came the obvious list of things that needed to be done. We had tenants that were mostly great, but there was the inevitable damage to walls etc. that needed patching, which leads to painting, lots of painting. All of a sudden our lofty ceilings were a curse, not a blessing. Six or so weeks later (returning to our former obsessed renovating lifestyle) we are finished! We've:
  • painted inside & out
  • done endless amounts of patching on a range of surfaces, liquid nails and no more gaps are my new besties! 
  • installed new curtains
  • tiled the bathroom
  • installed a new bench, basin, taps and lights in the bathroom
  • installed new light fittings
  • my dad created shelving to hide a bodge job of bare wall that a former owner created
  • installed a range of fittings
  • and removed a mountain of hooks (another former owners were into feng shui)
  • shopped and styled, okay this wasn't a chore, but it did take a lot of time and research ;)
 I only have iPhone or really old photos of the exterior at the moment, but I'm going to share them anyway as I painted a majority of the exterior of the house by myself.... it wasn't as easy or as quick as I thought! Never the less, I finally got my dream of transforming our mission brown house to the ironbank grey it deserves! And I'm kind of proud of my efforts....



What would you love to do to transform the front of your home?


2 comments:

  1. Great job Heidi! It is amazing how long painting takes for the non-professional. I wont be lining up to do it again any time soon. Hope the sale goes well and quick.
    Great to find and read your blog. Love the sound of all you are doing.

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  2. Thanks Louise! I thought painting the whole house would take a weekend, turns out it was three! I understand why painters charge so much now!

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