oldcottage

[oldcottage]

WINE CELLAR!!!!

With the addition of some Ikea metal shelves and a modular wine rack the cellar is now a functioning wine cellar with organised storage :-)

https://www.wineware.co.uk/wine-racks/modularack/about-the-modularack-wine-rack

[oldcottage]

Gradually trying to finish off each room now, as work has eased off a little and we are both finding an hour or two here and there to make some home improvements.

October half term saw an opportunity for Oliver to decorate the cellar - this had been left with bare plaster ever since the 2016 renovation and had become a full-on dumping ground. The before photo doesn’t even do it justice as most of the contents had been moved out into the dining room!

Ceiling: Farrow & Ball - School House White

Walls: Farrow & Ball - De Nimes

Skirting boards: Fiddes Hard Wax Oil - Oak Lightening

Applying the wax oil made me fall in love with our oak all over again! 

(Also - really loving the wide-angle lens of the iPhone 11!)

[oldcottage]

Loooong time since we posted anything here, and the only update is oven-related. So after we moved back into the cottage in January 2016, we had the old gas oven re-installed on a temporary basis... In December 2016 we were gifted an old cheap rangecooker and took the ancient oven to the tip - we managed to have it installed in time to cook Christmas dinner. This was also meant to be temporary...

Fast forward just over 2 years (and 2 further Christmas dinners later), to February 2019 and the range cooker broke. To be fair it was on its last legs when it was given to us so it had a good innings. We ordered my dream oven - a Lacanche Macon in Aubergine purple 😍

It was delivered the week before Easter (microwave meals and portable electric hob for the 2 months between) and finally on May 18th it is fully installed and in its rightful place 👍🏻👏🏻🙌🏻

Bring on the baking! 🍰🧁🎂🥧🥮🍪

[oldcottage]

Moving in day couldn’t come soon enough! We laid out protective cardboard onto all of the floors to protect them from any possible damage. Here you can see the metre-wide gap waiting for the new range cooker, with the old gas oven temporarily re-installed.

Now the front lawn looks like a reclamation yard and a rubbish tip!

[oldcottage]

New back door in pride of place and the back steps finished just in time for our moving in date of the 31st January.

[oldcottage]

Ooops!

The shower screens were amongst the last things to be finished off by the builders - we thought the biggest problem would be getting them through the three turns of the staircase, but that was a breeze. Fitting them, however, was a little more tricky - the original measurements were taken before there were floor tiles or plasterboard on the ceiling and we didn’t quite estimate the thickness of those parts correctly. Nevermind, with some filler and a lick of paint I’m sure it will be fine...

[oldcottage]

Gorgeous new oak staircase was finally fitted mid-January. We will be treating the wood with the same wax oil finish as the skirtings and doors, and will keep the stairs as exposed wood, without carpet.

[oldcottage]

Really pleased with the finish of the woodwork. The before and after photos really show how the wax-oil brings out the beautiful grain of the oak (although it did take a backbreaking 4 hours on hands and knees). Might be a while before we feel up to tackling the all the bedroom floors!

[oldcottage]

Trying out some different wax-oil finished for the woodwork. Decided on “Oak Lightening” for the skirting, doors and architrave and “Medium Oak” for the living room floor.

[oldcottage]

“After” photos of the slate floors. The ground floor looks beautiful with the slate throughout.

[oldcottage]

The rest of the bathroom was fitted today and we are soooo pleased with it! We have gone for a traditional Edwardian style suite to go with the metro wall tiles. The gorgeous floor is under cardboard for protection.

[oldcottage]

We have eventually made a decision on the flooring in bedroom 2 - the previous owners of the house had removed the floor and replaced it with chipboard panels, leaving it the only bedroom without its original floorboards.

Oliver has been out and sourced some reclaimed oak floorboards, so we have removed the chipboard and put the floorboards down and achieved a really great looking “original” floor!

[oldcottage]

Our riven slate was delivered just before Christmas and this week the tiler has been busy laying them in a “Grand Opus” pattern. This will run throughout the ground floor (except in the living room).

“After” photo to follow...

[oldcottage]

The bathroom has made big progress this week, with our rather large shower tray, white metro tiles on the walls and a grey wood effect tile on the floor, both will be finished with grey grout. We have gone with floor-to-ceiling wall tiles on three walls, leaving one wall bare for painting - we just have to come to a decision about the paint colour...

[oldcottage]

Since the windows and back door went in, the kitchen has been plasterboarded. Now we can get a feel for the space and realise what a brilliant room it is going to be, with its high ceiling and loads of natural light (although not so much of that at this time of year!)

[oldcottage]

First coat of paint has gone on in most rooms! It makes a big difference to the light level - Bedroom 3 before and after photos are both taken in full sunlight but you can see how much lighter the room is with the paint on the walls. This is just the first coat - 50:50 white paint with water, so it is very splashy and goes everywhere! We have covered the gorgeous oak in masking tape to protect it, so fingers crossed it hasn’t been damaged.

Oliver is in charge of the roller and Emma does the cutting in with a paintbrush.

[oldcottage]

The beautiful oak doors, frames and skirting board are being installed - this is a long job for our joiner as the finish has to be flawless, they cannot be filled and painted. We will finish them with a clear hard wax oil to bring out the grain but not change the colour at all.