My List of Seven

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend. We had a busy day yesterday with a friend’s wedding, so today is a quiet day at home. Last week was another good mail week with my little embroidered heart that Tina made me arriving. It is hanging in my study where I can enjoy it as I blog.

For today's post, the lovely Janette over at My Sweet Prints has tagged me to join in with the fun of listing 7 facts about myself so here goes…

1. I love being a stay-at-home Mum – I look forward to each day I spend with my precious little Grace and enjoy being a ‘homemaker’.

2. I am a teacher – I am currently on maternity leave from my position but before having Grace, I taught in a small primary school. I used to enjoy thinking of exciting lessons to do with my students and always tried to make learning fun.

3. I have really neat handwriting - People always comment on how it looks like it’s been typed, I guess it comes from being a school teacher :)



4. I am hopeless at knitting – My Nanna tried teaching me when I was a young girl. My project was a hot-water bottle cover for my Mum for Mothers Day. My Nanna ended up buying me a cover to give my Mum instead!!

5. I once did surfing lessons – After saying for years that my goal was to one day learn to surf, my lovely husband (then fiancé) booked me in for lessons as a Christmas present. I convinced him to sign up too and we had great fun learning together.

6. I always have painted toenails - I always stick to pearly, natural tones. A few weeks ago I gave red polish a try and it just wasn't me at all.

7. I love the Harry Potter books – I first read these novels when I was teaching to see what all my students were fussing about. I soon became hooked. I think J.K.Rowling is such a talented writer.


I’m going to pass this task on to Sarah, Catherine and Catherine. Please don’t feel obliged to join in, but we’d love to learn 7 new things about each of you…

Homely One House Tour - The Patio

Time for some outdoor shots today. Our patio is the newest renovation we have carried out. Our biggest issue in this space was the ‘garden bed’, otherwise known as the ‘sand patch’ which ran along the windows of the house. With Asha, this sand became a real nuisance as she would lie in it and drag it all over the pavers, causing them to look dirty (not that they were attractive paving bricks in the first place). Here are some shots of the old area...




We did contemplate decking, but as our priority was for something hardwearing and also low maintenance, we stuck with the clay bricks. We repaved right up to the windows in a darker, more uniform shade which seems to flow on better from our floorboards inside to create a more seemless look. We also replaced the old, discoloured roof sheeting and a few sagging beams before Paul gave it all a fresh coat of paint.

Once again, some homely touches are needed out here. I would love a cute pot with some pretty flowers for the table and in the corner where the potplants are, I am picturing a deck chair like the ones from Ici et La where I could relax with a cuppa and a magazine. What lovely things do you have in your own outdoor areas that create that ‘homely’ feel?

Homely One House Tour – The Ensuite

Sorry for the boring pictures - our ensuite is still a work in progress plus it was very tricky trying to take photos in such a small space!!

Thanks to everyone for all your ideas and feedback on my kitchen post. The second hideous space in our house that has been made-over is our ensuite. Previously, it comprised of dark brown mosaic floor tiles, eighties looking wall tiles, a cream toilet and shower screen and a dated vanity which was literally falling apart inside which meant that all our toiletries were ‘on display’.

Here’s some before shots….

As with the kitchen, we kept to the original layout (which was probably the most functional option in this small space anyway). We went for a semi-frameless shower screen, new chrome fittings and a white vanity and toilet. Our wall tiles are simple white ones and the floor tiles are dark grey.

At the moment, the only colour in this space is provided by the blue towels. However, I am thinking of eventually changing from blue to hits of an icy, aqua green. As with the kitchen, the ensuite now needs some homely touches so I am on the hunt for some artwork and some odds and ends to display in order to finish off the room.

The old mission brown security screens will one day be updated, but in the meantime, I am going to look into window treatments which should hide them a bit. However, I’m unsure which option to go for in a bathroom. Whatever I choose will also be used in our other bathroom and laundry. I like the look of venetian blinds but have heard they can be a pain to keep clean. What type of window treatments do you have in your bathroom that you would recommend?

Homely One House Tour - The Kitchen

Seeing as I already posted a few kitchen photos last week, I thought I’d start with this part of our house for the Homely One House Tour. Our kitchen has probably undergone the biggest transformation of all the areas in our home. When we moved in, it was functional but not at all attractive – ugly face bricks, dark brown cupboards, chunky cream benchtops, a dated oven and stove and dated wall and floor tiles (see before shots below)...

While we kept to the same layout when renovating, the addition of new timber flooring, cupboards, tiles, downlights and benchtops has made a huge difference. It is amazing how much lighter and brighter this space is now. As for the meals area, we have since replaced the old security screens with the new ‘invisible mesh’ style ones and the window frames are charcoal grey instead of mission brown.

I love our kitchen, but it really needs some homely touches added to it. The wall above the oven/stove needs something but I’m not quite sure what exactly. I’d also like to make better use of the space above the fridge for a display of some sort. Any suggestions? I’d love your feedback…

Homely One House Tour

Over the next week, I am going to write a few posts about the renovations we have done and the changes we have made to our house to date. I will post some before and after shots of the rooms we have put our own touch on since buying our house five years ago and will share further plans for projects we have yet to begin. Hopefully I will be able to get your ideas and input into each space too.

Stay tuned...