Renovation and Restoration of a 1930’s House Before and After Pictures

I have now compiled ‘before and after’ pictures, with the occasional ‘during’ photo (remember it always gets worse before it gets better) which I hope you’ll enjoy and give you momentum to commence or  finish your projects.

The renovation and restoration of a 1930’s house is finished! Are you ever finished in a home? Probably not.

Front Elevation

Before – A sad, neglected house

After – The completed front elevation of a renovated 1930’s house

Before – Sad and neglected                                        After – Restored and extended

Hall

Before – The original front entrance hall prior to renovations.

Before – The original hall was dark and poky.

During an internal hall wall removal.

 

After – The completed entrance hall

Sitting Room

Before – The sitting room with the original 1930s’ brick fireplace.

After – The original 1930’s brick fireplace was retained, so too were the original Crittal French doors.

Before – A 1930’s sitting room with original Crittal French doors and brick fireplace.

Kitchen

Before – The original 1930’s dining room

The dividing wall between the kitchen and dining room has been removed, to be re-positioned.

After – The completed kitchen

After – Kitchen with glass partition and door to hall. Original servants bell box is re-hung – shame no staff though!

View into dining/ day room area from kitchen

Before- the original dining room prior extension and renovation work – damp wall is now where clock is hung.

Living Room

Before – Laying the foundations

During – Marking the wall for the multi-fuel stove

After – The finished sitting room

Family Bathroom

Before- Originally a bedroom

After – The bedroom now converted to a family bathroom

Before- A tired and dated bedroom                         After – A family bathroom

Master Bedroom

The first fix electrics in the master bedroom

After – The finished master bedroom

After – The large master bedroom complete with a four-poster bed from Heals.

The Loo

Downstairs loo with original 1930’s cast iron cistern

After – The original cistern was restored and re-used

Before with original cistern          After – Re-sited and restored cistern

Guest Bedroom

Before – Landing with doors to loo, bathroom and airing cupboard

The internal walls were removed to form one room.

After – Now a guest bedroom

Originally a landing with airing cupboard, bathroom with separate loo. Now a guest bedroom, painted in ‘Setting Plaster’ Farrow and Ball http://www.farrow-ball.com/setting%20plaster/colours/farrow-ball/fcp-product/100231

Rear Elevation

Before – Rear Elevation and garden

After – rear garden showing first years border plant growth.

Before – An overgrown garden                           Waiting to mature!

However carefully one plans either a renovation or restoration project, it rarely comes in on budget – it’s usually over budget. This is not just because of unforeseen problems like discovering structural problems once the work has commenced, it can due to adding a few extra plug sockets here and there (it all adds up) or choosing high specification kitchen, bathrooms and fittings. Usually it’s because we’ve under estimated the basic build/renovation costs – raw materials labour plus VAT.  Comparing your projected budget spread sheet to the actual costs spreadsheet, helps analyse where you under budgeted or over spent.

Did we go over budget? Yes, we knew we’d go over budget when we decided to install the Sonas system. However, the original quote was less than the final invoice due to the time-lapse between the first fix and completion – the labour and equipment had increased in price. The quote was valid for 30 days only, lesson learned.  The building material costs were higher too, despite having a breakdown of these costs from the supplier which our budget spreadsheet was based upon. Generally, the majority of people under-estimate their expenditure.

With the uncertainty of property the market, and the impact Brexit may have, many home owners are opting to improve their current home instead of moving. Having had nearly forty years experience in renovating properties, although home values may dip from time to time, they always go up, and on the whole a good investment.

If you think I can be of benefit to you and your project, whether big or small just contact me.

Floor tiles on cloakroom floor     http://www.firedearth.com/tiles/range/patisserie/sucre-1 and entrance floor  http://www.firedearth.com/tiles/range/casino-floor/mode/grid

Artwork by Kim Major George  http://www.majorgeorge.co.uk/

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Comment(required)

Submit

Δ

 

 

Deck The Halls -Christmas Decorating Ideas

A Christmas welcome

 

 

 

Deck the halls with boughs of holly…. as the Christmas Carol says; a tradition which goes back to medieval times and continues today. Either combined with ivy, fir, cinnamon sticks and baubles are made into garlands, hung from stair banisters’ and fireplaces or simply draped over pictures and mirrors.

Make the most of your banisters

Faux Christmas garland used on a hearth or bannisters

 

Wreaths – Traditionally hung on front doors, but look equally as festive hung on a wall inside, perhaps in place of a picture during Christmas. A simple willow wreath or zinc with lights will brighten a dark corner.

Zinc star wreath from http://www.coxandcox.co.uk

Antler wreath from http://www.coxandcox.co.uk

Lit star to brighten a dark corner from http://www.coxandcox.co.uk

Try hanging an oversized wreath in place of a mirror or picture at Christmas

Focal Points

The Christmas Tree is usually the focal point in a room, especially if you don’t have a fireplace – but do measure the size you require prior to purchasing; trees have a knack of looking smaller in a shop than in your sitting room!

Decorating your tree is personal preference of course, and can lead to disagreements on occasion.  Sometimes people have two trees to avoid differences of opinion!  Choosing  from traditional, contemporary, Nordic, and Vintage themes.  The choice of decorations available is endless, so too are the choice of lights. Your tree should reflect your personality and creative ability, however just ensure that it complements the rooms’ surroundings rather than compete with it, to do both justice.

Small tree, big impact!

A regally decorated tree to match it’s regal room setting

Christmas tree and hearth have been decorated to enhance the rooms decor

Fireplaces and Hearths – With traditional fireplace with a mantle and surround the choices are limitless. Greenery, candles, cones, ornaments. Again, choose decorations, colours and design which complement the fire surround and your room to create an overall cohesive design.

A faux fireplace decorated for Christmas

A simple arrangement of lights candles and stars is easy to do.

A collection on a theme looks festive

Candles replace the glow of a real fire to great effect

Simple greenery with candles which will reflect in the mirror

Countrystyle hearth and decoration wwwwhitecompany.com

It’s advisable to have a faux garland near a wood burner or multi fuel stove, due to the heat output, if you want your ‘greenery’ to look fresh for the Christmas period. Led lights woven through and baubles can be added to enhance your garland. Or have a garland made from dried fruit and foliage. Keep the look simple with piles of logs for a rustic appeal.

It’s advisable to use a faux garland near a stove. House to Home.com

Floral displays as table centre pieces, again with candles look stunning. However, ensure the arrangement is not too tall to block out the person sitting opposite (you may find this a bonus though!) and is easily removed if requiring the space for serving dishes. A floral display on occasional tables looks stunning too, but if time is at a premium or not your thing, try grouping three of the same plants together for effect like Poinsettia or Hellebores’ ( Christmas Rose).

Group Ponsettias together for impact

Hellebores and pine cones for a simple, easy but effective festive arrangement

A low level Christmas table arrangement

Exteriors – You’ve all seen the extravagant light displays some homes have at Christmas, sometimes complete with a Santa on the roof! If your taste is somewhat less flamboyant (I know mine is) then less can be more. Fairy lights hung around the front porch or small trees by the door give a warm festive welcome. If locating a suitable electrical point is difficult, place lanterns outside with LED tea lights or candles instead. A wreath or a simple bunch of evergreen tied with a festive bow hung on the door.

A festive front entrance from House to Home

An evergreen wreath always makes a Christmas

An unusual compilation of greenery, lantern and sculpture prettypinktulips.com

Rusted star lanterns from Cox and Cox

Whatever your Christmas  decorating choice – let your personality and ideas shine.

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas.

Images fairytaillightsandfun.com royal collection.org.uk http://www.busybeestudio.co.uk next.co.uk iheartshabbychic.com sarahgordonhome.co.uk  Sarah Raven sjarmerendejul.blogspot.com inspirationsdeco.blogspot.fr

Renovation Restoration a 1930’s House – Come On Baby Light My Fire

Image from Bloglovin

 

Several months of trying to get the multi-fuel installers back to the house to complete the outside flue resulted in two ‘no shows’. They twice failed to turn up without contacting us; and once turned, up and then left after ten minutes explaining that they couldn’t do the job as our tower was not tall enough. I did wonder why they hadn’t bought their own tower or ladder with them to enable them to do the job.  I eventually managed to speak to them, and they explained that it would be best if we found someone else to finish the job. I had been dumped!

This posed two options, we either find another approved installer so we can get our HETAS certificate, which may be difficult because they hadn’t installed the first part of the multi-fuel stove, and may not want to certify someone else’s work.  Also they would be wary of us, as they would wonder why the installer had refused to return to finish the job. This I couldn’t explain. The other option would be to have the flue installed without a certificate and ask Building Control to come and inspect it and hopefully issue the certificate. However, if it failed the Building Control inspection which company would we return to rectify installation problems? We also had to get our flue returned from the original installers which was purchased by us months ago. Luckily, we found a great company who were prepared to complete the installation of the outside flue, (reclaimed from the original company) and issue a certificate. Interestingly they only needed a ladder to finish the job!

The outside flue, now completed

 

The utility and boot room floors have now been laid with tiles resembling wooden floor boards. These are very popular at the moment and the choice of colours, textures and meterage costs are numerous. We purchased our tiles from a local tile merchant Acorn Tiles. They take time in planning the layout prior to laying, but makes the actual laying a lot easier, especially if using fast set adhesive. I have used grey grout to blend with the tiles. Fired Earth  http://www.firedearth.com/tiles/range/newlyn/mode/grid  also have a selection, and are surprisingly close in price of Topps Tiles, which one would imagine being cheaper.

Fired Earth ‘Newlyn’ floors tiles

The back splash has also been tiled with ‘subway’ or ‘metro’ tiles laid in brick style and grey grout used in between.

Subway tiles with grey grout and trim

The wooden and glass partitions were fixed in place without the safety glass, and have been stained along with the wooden beading for fixing the glass for ease of application. The glass was then fixed in place, fixing holes filled and a light sanding all over. The partitions then had another coat of stain applied. Despite not being metal ‘Crittal’ style as originally planned, we got a great result at a fraction of the cost.

The glass partition in situ

Light now floods into the hall

After much research we finally chose the engineered wood flooring. It’s a light oak veneer with a matt lacquered finish. The company, Posh Flooring  https://www.poshflooring.co.uk/engineered-wood-flooring/oak  were very helpful, efficient and offered advice on the underlay and installation. Delivery was two to three days and the wood had to be laid flat for at least a week prior to laying to acclimatise. Due to the amount needed, we ordered half what was  required and sufficient for two rooms for ease of laying and space. A vapour barrier is laid down first on the floor and then the wood laid on top. Some flooring systems are clicked together and others are glued. It is important to leave a 10mm gap around the edges of the room to allow for expansion. The wood will expand and contract, and if you don’t leave a gap the floor will buckle and in some cases need relaying. This gap will be hidden by skirting boards, or if a retro fit by wooden beading.

The wooden floor being laid, with the layers beneath.

The finished floor

 

 

 

 

 

As The Clocks Go Back – Advice on Achieving Christmas Renovation Deadlines

Warm, cosy and comforting ambience . Images by Kit Kemp, Susie Watson

As the clocks go back (great an extra hour in bed!) this weekend, and we are forced to retreat in doors and batten down the hatches after a surprisingly good long hot summer spent enjoying the outdoors. Our thoughts turn to our ‘hibernation den’. Suddenly we want to be warm and cosy. Comfort comes high on our list of priorities, be it comfort food, a snugly throw, a fire to sit and gaze at. Indeed wood burning stoves are presently having a boom time in sales. No wonder, they are so much easier to light, keep alight and control than a traditional open fire. The heat out put is higher (we’ve had to open our French doors on occasion, because we were ‘cooking’, which rather defeats the object). However, not everyone has the facilities or want an open fire, opt for a gas or electric alternative.

Ambient table lamps with their soft glow and flickering candle light are comforting and lift the spirits. Rugs and throws to snuggle under, along with the constant reminder on the telly that Christmas is on its way.

Because we are spending more time in doors, it is then we notice those jobs which need tending to. General maintenance, or feel the need to decorate, or even perhaps major work like a new bathroom or kitchen. Then there is Christmas coming up, yes, let’s get everything done by Christmas, our home will look amazing! Christmas is often used as a defined deadline, ‘By Christmas’. The problem is that Christmas tends to creep up on us, and bite us on the bottom if we are not careful with our planning and achievable lead times. Most contractors will agree that the run up to Christmas is usually very busy and often get inquiries in mid November with people requiring their services to be be finished by Christmas, not a chance. How many times have we found ourselves wrapping presents on Christmas Eve and trying to get the newly decorated spare room ready for guest to arrive in a few short hours? So ‘by Christmas’ we are stressed out and exhausted.

Rollers which emulate printed walls or wall paper. Esty

Even worse is the half finished kitchen installation, when its your turn to cook the Christmas Dinner. You will be in a state of disarray (everyone knows the turmoil in the house when a new kitchen is going in) and very disappointed being unable to ‘show it off’. If using a contractor, they will generally finish just before Christmas, and not return until 2nd January, so why not wait until the 2nd January to start the job?

Any jobs or work which realistically are going to take longer than your self inflicted dead line of Christmas, plan now to implement in January and February. Trades people are generally quieter after the pre-Christmas rush. The sales are on and there are bargains to be had for furnishings, kitchen and bathroom fittings. Take time to  enjoy the planning and choosing, it’s supposed to be pleasurable not stressful; And besides January and February can be such flat, dreary months, you can cheer you and your home then. The evenings also begin to draw out, so the light wont fade too quickly whilst trying to paint.