We moved into our #1930shome in May 2019 and we are nearly finished the #renovation work, which isn't too bad once you factor in a global pandemic slowing progress!
It needed a lot of work electrics, heating and all new windows, but we were up for the challenge! We had a clear vision on how we wanted the final result to turn out, we just needed focus on making it
happen! Our home before renovation work started
As I do with clients projects I started with a concept board, this shows the overall style direction of the project and colour palette to be used. This can be returned to as the project goes on so you know you're on the right track. If you think about this before embarking on a renovation you ensure that your home flows from one room to the next and is cohesive. We have an element of the same colour in each room which links the rooms and ties the scheme together. A room shouldn't be decorated in isolation but you should try and consider the
CONCEPT MOOD BOARD property as a whole.
Firstly, we set to work on the children's bedrooms, if they are happy then we all are! They had to sleep on mattresses on the filthy living room carpet for weeks, while their rooms were re-plastered, painted and decorated but they are happy with the results- so was all worth it!
The children's make shift bedroom!
MY DAUGHTER'S BEDROOM
BEFORE
MOOD BOARD
My daughter isn't really a girly girl and she definitely didn't want a pink and sparkly #bedroom! She likes pretty things and bit of pink but blue is her favourite colour and she also has a penchant for mustard, so this formed the basis of the room design. The woodchip was stripped and the room was re-plastered and the picture rail replaced and a plaster ceiling rose added. She did want to go for a darker blue on the ceiling and above picture rail but it seemed a little sombre for a 9 year old, so we compromised on this Mid blue, which she now loves.
We removed the large fitted wardrobe and added a decorative fire place which adds a feature to the room. We bought this from Ebay and picked up from a beautiful 1930s house in Barnet which was being gutted - their loss was our gain, we also purchased another from there at the same time for our spare room.
AFTER
Walls: Shaded White, Farrow & Ball
Ceiling: De Nimes, Farrow & Ball
Wall stickers (on Mirror) - Belle & Boo
Mirror - Graham & Green
Fireplace - Ebay UK
Lampshade- Next
MY SON'S BEDROOM
BEFORE
MOOD BOARD
My son is a real adventurer, he loves building dens and being in the great outdoors. The room scheme draws on the grounding colours of nature, greens and browns, with leaf motives on the bedding, cushions and stool.
We removed the saloon style doors, he wasn't keen on embracing the wild west look! The walk in wardrobe area has been turned into a cosy den which houses his toys, books and lego with the added bonus of it being all tucked away to hide the mess!
AFTER
Wallpaper: Woods, Cole & Son
Bedding and wall decoration: H&M
Light fixture: Wayfair
Walls: Shaded White, Farrow & Ball
Ceiling: Treron, Farrow & Ball
CEILINGS
Ceilings don't need to be white, people seem to default to white but they don't have to be! adding some colour is often a good choice especially when you have a picture rail. Can also be a good choice in bedrooms, when you want to create a cosy atmosphere and when you want to blur the lines between where the wall finishes and the ceiling starts, making the rooms appear taller.
BUILDING WORK
The foundations for the rear extension started to be dug in September 2019, while the weather was still good. We decided to extend by 3.5m, but we could of gone out by 8m within planning regs as our property is detached but that seemed a bit excessive and one of the main draws of the house was the large garden so it seemed a shame to lose it.
Schedule plan by our builder
LOFT CONVERSION
Once the foundations were dug work then moved up to the #loftconversion, this was to become our bedroom with ensuite. The loft has high ceilings so we made this a feature and we #vaulted the ceiling, which we are so pleased we did as it makes the room feel even more spacious, light and airy and not your typical #loft conversion bedroom.
We are really happy with the finished result, although if budget wasn't an issue we would of added a #crittal style french door rather than a picture window, one day maybe we can add this.
The view from the loft is amazing with Epping forest to the right and the City of London straight ahead, with a view of the Shard. I especially love it at night when its all lit up and it takes on a magical quality. I especially loved looking at this view during lockdown, when being immersed in the bustle of the city seemed like a distant memory.
Loft conversion progress
ENSUITE
I have a real obsession with patterned #tiles and love these we used in our ensuite by #claybrookstudio these are cement tiles and the pattern and colour really worked in this space. This space feels like a sanctuary away from the chaos of family life! The #zellige tiles by #mandarinstone work well above the sink and remind me of exotic trips to Marrakech. The console top is #upcycled from our old kitchen table which is too small for us now, but I couldn't bear to part with, so with a lot of TLC - firstly scraping off concrete like Weetabix it was then stripped, sanded, white washed and sealed so is now waterproof. I hate things going to waste, so love to repurpose items in our home #wastenotwantnot.
The console for the basin was The #ikea #stockholm mirror
#upcycled from our old kitchen was painted #farrowandball
table #calkegreen
WALK IN WARDROBE
This is housed in an awkward shaped space in the eaves, but was made useful by adding #ikea #elvarli system, this was tailored to fit by our builder, who is a trained carpenter- handy! The space is now really practical with lots of storage, hanging space down one side and drawers and shelves on the other side.
Ikea's Evarli system was customised to fit the awkward shape
FAMILY BATHROOM
The bathroom was just a shower room, not ideal with young kids, so we were very keen to get the bath installed! We had the standard 1930s set up of separate WC, so this was knocked through to the bathroom and once we removed the Dalek sized water tank we had a bit more room to play with, the bathroom's not massive but works so we have a freestanding bath and large shower.
BEFORE
Shower room Separate WC
AFTER
This bathroom was an exercise in budget restraint, the tiles are simple white square, trade tile and at £6 per m a total bargain and with the teal #astrea crackle glaze tile by #toppstiles as a border and skirting which adds contrast, colour and another texture to the room. The walls are painted in #ammonite by #farrowandball. The mirror was repurposed from the spare room and painted in #pleat by #littlegreene. The Bistro grey #hexagontile are also by #toppstiles and break up the straight lines a little with a contrasting shape.
Grey hexagon Bistro tiles
OLD KITCHEN
This was the room I couldn't wait to get started on! We used the old kitchen for 8 months, but the brown sink of doom, was starting to get me down! They will probably come back in fashion very soon, but maybe not!
BEFORE
The brown sink of doom!
A tiled worktop is not the most hygienic either, I'm so glad we had a new kitchen installed before Covid 19 hit or I'd of been freaking out not being able to keep the kitchen clean. However much you cleaned the brown sink it never felt clean and the brown grout didn't help!
The kitchen has now become a #utilityroom, with downstairs WC and will soon be fitted with wardrobes to clear all the coat and shoe clutter away out of sight. Looking forward to adding some tiles for the splashback.
The new sink is the #havsen sink from #ikea and we used a solid compact laminate for the worktop. I wanted a pretty tap with ceramic handles but sadly this was one thing my husband wouldn't compromise on, as this needs to be practical place for cleaning muddy boots, so the black tap it is!
AFTER
The brown sink is no more!
KITCHEN
I had a wish list for the kitchen - pantry, open shelving, island and plenty of storage, so not too much to ask! I'm so grateful we got everything on the list, it's still a bit of a work in progress on the final decorative details, but nearly there.
The kitchen used to be a living room space which stepped down where the original garage was. The floor was all levelled and a we have a snug where my husband works from home with a pocket door which has proved invaluable the last few months. Only snag is that this is currently where our only TV is, so the kids can only watch it once he's finished work, which you can imagine goes down well! but the living room will be finished very shortly so we'll all have more space .
BEFORE
Estate agent photos
We had Black aluminium doors installed, these are #critall style doors, sadly the budget couldn't stretch to original Crittals, but we are happy with the result, they're a little chunkier than I would of liked, I would of preferred a slimmer profile, but not everything is possible within budget and I'm not one to wait for things, so we have done everything at once rather than wait and save, I'm too impatient for that!
Black aluminium Crittal style doors
AFTER
The kitchen itself uses #ikea carcasses with bespoke fronts. Which meant we could choose the colour of the doors we wanted, we went with #farrowandball #shaded white on the wall units and #inchyrablue on the island.The worktops use a granite by #caesarstone in White Attica supplied by #granitedirectlimited a local company. The bluish and grey veins running through it bring out the blue in the island colour.
If you are renovating a kitchen and have the space, I would suggest sectioning off part of it as a #pantry, which makes for great storage space and frees up the wall space.So instead of wall cabinets you can have some open shelving, which is decorative and also gives the kitchen a more airy feel than just a wall of cabinets. Also, very handy in the time we are living in, when going to the supermarket is such a mission, so enables you to go less and stock up!
Open shelving
Walk in pantry
HALLWAY
It's so nice to have a larger hallway in this house compared to our last home, which was a Victorian semi with a very narrow hallway, which you'd have to shuffle along when a guest came to the door!
I fell in love with the geometric tiles for the hallway from #mandarinstone on a trip to their Bath showroom when visiting the in-laws. They have a lovely art deco feel to them without being overly patterned, I love the mix of the deco and plain titles which all have a lovely aged patina so they look like they'e always been there!
BEFORE
Estate agent picture
AFTER
I wanted to keep the plate rack, which made me unpopular with the plasterer, but really pleased we did. Love that you could see the impression on the wallpaper where the old plates once were. We have used the rack to display family B&W photos in simple black frames and one wall is used to display plates, I'm a sucker for a decorative plate!
The original plate rack showing
the impression of where plates
once were
The wall colour is a beigey/taupe #dropcloth by #farrowandball it's the perfect colour not too grey or brown. The upper part above the plate rack and ceiling is #shadedwhite which works so well with the #dropcloth.
LIVING ROOM This was a rather simple room by comparison. Once the walls were re-plastered we replaced the picture rail and added a ceiling rose.
So excited about getting the light fitting up in here, its a glass bauble chandelier by #dowsingadandreynolds. We will eventually install a fireplace surround and there will be built in bookshelves on the left to create a library feel to the room. The idea is that this is more of a grown-ups room, but we'll see how that goes!
BEFORE
Estate agent picture
AFTER (work in progress)
Walls are painted in #farrowandball #lightgray, this is the same colour as we used in our last home but we just love it and even though this room is north facing it still works, it has a brownish/khaki tone which sounds a bit grim but it's really lovely and cosy and it changes colour throughout the day with the light, turning from a stoney tone to a greenish one. Above the picture rail and ceiling is #shadedwhite which we have used throughout the house.
Bubble chandelier with 24 glass
baubles by #dowsingandreynolds
NEARLY THERE...
Covid has slowed our progress as you can imagine, but the big renovation work took 9 months, which was longer than anticipated but we hadn't factored in a global pandemic and shortage of materials! We now feel so happy and settled that we can start enjoying our refurbished home.
Now to just make the finishing touches to the living room, which I will share with you soon.
We are looking forward to really getting stuck into the garden in the Spring, project vegetable garden and flower cutting patch here we come!
Well done if you made it this far! Thank you so much for reading this blog post, I hope it has been helpful if you are considering or are mid renovation - keep the faith it will all come together in the end and be worth all the hard work and effort!
Gemma x