JANUARY 2009 ~ Exterior

THE EXTERIOR

In the first photograph you can see the house as it was. The cones infront of the house were there as the council were working on a new drainage system for the village - wonderful timing for us renovating this fine old house.

Luckily the previous owner had installed new windows before we purchased the house. He chose hardwood double glazing which is great as pvc windows would have been so wrong on such an old house. I intend to have them painted white however as exposed wood is not really my choice.

Deciding on what colour to paint the house took me ages. I actually went as far as putting the photographs of the house into one of my computer programmes and experimenting with colours until I found the one I thought best.

Finally I went for a bright citrus lemon colour. I chose this partly because of the name (Daisy Cottage) and partly because the colour is so very fresh and clean. I was slightly nervous after buying the paint and waiting to see it done but now I am so glad I chose the lemon colour I did. I think it looks great - a real sunshine, happy, fresh colour.

I am considering having faux shutters made and painted white to complete the look of the exterior.

Last year I found a great little company in England (www.croftcastings.co.uk) to make me a house sign. I just told them what I wanted and they produced the most cute little sign with the name of the cottage and little daisies painted on it. I will have the sign fitted as soon as the house is completely ready - a sort of private unveiling of the house if you will.

I bought a new front door and it's solid wood with a tiny window in it. Once again this is white. The door furniture the builder added is, in my opinion, just wrong. It's a horrible brass colour and not at all what I would chose. I am now searching for black, old fashioned looking furniture and will have this fitted when I find the perfect door furniture.

JANUARY 2009 - The Livingroom

The first photo above is of the livingroom pre-renovations and the second shows the livingroom after renovations.

I can't wait to get this room furnished! I bought the sofas last year and they are in storage waiting to be delivered to Dunkineely. I found a rather nice dark wood coffee table with a matching tv stand. I think I will use my Edwardian display unit there but am still undecided about this. I found a beautiful old sideboard which I hope will fit once the sofas etc. are in place.

I have put a medium dark wood style flooring in and we have retained the open fire having had new flue liners put in and the chimney fixed. The lintle over the door had to be raised as the doorway was too low before and the builder had the idea to use the stones removed from above the door shaped to be used as a base around the fireplace. The builder used an old railyway sleeper for the mantlepiece and this just has to be smoothed down a little. I think he has made a great job of the fireplace and it will be lovely to have a nice big fire burning there. I have a great 3 part mirror I bought in an antique shop a few years ago and I think this will look great above the fireplace ~ now if I can just find it!

Once again the walls are painted a warm cream colour and the highlight colours will come from the cherry red sofas, the curtains and the gorgeous red chandalier I found. I am looking for some groovy cushions to scatter and with a few chosen ornaments I think the livingroom will look really nice and super cosy.

JANUARY 2009 ~ The Bedrooms

So, after renovations we have ended up with 5 bedrooms. One on the ground floor and 4 upstairs. The bedroom on the groundfloor is a double bedded room with walk in wet room en suite attached. There is a ramp from the back yard to the back door and a ramp from the back door to the bedroom in order to have one bedroom which is suitable for those less able for stairs.

Upstairs we have 2 double bedded rooms, both en suite (showers), and two twin bedded rooms. There is also a family bathroom with a bath.

I have taken ages to source suitable furniture. Monetary constraints were leading me to flat pack furniture but on consideration I think that my option to go for stronger furniture is the best one. I know it works out way more expensive but at least the furniture we have chosen is strong and looks very well too. I have chosen a heavy dark wood suite for the master bedroom, two medium coloured wood suites for the other 2 double rooms and a light wood suite for each of the twin bedded rooms. I went to the extra expense also of buying good deep matresses as I think a comfortable bed is vital.

I have had the bedrooms all painted a pale cream colour with white woodwork and left the doors simply stained as they are wood and I'd hate to cover them with paint.

I am considering adding splashes of colour in each bedroom ~ maybe aqua in one, red in another, green in another and so on. I have loads of lovely ornaments and dishes I can arrange in the bedrooms to suit whichever colour I chose and I suppose I will add to the colour by using matching bedside lamps and perhaps curtains in the chosen colour etc. The bedding is to be snow white for each bedroom as I think this looks so clean and fresh and I'm not too fond of multi patterned bedding either.

I think having a comfortable, clean bedroom is vital to enjoying a holiday and because of this I am being ultra fussy with our bedrooms. I just have to reign myself in on the expense side from time to time!

JANUARY 2009 ~ Kitchen/Diner

Above pics show the kitchen before (second pic) and after (first pic). The after one is just to show how light it looks now and obviously taken prior to the units being fitted.

Well, the renovations are now complete and I'm back on my blog after a long period away.

The kitchen is looking lovely - cream units and black granite worktop with a tiny gold fleck through it. I decided the extra expense of a beautiful granite worktop was worth it and I'm glad I went for it. It finishes the kitchen off beautifully.

The floor in the kitchen/diner, downstairs hall and utitlity area have all been tiled with classic black and white tiles. In the kitchen I was lucky enough to find a jet black dishwasher and a black fridge/freezer. The fridge freezer is the American double sized type and has a dispenser for ice cubes and a dispenser for chilled, filtered water. I know it was going a bit expensive to buy one of these beasts but we have one at home and I know how great it is to have all that space and ice and chilled, filter water at the touch of a button.

I went a bit mad and sourced a black dishwasher to fit in with the decor. It's kinda cool looking. The hob too is jet black and completely plain so it fits in with the granite worktop perfectly. I want to buy pure white dishes as I think white is best and I will go for catering dishes as these are much harder wearing than ordinary domestic dishes. The cutlery I chose is modern and of a good quality so it will fit in perfectly with the rest of the kitchen/diner.

Luckily I am addicted to buying kitchen utensils and this has left me with a raft of all sorts of utensils which I can use in Daisy Cottage. I have sourced some great quality catering saucepans and frying pans and will use them too.

The walls in the kitchen are painted a lovely soft vanilla shade to match the units and the paintwork is all white. The door, which is solid wood has simply been varnished to allow the beauty of the wood to shine through.

I have ordered 2 tables which I will have joined together and then the 12 chairs I have also ordered will fit around the double table leaving lots of seating and space for dining. I am trying to find a country cottage style oil cloth for the tables, you know, the gingham look. I love oil cloths and think using one in our cottage will be perfect.

There are 2 windows in the kitchen/diner (one at the front and one at the back) and although I have ordered blinds for privacy at night, I can't decide what other window decor to use. I am sort of thinking along the lines of some lovely country roses material to make curtains but I will have to see what I can find. As the front windows all look over the village, I have decided to make pretty little cafe curtains (the sort that sit on a brass rail halfway down the window) with old fashioned lace. This will make for privacy during the day when the blinds will not be down and I think they look gorgeous.

I just can't wait to get staying in the house for a night and try out the new kitchen!