Thursday, January 3, 2013

The Family/Dining Room

I am back at the local Hungry Jacks making the most of my half hour of free wi-fi. For the price of a small flat white coffee, it seems a pretty economical way to get an internet hit every couple of days.

I thought I'd give an overview of the progress we've made on the dining room and kitchen. That's where most of the 'permanent' work has taken place so far.

First up, the pressed metal ceilings.

  The pressed metal is coming up a treat. #theoldpostoffice

Dan used a product called Peel Away to start stripping the paint off. I believe it's an Australian product and it did a pretty good job of sealing and containing the paint. 

Even so, it was a huge job. It took him three days just to get most of the crumbling paint from the kitchen ceiling and he had to bring in the Gerni to get the last of it off the roof.

He's going to do some test patches just painting over the less crumbly paint in the dining room to see if he can get away with not stripping it all off because it's incredibly messy and labour intensive, particularly in such a large room.

Next up, we decided we wanted a more open plan layout between the kitchen (through the door below) and the dining room.

Bye bye lino and fluorescent lights. I'm thinking chandeliers in here. Oh yes, I am.

We couldn't take the wall out altogether due to the way the two nearest doors open across the space. The original plan was to put a decorative archway in, which is a more traditional Queenslander room dividing style.

But, when we discovered the pressed metal ceilings were continuous, an executive decision was taken simply to open this wall up all the way to the roof. 

Soon, decorative cornices will be added to dress it up a little but already the increased light flow through from the large kitchen window to the dining room has made a huge difference.

Wall = gone. Mostly.

This room is about to get scrubbed and furnished. Painting comes later.

Another little quirk can be seen above. It seems when the house was built, a last minute decision to move the wall behind Lucinda was made. As a result, the decking boards from the open breezeway outside the door continue about a quarter of the way into the dining room. 

A hearth for a new wood heater will soon be built in one corner, the rest of the boards will eventually be replaced with pine ones matching the rest of the room.

Yesterday, we started moving furniture in. We got this large dresser as a gift from Dan's mum and it fits perfectly in the space and is incredibly useful in a house with no cupboards anywhere.

This pine dresser was a hand me down. Incredibly useful in a house with no cupboards.

We're waiting for friends to come by this weekend and help us lift a few heavier items, like our couch and the dining table inside and then I'll show some photos of the 'finished' (for now) space. 

16 comments:

  1. Well done! Great exec decision with the wall - it certainly does make everything lighter. The improvement is amazing already. cheers Wendy

    ReplyDelete
  2. You are both working so hard but boy! You're making good progress. I love that ceiling and it will be just beautiful when you're done. I love reading about your progress. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  3. It is looking fabulous. You're going to have something really special on your hands very soon. I can't wait to see it when you have more furniture in. I am loving this blog.

    ReplyDelete
  4. its looking great...amazing what a good clean and elbow grease can do. Bet you can't wait to get a more functional kitchen though!

    Satellite isn't that bad especially if you can get it under the national broadband thingy (it all takes t.i.m.e though!) Can you not get Wireless Broadband there, ie if you can get phone signal? of course, nothing is as cheap and easy to get as if you were living in the city, one of the disadvantages about living in the country is the lack of population to get the same level of service that the town folk enjoy and take for granted!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow. The property is looking really neat. Some of the earlier photos had be a little worried but things are coming along nicely.

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's going to be a beautiful place to live when you have completed it, lots of hard work but well worth it :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. the rooms flow much better now, love the dresser!

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a difference with opening up that wall! Looks great, and that dresser is divine!
    Judy xx

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow, taking away the wall makes a difference and lets the light in, looks great and I love the pressed metal ceiling.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Changing that wall is a great move. The ceiling is fabulous.
    The doors look like they have been salvaged. Why not take them off, store them for a while, and maybe swap them around later.
    Do you have your bushfire plan in place?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Opening up that wall is fantastic, the light alone makes it worth it. Had you considered re hinging the doors to open the other way so you could take out the whole wall? My mum has a decorative arch she is getting rid of from her house - it is original and gorgeous and fits a large span of 3560mm x1690 drop . Could send you pics if you have a space for it anywhere. And your ceilings are so so beautiful, so wish Betsy had pressed metal. we have ornate plaster/horsehair instead which is pretty cool but pressed metal is divine. mel x

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ooh, it's already coming up a treat, Edwina. All power to you, my friend! I can't wait to see what you do next. J x

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow, it's really looking nice. Imagine how it will feel to relax in your home once it's all done, knowing that you restored every inch of it? It's a big job, but a beautifully rewarding one.

    ReplyDelete
  14. happy new year edwina - i'm playing catch up. the dresser looks gorgous - free standing storage units like this will fit in so beautfully with your old house.
    i thought stripping wallpaper was a $#@! of a job but doing a ceiling - hats off to dan.
    fianlly, the sense of space and light is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Really enjoying your blog, the photos are wonderful x

    ReplyDelete
  16. How exciting to see everything coming along. The ceiling will look so great when done. Love the dresser too.

    ReplyDelete