Pre-demolition photos

A selection of photos showing the rooms once our stuff was packed away. This was the original ensuite which became my overflow wardrobe. Check out the teensy shower space. Even if you could get the water to run at more than a dribble, you'd have to be child sized to fit in here anyway.

I won't miss the floral motif on this basin. Or this basin.

Gah the roman blinds again! The laminate floor!

A badly constructed 'fitted'wardrobe which was next to useless in terms of hanging clothes due to the short rail inside.

The stippled ceiling with strange cracks.... And the rest of the snaps show the kids room.

Before pics: The bathroom & ensuite

Kind friends have said that this bathroom isn't so bad. I guess at first glance it's no worse than many rental properties with it's 1980s bland aesthetic. But having lived with it for the last six years I know all it's shortcomings. And I'm now cured of a desire to ever have white tiles again.

A tiled in cistern. Genius idea. Not.

Ye olde stippled ceiling. And an unpredictable light that blew transformers due to a design fault.

I have no idea why real estate agents tell people that an extra bathroom will add £10k or whatever onto the asking price. We certainly didn't pay over the odds for this house because it had an ensuite. As it happened, the shower had about as much water pressure as a weak watering can so swiftly became a hanging rack for my clothes. The only true benefit was having a sink a few paces from my bed for when I needed to expel too many martinis.

Before pics: Top floor

As you can see, we're basically slobs. Due to a lack of clothes storage and six years of accumulated crap; our bedroom is a dumping ground instead of a nice place to hang out. I'm posting these as a reminder to myself as to how NOT to live.

Here's my pet peeve: A stippled ceiling. It will be so nice to not have to look at this ever again.

The roman blinds were leftover from the last owners. No idea why we didn't pull them down earlier. They are hideous.

Before pics: kids bedroom

We moved in a year ago!

Happy anniversary gravy, got you on my mii-i-ind! (Musical reference, Little River Band FYI). Yup, a whole year has passed. And despite all the hiccups and dramas, when you compare how this house looked when we first exchanged contracts to how it looks now. I have to admit, I am pretty chuffed with how it's turned out. Here's a bunch of before and after shots for your perusal (NB these house pics show the possessions/taste of the previous occupants)

At top shows how the entrance hall looked, and below is how it looked as of half an hour ago...



Here is the original stair case:



And here it is today:



This is the utility room that used to be at the bottom of the stairs:



And you can see how it looks now, with that pesky boiler turned 90 degrees, because the back wall was knocked out for the extension:



Here's the original TV room in the middle floor:



And here's how it looks now - note the boxes still yet to unpack, and the kids clutter (that yellow and blue thing is a puppet show theatre):

Actual photos of the house

February 2008...