Another Friday night at Ikea. We must be getting pretty good at it now as we don't fight any more. Partly due to knowing all the short cuts around the store, but also learning the tricks - such as eating first, parking near the lifts where you exit from rather than near the entrance and making a list.
On this trip we bought the two metal cabinets mentioned in an earlier post, and two plastic trays. Not bad. The cabinets in their massive flat pack boxes only just made it into the Volvo (had to remove the back seat headrests though), but were remarkably easy to assemble.
I ordered a 37" flatscreen Toshiba Regza from Amazon including all the cables, a temporary indoor antenna and related bits for under £500 (there goes the holiday fund) which arrived the next day. The upside of having a second TV is that Rob can watch sport and the kids can watch Spongebob... and I can read the newspaper supplements in peace.
The room is starting to feel really useful, instead of cold and bland. We'll get a third cabinet actually, since this will be our storage for the next couple of years. Looking forward to getting all our artwork up on the walls this side of Christmas.
Now to find a plumber who actually shows up as we need that boiler replaced, and soon.
Click the photo below to see a supersize panorama taken at the weekend...
I've always liked the Panton "S" (stackable) chair, it's a 20th Century Design icon and was the first plastic chair made from one section.
We considered getting half a dozen to use as our indoor dining chairs, but decided against it as the S chair has become too ubiquitous. From various drinking establishments around London to the Mode offices on Ugly Betty, the S chair is everywhere... so instead of being quirky and distinctive, they now feel a little common.
Last week I was on eBay and saw that you could get kids versions for £14 + delivery, so I went for it. I've put them with the little table in front of the TV in the living room on the middle floor. This way we get to enjoy a little nod to Panton's collectable design without having them take over our dining room. The kids really love them too. I wonder if you can get kids sizes of the Barcelona chair?
I don't know why I actually thought that this would happen any time soon. I guess it's denial. It seemed like we'd been really careful about the cost of most things and even recovering from massive cost over runs - paying for such exciting unforeseen necessities such as extra support beams and what not - the funds are drying up. Heck, I thought by not doing an entire floor we would've recovered quite a chunk of money, but alas. Not nearly enough.
Back in December I posted the architects drawings of the proposed bespoke wall cabinet - which was originally costed at £1,000 and was then re-quoted closer to £2,000. Even so, it's the feature that will really make the room. From being an impactful bit of design as well as enormously useful, it was the one thing in the house that I was determined was going to happen come hell or high water. Anyway, here comes the high water: we need a new boiler.
Our existing boiler is 20 years old and the plumbing is a mess. The power shower pump isn't in the right place so some mornings the shower runs at a determined dribble. There isn't enough oomph to get all the radiators piping hot at the same time. And our utility bills from NPower are eyewateringly high. With the temperature dropping the central heating will go on in the next week or two so it's time to act.
A new boiler will cost around £1,500 to install (quotes to come in shortly according to Rob) but will save potentially over £300 a year in heating costs. Then there's the glass splash back (£550) which is becoming a priority as every passing week means the wall near the hob gets in more of a state. So now we've agreed to get a couple of cheap metal Ikea cabinets (pictured top) which cost £65 each. This temporary solution can accommodate misc house debris, and can be re-used elsewhere when we rustle up the £2,000 to build the proper cabinet.
I guess it's time to move on and sort a storage solution as we've been here for nearly a year and there are loads of boxes piled high in our TV room which are really starting to annoy me (what's IN those boxes?!)
There's been a bunch of small but irritating fixes around the house that have been ignored for many months. The to-do list probably added up to three days of solid work, but trying to get a builder back for three consecutive days when they aren't getting paid extra was always going to be a mission.
I'm pleased to say that Teia did manage to come back twice in the last couple of weeks and sort a few things out. Firstly, he put a thin strip of white wood along the top of the cupboards - this was to disguise the fact that the ceiling wasn't completely level. If the cupboards had been aligned to the ceiling, they'd never have sat completely flush with each other at the bottom.
Secondly, he put a length of timber at each side of the external doors to hide the concrete where the doors are braced against the brickwork.
Thirdly, he filled in some of the more noticeable cracks in the wall. I haven't got photos of the other two things as they're hardly photogenic but definitely worth mentioning: Teia lifted the planks of the deck to lay a membrane which prevents weeds from growing up between them. And last but not least, he finished connecting the extractor tube (which takes the smells from the kitchen extractor/range hood) and now spurts odours outside. We used to have that tube dangling in the garage so all the laundry that was drying in there smelt faintly of bacon smoke. It's been so nice to go in there and not balk at yesterday's dinner smells!
Teia's done a terrific job and hopefully he'll make it back for one more day to finish off a few more things, before moving back to New Zealand.
Our new neighbours have great taste. Aside from the numerous coincidences that have sprung up since we've got to know each other, they saved us several hundred pounds by sourcing the perfect outside dining table and chairs from the end of line department at... yup, Ikea. Despite frequent visits to Ikea and hours perusing the catalogue in the last couple of years, we'd never seen either this table nor the chairs.
Our mission to find an identical set involved a trip to the Edmonton branch for the table and then a couple of phone calls and a 40 mile round trip to the Croydon branch for the chairs. They look like they match but are from two different lines, and being discontinued were a little difficult to track down. Still, at £75 for the table and £15 for each chair we didn't mind the time involved as the alternative was a similar set from John Lewis which would've cost £1,108 vs the £165 we ended up shelling out.
Coincidentally one of the weekend newspaper supplements had an advert for Ronseal Perfect Finish Garden Furniture Oil and for £15 including delivery it seemed a sensible investment. I managed to do all three coats myself - as indeed it was extremely easy to apply (just like the ad promised). Each coat took about 20 minutes (to do six chairs and a table), which was touch dry within an hour and totally dry after four hours. The furniture now has a slightly darker, glossier sheen which should make it weather proof for the next few years.
Summer's officially over, and it's funny how within days of the kids going back to school/childcare the temperature is instantly autumnal. I've been trying to get an invoice out of NPower for about a month now as our last one was issued back in February. Despite leaving two meter readings and phoning a couple of times, the invoice is still elusive. I suspect this is in part a terrible system, but also because no doubt our exorbitant monthly direct debit has put us into credit.
Funny how big companies are quick to chase you when you owe them money but are very slow to refund it if you've overpaid. Obviously quite motivated to get this sorted as the central heating will be put back in action in the next couple of months.
Our downstairs space could do with an extra radiator actually. We had to get a little fan heater to help warm the room up as someone miscalculated the space and the two radiators (or "rads" as builders call them) don't fill the room with toasty warmth, they just sort of take the edge off, even when cranked up to max output. When we were planning the extension I was keen on getting a wood burning stove, something like the Focus Gyrofocus pictured top, sadly they cost over US$18,000 which means that they were firmly in the "not in this lifetime" category. Shame reallyas there's something cosy and earthy about a fire, and provided you get a well designed wood burning one they can be better for your carbon footprint than other methods of heating your home.
This place does a more affordable selection of wood burning stoves -firesgalore.co.uk. Style wise there's a lot of ultra modern versions or very olde country kitchen, but sadly nothing like my beloved Gyrofocus. Still, when you're talking about £600 vs $18K most people make compromises.
It's probably too late now to even put in any kind of fire into the extension so I should probably keep an eye out for another rad, but not until NPower gives us a bill so we can see how much the gas is costing us!
The London summer has been relatively good this year, while there were plenty of monsoon showers there's also been loads of sunny days. I've taken to wedging open our front door to let the afternoon sunshine pour in. As you can see, it completely illuminates the front hall and fills the house with bright light. Our current front door is a traditional Georgian style, painted fire engine red, and while perfectly functional doesn't let any light in. Rob's attitude is that the wedging open solution is fine - we live down a dead end, private road so there's no chance of the kids getting run over. However, keeping the door open doesn't work so well when the temperature gets a bit cooler... and now a neighbourhood cat boldly comes inside when he thinks no-one's looking!
I'd like a simple modern door with glass panels at the top which would match our interior decor. And of course the panels would let some light in when it's closed. The top of the range styles which feature all kinds of security enhancements and are fully bespoke door solutions are not cheap though. Silveloxfor example offer 11 different types of glass which can be used with 13 different door styles, but they'll set you back around £3,000 including fitting. The photo below (from the Silvelox website, excuse the house in this example!) shows a door with glass panels at each side which would've also been a good solution - our door width unfortunately isn't wide enough.
One of my neighbours asked a local company how much it would cost to make a basic door with a segment of glass included and they quoted £450. You'd then need to buy the door furniture (ie the locks, handles etc) and have them fitted on top. We have a metal security gate and a monitored alarm so I think spending £3K on a bespoke secure door seems a tad excessive (and we've got nothing of value to nick anyway). Still, good to see what's out there incase we win the Lottery...
"Number 54. The house with the bamboo door. Bamboo roof and bamboo walls, they've even got a bamboo floor" Andy Williams, what a classic. And yeah, we have made ourselves the House of Bamboo - certainly with the flooring, the foliage and now thanks to a Friday morning delivery, some actual plants. They were £35 each from a garden centre in Enfield, the black plant tubs were £65 each. £270 all up for what is now a massive improvement to our deck.
In addition to providing a bit of privacy and shade, we're hoping these will provide a slight barrier to prevent the girls from constantly flinging themselves over the fence to annoy the neighbours. We've had the bamboo for exactly four days and it's already looking a little dry and floppy despite two massive watering sessions. I am optimistic these plants will survive (£140 for replacements! They'd better survive!) - actually, I'm off to read up on how to look after bamboo right now...
Oh no it's finally happened. I've fallen off the wagon and instead of staring with barely contained politeness at people who wax lyrical about their gardens, I have to own up to having a mild interest. It didn't take much. Basically a visit to B&Q on a particularly warm day a few months back saw the impromptu purchase of a selection of baby lettuces, a container to grow them in and a massive bag of compost. Within weeks the lettuces were getting quite large and they've supplied the leaves for numerous salads ever since. Until last week when some kind of animal (a vegetarian fox perhaps?) interfered with the soil and the snails moved in shortly thereafter. I am going to have to dispose of these lettuce remains and the soil as I'm too paranoid to eat them now. I'll do it properly next time, with salt and beer sunk into the soil or maybe some kind of netting system.
In other gardening news (!) we were away for five nights and it was fairly warm in SE England for a few days, topping 30 degrees on Tuesday. The girls had planted a handful of wildflower seeds which were beginning to shoot skywards last week. It turns out they flowered while we were away and them promptly died due to lack of water. I am the greenfinger of death.
This photo is rocking the Eames/concrete/white aesthetic and reminded me of a more upmarket industrial version of our house. Also, I have no new photos of my actual house to post as nothing has happened lately.
Rob finally heard back from Teia at the weekend. He's still planning on coming to do a few odd jobs in the next couple of weeks, but he's going to give us back the money for the splashback so we can sort that directly with the glass company. (Annoying that this wasn't sorted months ago as I've had several messy accidents involving a high pressure espresso machine and wet coffee grinds). The bespoke cabinet is officially on hold till we replenish the ever decreasing house fund, which will be some time off as we now need to replace the boiler.
Our neighbours moved out on Friday and the new ones moved in the same day - the new people have been reading my blog (HELLO!) thanks to having a friend in common (London can be a village). Despite reading my marathon-angst-fest they've keen to remodel the ground floor of their house in a similar way to ours. I have to say, despite the time and the money, it's totally worth it - our house is a pleasure to hang out in!
I'm into architecture, design, music, travel and cooking. Since arriving in London in 1999 I have worked in digital media and publishing (including Wallpaper* and PORTER magazines), had two children and travelled a lot. I am currently working in advertising doing content strategy. This blog was to document my house renovation project, but for the time being, it's more or less done...
