tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21754855215054668482026-04-04T02:45:41.444+01:00Follow the progress of the design and remodelling of our house in East Londonkaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.comBlogger307125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-62170616443766338402014-01-10T15:09:00.000+00:002014-07-08T15:12:44.128+01:00

Two weeks in New Zealand, while fabulous for catching up with family and friends, is not exactly a holiday for us. There isn't a lot of lying about reading novels or sightseeing to be had. A trip back to NZ costs nearly £6k for the four of us at Christmas even if we book it months ahead. Then it's 27+ hours flying time to get there, so to make it less of a chore we always tag a stopover

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-39082356939334996342013-12-28T12:33:00.000+00:002014-07-08T12:37:14.195+01:00

It had been four years since we'd been back to New Zealand so December 2013 was designated the time to go. Christmas holidays aren't ideal - in the UK the schools are only shut for 2 weeks (vs 6 or so in New Zealand) and we didn't want to spend £5,800 on flights for a two week stint. In the end we went for 3 weeks and got fined for taking the girls out of school for the extra time. The fine

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-30648139243704480982013-12-07T12:07:00.000+00:002014-06-17T16:48:27.354+01:00

Sunfold Systems came around this week and we had a different engineer this time. This chap decided that the only place the water could get in was via a couple of screw holes in the vents, so his plan was to cover them with a rubber skirt and see if that kept the water out. This was a temporary measure with the outcome being that no leaks means it works, so he'd know what to remedy to make it

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-29522028949123596332013-11-25T20:30:00.000+00:002014-06-17T16:36:28.687+01:00

The humble incandescent light bulb started to get phased out in 2009, and ours hadn't quite given up the ghost until now. We had a bit of a struggle finding LED replacements that worked with the dimmers. The first pair to arrive wouldn't dim at all, and cast a cold blue tinted light across the kitchen. We replaced them with some Philips EcoClassics, which happily dim and have a

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-60987648264130073862013-11-11T20:31:00.000+00:002014-06-13T22:29:46.746+01:00

The wet splodge on the sofa is from the leak. We seem to go for weeks with no sign of a leak then out of the blue, drip drip drip. It doesn't even have to be raining, I imagine the insides of the metal frames are slowly filling up and then spilling when they eventually get full. I have no idea if this is why but then neither do Sunfold by the looks of it. On the upside, at least we're

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-52062140764027017502013-10-16T20:03:00.000+01:002014-06-09T22:05:27.973+01:00

If you're a fan of mid-century design and you haven't had an excuse to visit Haggerston High School in East London, then make sure you keep an eye out for the next Modern Shows event here (October 12th 2014 FYI). I've lived in the area for 14 years and am ashamed to admit this was my first visit to the Erno Goldfinger designed building. The show itself was worth a look, but because it was

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-91478661277123582142013-10-14T20:35:00.000+01:002014-06-05T21:04:13.152+01:00

7 or 8 years ago I was eligible to apply for British Citizenship having held the Indefinite Leave to Remain status for the required time period. At the time the cost was a few hundred pounds so I put it off. This year, I  decided to finally get on with it. This meant studying and passing the Life in the UK Test, attending a (surprisingly emotional) Citizenship ceremony to swear

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-74405326513720029462013-09-28T15:19:00.000+01:002014-06-03T15:31:10.327+01:00

So here's the door from the outside looking in. The glass has enough of a texture that it allows in plenty of light, but you can't make out what's going when you peer through it. Nice to have the 'furniture' where we wanted it, though I regret not getting the door knocker that came with. The door bell is stuck on with double sided sellotape but hey ho, it seems to work OK. The door is

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-60420882408264035622013-09-02T19:10:00.000+01:002013-09-23T22:01:44.770+01:00

Earlier this year I blogged about getting a quote from the Anglian Home door company. Long story short - it was the sort of sales technique that makes my skin crawl. The opposite of that experience was dealing with the (aptly named) Composite Door Shop. You could fill out a virtual door designer, stating all your preferences for a bespoke service, and even with the addition of a letterbox (that

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-30601988882533132942013-08-13T09:30:00.000+01:002013-08-13T12:16:51.589+01:00

I go to a LOT of festivals. Last summer I clocked up five or six, and so far this year I've been more fussy and only made it to three (not counting the five Depeche Mode gigs I've been to around Europe). Camp Bestival is the one festival that we as a family enjoy going to - it was our third year. (Pictured above: Team Moroder). We used to be regulars at the Big Chill but after four years of

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-54609925635263641472013-08-06T19:28:00.000+01:002013-08-12T19:38:25.970+01:00

While we were at Camp Bestival (post to come on that shortly), the builders popped back for a day of final fixes. Coming home to a virtually finished house after camping for four nights was a pretty amazing feeling. I'm so happy to have a proper bedroom instead of the cluttered mess we had before... And a good size wardrobe - for the first time in nearly six years! Will be great to get a

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-25718763197935562013-07-30T20:48:00.001+01:002013-07-30T20:48:33.039+01:00

Ten weeks into the build and the bathroom is finished (except for a little snagging). And I started a new job yesterday. My summer off went super quick. Here's the inbuilt shelving. Would be my preference to only have Aesop products but my family would disagree. The cabinet is massive - managed to get all first aid and skincare items in my side... View from the bathroom looking towards

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-89405516826838047352013-07-19T11:52:00.000+01:002013-07-23T11:53:11.523+01:00

This is the view from the hallway looking into the bathroom. The sliding door is necessary in the space or it would be wacking into the double sink. We ordered a shower door from a retailer on eBay but it took 5 weeks to get the bathroom ready to install it. When the builders opened the package they found that the shower door was smashed as were the brackets. The retailer wouldn't refund or

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-46855385765425560782013-07-14T11:12:00.000+01:002013-07-17T11:44:22.260+01:00

My builders are amazing: one stayed behind to sort stuff out and other drove all the way to Ikea and handed over an extensive four page shopping list. All our wardrobes and internal gubbins, kids mattresses and some bathroom lighting came to £1,551. The builder loaded up his van and drove back to us, and as he lit his cigarette he remembered he'd left various items on a trolley somewhere. He

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-46012816320346230732013-07-11T17:03:00.000+01:002013-07-11T17:04:12.386+01:00

I've just enjoyed a week in Croatia with some lovely friends and it felt delightful sleeping on a proper (single) bed, after many weeks of kipping on the sofa. I got back to find the bathroom was 75% finished, the walls painted in eye-hurtingly bright white and the skirting board had been mostly laid. Today the carpet got installed in around two hours. It's the same carpet we have on the

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-83303745847620921592013-07-02T13:03:00.001+01:002013-07-02T13:03:35.621+01:00

I've been adding photos of dark tiles to my Pinterest board for months. Incredibly, Rob and I looked at the same photo and I said 'Those tiles are dark grey, possibly black' and he insisted they were light grey. In the end, I managed to source gunmetal grey tiles in high gloss which were the same shape. Rob wasn't keen, insisting on even smaller tiles, in light grey, with a matt finish. His

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-5602293663183105832013-06-30T11:41:00.000+01:002013-07-01T11:47:38.146+01:00

Five and a half weeks into the top floor renovation and things I have learned: The build always takes much longer than whatever you've estimated The build ALWAYS costs way more than you've budgeted My sofa is quite comfortable I'm so happy we put a second shower downstairs last year, or we'd have spent (so far) over £5k on renting nearby I should have taken out my summer holiday essentials

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-63802359782540600912013-06-26T12:08:00.000+01:002013-07-02T13:12:11.632+01:00

Bedside lighting: pretty boring topic. Unless, like me, you have mismatching bedside lamps due to various previous accidents involving clumsy cleaners. Also there's something irritating about the snakes of cables getting caught up around the bed. So when the above lamps popped up as a featured design buy on fab.com I sent the link to Rob and suggested they might be great for our refurbished

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-1309331696157845122013-06-21T18:39:00.000+01:002013-06-21T18:39:19.086+01:00

Today is the longest day of the year - happy Summer Solstice - and how timely that the Velux is in so we can see just how much light it lets in. These photos were taken at 6.20pm just after a cloud burst, so not exactly the brightest conditions, but as you can see there's a tonne of light: The Velux uses an electronic system via a remote control to open and close, and has rain sensors

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-23032139883216106142013-06-18T17:34:00.002+01:002013-06-18T17:35:04.654+01:00

What a difference a weekend makes, at least I think most of this happened over the weekend. I've been off on a bit of a jaunt chasing Depeche Mode around (well, only 4 shows so far) but this meant I had a trip to Germany followed by a trip to Paris less than 48 hours later.  The good news was that most of the horrible stucco effect had been removed and the surfaces of our walls and

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-27672893949468331682013-06-13T13:38:00.000+01:002013-06-13T13:47:03.772+01:00

Another conundrum solved with the initiative of our clever builders: where to store our suitcases? I suggested a high shelf but Rob said that'd look ugly. The builders suggested putting them into the loft space and I pointed out that getting them out might be problematic as I travel a lot and climbing up a ladder was a recipe for disaster. But for £80 you can buy a loft ladder, problem solved!

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-85983934250195190612013-06-09T19:54:00.000+01:002013-06-09T19:54:17.235+01:00

The bathroom is starting to take shape. The walls are more or less in, so we can stand in the space and pretend it's a busy workday morning when both of us want to be brushing our teeth at the same time and see if there's enough elbow room. Will be easier to assess once the basin is here.  Great news - we can get a large Velux window into the roof and not compromise on the safety as

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-38506189144841292592013-06-06T18:49:00.000+01:002013-06-09T19:33:20.631+01:00

This photo was taken in the bedroom looking out towards the bathroom. The two silver 'ladders' are the internal gubbins of the sliding door mechanisms. This is why there's currently no walls - in order to insert pocket doors they need the wall build around them.  This is the size of the new wardrobe - about 2.5m long and as high as the ceiling - just thinking about this makes me

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-57448697537455014702013-06-04T10:33:00.000+01:002013-06-04T10:33:42.237+01:00

The breeze blocks are where my old ensuite used to be. And the (fugly) doors are where my old wardrobe was. This is the view from the hallway looking into our bedroom - one of the builders said 'You could even put your bathroom in the corner so you'd have natural light and have a long bedroom instead'. Apparently he wasn't serious but we still knocked up some drawings as it was a very good

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2175485521505466848.post-80638834057035612152013-06-02T17:49:00.000+01:002013-06-02T17:49:19.885+01:00

After one day with a sledgehammer this is what our old bathroom looks like.  We're onto the second skip already. This shows the view from the bedroom looking at the ensuite and bathroom spaces.  A parquet floor? Who knew! And this is why the floor was so squeaky - they'd used different kinds of wood, which were nailed down instead of screwed, so the floor wasn't exactly

kaybar007http://www.blogger.com/profile/12943206087089837894noreply@blogger.com0