Category: Furnishing

Eat, read, sleep.

The title of this blog is a variation on that memoir of breakdown and recovery by Elizabeth Gilbert.  If movies are your thing, then the 2010 release of the filmed version starred Julia Roberts.  (She of the romantic-comedy genre, starting with Mystic Pizza in 1988.)

This image is of the vestry from the back door, looking towards the room that will be my bed/living room.  The pale blue double doors, bookshelves, and large cupboard were the first items to go, followed by the fluorescent lights and false ceiling.  The desk and chair now serve as the construction office furniture in the vestibule.

Those who know me well know that I’m not a ‘morning’ person.  This made for lots of fun and games when I shared a room with my sisters growing up.  I read somewhere that east-facing bedrooms were optimal for sleeping / waking.  For the vestry conversion, I didn’t have any option but to go with the bedroom in the east-facing corner of the building.

I’ve lived in old houses with large bedrooms for the majority of my adult life.  At just over 4 x 3.5m, I’d need to be careful with how I organised the space and what furniture I’d put in it.  Fortunately the high ceilings (3.5-4m) would maintain the sense of space.  Early on I had decided to put a pocket door opposite the back door for the bedroom, and to replace the window opposite with French doors to increase the amount of light and maximise the view of the mountain.

As a minimum, I needed to have a table, couch, and bed to make the space comfortable for short stays.  A lot of my furnishing decisions have been based on aesthetics rather than anything else!

I found second-hand dining chairs and a small square rimu dining table that I liked quite quickly on TradeMe in January 2019.  What took a lot longer to find was fabric for the dining chairs that would go with the couch and overall colour scheme.  When I did find a fabric I liked, it was no longer available anywhere in the world!  Eventually I settled on a plaid pattern that was simple, elegant, and reflect the Scottish heritage of my Presbyterian kirk.

I decided on a leather couch as being suitably hard-wearing as well as giving a touch of luxury.  I was fortunate to pick up a lovely two-seater recliner model over a year ago as described in this post.  I’m still tossing up whether or not to add a floor lamp and coffee table to the reading area.  I think it’s going to depend on how much space I have once the main pieces of furniture are in place.

I’ve always liked the Design Mobel range of bedroom furniture, ever since I bought my first bed from them over 20 years ago.  Unfortunately they went out of business a few years ago, so their solid native timber beds and furniture is starting to attract a premium.  I decided that the Ironbark range had the right aesthetic for my space, so I’m slowly picking up bedsides and a queen bed as I come across them at a reasonable price.

Curtaining has been a bit of a dilemma.  I’m still wanting to use natural fibres where I can so have focused on the range offered by Verdant Living.  I’d originally picked a bird print on a cotton and hemp fabric, but the fabric colour didn’t go with the dining chairs.  Most of their other prints are too small, but I’ve now settled on another bird print on a hemp fabric which works quite well.  I’ve gone with a light colour for the paint to go with the overall scheme.

 

Next time:  Every b*st*rd says no

As pretty as a picture

This is a photo of a photo of Olearia nummularifolia in the Rangipo Desert all framed up by my own fair hands. I now have a much deeper understanding of the costs behind those eye-watering quotes you get to have something professionally framed.

I took my 15-year-old niece with me on the hunt for lights and curtain fabrics one day. We were discussing what artworks to put up on the walls, and trying to come up with a concept that would fit in with the ethos of keeping things simple.

I developed a love of Impressionism in my teenage years from wandering around my local art gallery and studying art history in my final year of secondary school. My sense was that I needed something more local and natural than contrived for the vestry.

My first thought was photos of indigenous alpine fauna and flora. Then I remembered that someone had given me an old calendar of photos taken in the region. Perfect, I thought.

When I dug them out I realised that the photos were different orientations and sizes, so standard frames wouldn’t work. I was reluctant to invest in professional framing for mass-produced copies.  A quick online search identified a weekend picture-framing course scheduled within the next few weeks at a local art college. Fortunately they had one place left so fee paid and off I went.

The tutor was great at explaining everything and helping us with the tricky bits. Unfortunately some of the equipment was very manual.  I’d chosen chunky wooden framing timber that was prone to splitting when cutting it with the special guillotine. It felt like I spent most of the weekend cutting framing timber!

Fortunately I managed to get two pictures framed which I can hang in my current bedroom until the vestry bedroom is painted. Unfortunately I lack the patience to make a meticulous job of cutting and pinning so they’re a bit wonky! I like to think it adds to their charm.

I’ve decided to use some of the photos from the White’s Aviation series for the kitchenette. I’ll print them off as A3 and frame them in standard frames to create a bit of rhythm. That just leaves the art for the shower room to do!

Next time: Good fences make good neighbours.

Things aren’t always what they seem….

This basin image informed the overall concept for the shower room vanity. We’ve come a long way from the original concept!

I’ve previously outlined my predilection for buying stuff online. Usually it’s something that’s secondhand, but I also buy new ‘cheap and cheerful’ stuff from online retailers. I figure if it’s just got water or waste going into it then function is just important as form.

One of the builders I met in September told me about Trade Depot who provide basic items at reasonable prices. Since I’m going for the simple look I decided to use them for some of my bathroom and kitchenette products.

First up was the basin for the shower-room vanity. My niece had in mind a nice curvy vessel basin to act as a counterpoint to the rimu tongue and groove sarking, and the lines of the vanity.

We finally settled on something that closely resembled her concept image. Then the cabinet-maker who was modifying the vanity unit alerted me to the fact that my elbows would be at ear level when I was cleaning my teeth. Not a good (or comfortable) look I thought.

We settled on an alternative that has some curves but was about 2/3 the depth. Job done I thought. I picked it up from the store during a road trip to Auckland in January, and handed it over to my stonemason along with the granite slab I purchased at the same time.

I haven’t been in a hurry to get the granite cut, polished, and the holes for the tap and waste cut out. I figured that it was a finishing element that could be done at a later stage.

However, I’m trying to choose fabric for the shower-room blind and stool, so gave the stonemason a bit of a poke last week so that I could get a small off-cut to cart around with me. (Did I mention that the granite slab needs at least two people to manoeuvre it – it’s fecking heavy.)

Unfortunately it turns out that the sink I bought five months ago isn’t suitable as a free-standing basin. One side is an unfinished ugly terracotta colour. My stonemason contacted me to let me know so that I could get a replacement before he cut the hole for the waste.

It’s been more than a month since I bought the unit, so the supplier charges a 20% ‘restock’ fee. I have to pay to have it couriered to Auckland, take a loss on my original purchase price, as well as paying full price on a replacement item.

Note to self: take stuff out of boxes and check it when your receive it.

I’m currently mulling over a few options. Plan B is to source something locally and take the hit on the original item.

Danik Art basin

The preferred third option is out of stock, so we’re now going with this number!

Next time: A view from above

Cleanliness is indeed next to godliness (John Wesley – 1791)

One of my design aesthetics is for the building to look as though it could be returned to it’s previous use without undoing all of the new elements.  The vestry was the area where the minister would get into their robes (vestments) prior to a service.  It was also used as an office for meetings.

For phase one of the conversion, I’m turning this area into a shower-room, kitchenette, and bedroom.  The bedroom and kitchenette are relatively straight-forward.  The shower-room is where most of the design and construction challenges lay.

There’s no water or sewerage connections to the church, so the nearest toilets were attached to the back of the church hall next door.  (I still have the tags that were on the keys for each toilet.)  The nearest available toilets are now at the park around the corner in Conway Street – a bit inconvenient.  Boom tish!

The new layout will see the shower to the left of the window, vanity straight ahead, and toilet to the right of the window.  I have a thing about noise so the toilet is as far away from my bedroom as possible!  I’ll also be using sound-deadening plasterboard to keep the noise levels down.

One of the early layout designs I was given had the vanity squished in next to the shower so that there was wall space for a mirror above it.  I’m not that vain!  Nor am I an exhibitionist.  As the locals have a tendency to use the grounds as a short-cut I’ll be putting a mirrored finish on the bottom half of the sash window for modesty purposes……………

I like good design but that comes at a cost.  I’ve opted for bog-standard things like the hand basin, shower, and toilet which I’ll source from Trade Depot or TradeMe.  The vanity cabinet is coming from BespOak NZ and the granite top is secondhand.  However, I’ve struggled to find basin and shower mixers that I like.

Well, that’s not quite true.  I have found a brand of mixers that I like but the prices are eye-watering!  I’ve opted for an Italian brand priced between the cheap-and-cheerful Australian and well-engineered German products.  No surprises there.

Yet-to-be-resolved is what type of oil finish to apply to the rimu sarking on the walls and ceiling.  My choices are an interior oil that gives a milky-white finish, tung oil, and danish oil.  I also need to decide whether or not to install a glass panel above the shower-room door to let more light into the kitchenette.  What do you think?

Next time:  The end of an era

Damn it, granite!

Buying stuff via online auction sites is a bit like online dating: you sees it, you wants it, but sometimes it’s just not that practical or plays hard to get………………..

This was the case with this lovely piece of granite I found. Buying it was not the problem. Finding someone who would cut it for me was. First I tried advertising on BuildersCrack – no response. Then the lovely people at BuidersCrack sent me a list of people to contact. One I contacted didn’t do that sort of work and the other two didn’t return my calls. A bit like online dating really.

Maybe it wasn’t to be. I decided to try something else. Something that was available. Something that was willing and able to be cut up and shaped how I wanted it to be. So off to a granite bench-top place I went to find something that would work. But instead of finding a tall, dark and handsome piece of granite, all I could find was some wishy washy piece of blergh. And then I got the quote to cut, shape and install the piece of blergh. It would be twice as much as the vanity, tap, and basin combined. Blergh!

I decided to try a different tack. Approach another bench-top supplier to see if they could supply me with my shower tray and cut my granite as a side job. First they wanted to know if it was Chinese. A bit racist I thought. I reassured them that it was an European import, but of an undetermined vintage. They would love to help, but a bit busy after Christmas, here’s someone else you could try, come back to us if you’re unsuccessful. I’ve heard those lines before!

Fortunately the person they referred me to was able to help. My dream of a sexy piece of granite in my shower-room will be realised!

Next time: Call me (call me) on the line.  Call me, call me any, anytime……………

December disappears into a haze of waiting

This photo of a lake near Ohakune was taken around 1910.  It may be in the scenic reserve on Lakes Road.

December went by in a rush.  After submitting my building consent application at the end of November it was taken up with resolving design queries from the council and paying the bills.  Unfortunately I was three days late submitting to get my consent approved before their Christmas close-down.

I finished work mid-December, so with a month off it was time to start researching products, estimating costs, and finalising design elements.  The costs soon stack up even when you’re looking at stock bog-standard items.

The heated toilet seat with the anti-bacterial nozzle, pressure wash, deodorisation, warm water bidet function, and remote control was quickly taken off the list.  Now I just have to decide if I want a retro toilet or something more modern.  Decisions, decisions.

Next time:  All you wanted to know about getting a change of use approved but were too afraid to ask

Everything takes twice as long and costs twice as much

This photo of the swing bridge over the river was taken around 1910.  Like the wagoner crossing via the ford I usually have to take the long way around.

Okay, so the heading might be a slight exaggeration, but it seems that way at times.  Take my purchase of the church.  I paid nearly 35% more for it in August than when I tried to buy it in May.

The kitchen cabinets are costing me 33% more because I need to get the more expensive oak cabinets sanded and spray-painted.  The spray-painting is costing me 50% more than estimated as the spray-painter has to do a special clean of his equipment before and after he uses the paint products I’ve specified.  The cabinets are imported and despite ordering them in September I won’t get them until late January.

The roof window in the kitchenette is going to cost me more because the company I wanted to use no longer makes them, and I now may need to get it fabricated to order.  The french doors will also be a special order so that they fit the width of the existing window.  I will need to order both of them soon so that I can get them fabricated in the new year, but I need to wait for building consent approval before I can do that.

Installing insulation will be more expensive as I have to remove the floorboards to install it underneath.  At least that will make it easier for the plumber to install the plumbing to the kitchenette!  It will be more expensive to install insulation in the walls as I will need to pump it in for most areas.  I need to add new rafters to create enough depth in the roof cavity to install insulation.  And so it goes on.

I got a great piece of advice when I started out contracting and consulting – “work out how long you think it ought to take, then double it”.  That’s proven to be the case for the design and drawings, and I’m following that mantra for the consent and building phases.

Let the fun begin!

Next time:  December disappears into a haze of waiting

The cabinets are coming, the cabinets are coming……….

Glass-fronted wall cabinet – coming to my kitchenette soon!  I like being able to see where things are without having to open numerous cupboard doors.

I’ve loved the BespOak NZ kitchen cabinets since I first saw them.  However, with wooden floors, walls, and ceilings in my church this natural white oak product may have been a wood too far.  I was delighted to discover that they also had a painted product using acacia wood for the external panels, and white oak for the internal panels and shelves.

Being the mildly OCD person that I am, I decided to order the cabinets in September which was a couple of months in advance of when I anticipated the kitchen and bathroom would be put together.  (Little did I know then what I know now.)  I duly went online to get the product numbers only to discover that the painted versions were no longer listed.

Inquiries to BespOak NZ revealed that the manufacturer had discontinued the product line due to a lack of demand.  However, I could purchase the oak cabinets and have them treated and painted so that I would achieve a similar effect.  And so commenced my next mission.

Products ordered, BespOak NZ put me in touch with a spray-painter who had already worked with their products, but not my preferred paint products.  The Natural Paint Company had supplied their products to another client for painting BespOak NZ products.  They were awesome at liaising with the spray-painter and talking through their products, how best to use them, and paint options.

Meanwhile, I had worked out my colour scheme for the bathroom and kitchen, and ordered a colour chart from The Natural Paint Company.  Rather than printing their colours on glossy cards they actually paint them onto cardboard so you get a ‘real’ sample.  They have an awesome service which gives you your first 10 colour chips free.

Colour ‘chart’ in hand, I’d tested the colours in the natural light of the vestry earlier in the month and narrowed it down to white and three shades of grey.  The second part of The Natural Paint Company’s awesome service is that they will send you four 85ml test pots and a brush for under $20.

I’d managed to scavenge some unused plasterboard from my sister so painted three of them up with a base coat and two top coats of the greys.  I figured white is white, right?  I couldn’t choose between the three colours so it was time to test them in-situ.

That called for another road trip, this time with one of my sisters and a niece in tow.  My sister is renovating her 1930’s ‘railway cottage’ and kindly lent me some of her DIY tools in the demo phase.  (I may have ‘killed’ her girly-drill in the process.)  My niece has been keen on interior design for a few years now so I’ve enlisted her help in choosing fixtures and fittings for the bathroom and kitchen, and choosing the bedroom decor.

I’d arranged to meet with the person doing the detailed drawings council need to support my change of use and building consent application.  It was a good opportunity for my sister and niece to look around whilst I talked my plans over with the designer.

Choosing the colour for the cabinets was much harder than I thought.  I wanted to have the same colour in the bathroom and kitchen which will have different light sources.  The bathroom window faces south-east, whilst the kitchen will be lit by a roof window and artificial light.

I’d recently seen the Grand Designs NZ episode where they renovated a historic building in Christchurch and used dark colours with the original native wood.  Whilst I’m not a fan of black or blue, I was struck by how rich the dark colours and native wood looked together.  I was very tempted to paint the cabinets a dark grey, but decided that I needed something lighter.

My final choice was between two light greys – one cool in tone whilst the other was a bit warmer.  They both looked fine in the bathroom area, but the warmer tone looked better in the kitchen area.  Job done.

Back in Wellington, it was time to order the paint for delivery to the spray-painter in Mt Maunganui, only to discover that there was going to be a delay in the cabinets arriving in the country.  Ah well, it’s not like I’ve got building consent to be able to install them before the new year!

Next time:  Everything takes twice as long and costs twice as much

Decidedly average coffee

Warning:  this is a post about a road trip.  Look away now if it’s not your thing.

If you’ve been reading my posts you’ll know that I have a predilection for old things – especially second-hand furniture.  I also have a predilection for buying things online.  One of the risks that comes with that is the item you covet / purchase can be in a town far, far away.  I’ve limited myself to the North Island for my searches but there can still be dragons.

My new two-seater recliner couch was one such item, being a resident of one of Auckland’s eastern beach suburbs.  Dimensions in hand I loaded them into an online freight calculator to discover that it would cost me as much to freight it to Ohakune as it did to purchase it.  Don’t people know I’m on a budget?

The seller reassured me that it could be dismantled so I figured that I should be able to fit it in the back of my trusty red Mazda6 liftback.  I’d also bought a 2.5 x 3.4m Flokati rug residing in one of Auckland’s western suburbs so I now had two reasons to make the trip to Auckland.  Said rug is the feature image for this post.  It will keep my toes toasty on chilly mornings.

An early finish at work on Friday meant that I could take in my niece’s final school prize-giving followed by a family dinner.  I contemplated a coffee injection prior to getting on the road at 8pm, but figured that I had enough energy and focus for the 3+ hour trip to Turangi, including the Desert Road.  There wasn’t much traffic on the road for the most part, and a little bit of drizzle kept me on my toes.  I made it to Turangi shortly after 11pm and headed straight to bed.

Coffee count for the day = 1.  People’s Coffee, Don Wilfredo blend, plunger. Above average.

I was up early, breakfasted, sheets changed, dishes done, and on the road by 8am.  I’m not a ‘needs coffee first thing in the morning’ kind of person so thought I’d wait until I got to Tirau for my first coffee for the day.  My sister and brother-in-law do a lot of motorbike riding so she’d introduced me to her favourite cafe there a few years ago.  I think it’s changed hands since the last time I was there as my flat white was very watery, and my friand came with the dairy products I asked to be excluded.  Not the service we usually get there!

Back on the road to Auckland with an ETA of midday.  Then I caught up with the traffic heading to the car races at Pukekohe.  Traffic slowed down to a crawl meant that I wasn’t going to make my first pick-up on time.  Sigh.  Fortunately the sellers had left the rug in an accessible location so I loaded it into my car and headed to Titirangi for lunch.  After an average lunch and acceptable coffee I was ready to head east to collect the sofa.

Unfortunately my pick-up was delayed so I headed to Hillsborough Cemetery to try and find the grave of someone connected to my maternal family history.  Geneology websites are very good at giving you plot numbers etc for specific graves – cemetery operators not so much!  After stomping around the cemetery for a while I gave up and headed for my next destination.

Of course I was early and the seller not at home yet so I parked up for a nap.  The seller’s son arrived at the appointed time and we tried to figure out how to dismantle the sofa.  We figured it out but didn’t have the tools to make it happen.  The seller arrived, pulled out his trusty tools and we were able to get the back rests off.  The next challenge was to get it out of the building via a long narrow corridor, down a U-shaped ramp, and into the back of my car.

Whilst I’d worked out that it should fit into my car, I hadn’t taken into account that the reclining mechanism would make the couch heavy.  As in very heavy.  As in almost too heavy for three people to carry / lift.  We finally managed to get it into the car, and the seller took a photo to prove to his sister that it could be done!  I had no idea how I was going to get it out of my car and into the church on my own.  I figured the universe would provide the answer!

Then it was off down the motorway to Hamilton where I’d arranged to stay with my cousin and his wife.  It was great catching up with them, seeing how tall their four boys had grown, and recharging for the final day of my road trip.  I’d arranged to meet the Session Clerk of the Taihape-Waimarino Presbyterian Parish in Taihape at midday, so it was going to be another early start for me the following day.

Coffee count for the day = 2.  (1) Unknown roaster and blend, flat white.  Almost undrinkable.  (2) Allpress Espresso, unknown blend, flat white.  Acceptable.

It’s been a while since I’d driven to Ohakune via State Highway 3.  Being on a mission to get the car unloaded meant that I didn’t stop for a coffee en-route.  It was surprisingly easy to get the couch out of the car and into the church.  I was able to reverse up to the front doors so that there was about 70cm between my car and the entry.

The steps up to the front door meant that the floor and boot were almost level.  A bit of huffing and puffing saw me wriggle the couch out of the car, into the church, and position it in front of the nave windows.  Low cloud meant that I couldn’t check out the views, but I did have enough time to check on the wood oils I’d applied last time to see which one I preferred.  I also tested the paint chips in the vestry’s natural light to see which ones worked best.

I decided that I had enough time to grab a coffee from one of the carts in Ohakune before I was due in Taihape.  I hadn’t tried the brand before even though it was a Wellington roaster.  Oh well, cross that one off my list!  It kept me going long enough to spend a couple of hours going through the old records for my church which I’ll use to add to the history section of this website over time.

After a late lunch at the reliable Brown Sugar cafe, it was back on the road for the last leg to Wellington.  I promised myself a decent coffee at Bulls but it was not to be!  Coffee yes, decent no.  What was usually a very reliable coffee stop wasn’t on this occasion.

The rest of the trip was uneventful until I got to Paraparaumu.  A crash at Paekakariki had caused significant delays so I made a detour to my mother’s to say hello.  I managed to cap my weekend off by leaving my mobile at her place.  Needless to say I was too tired to drive back to retrieve it that day!

Coffee count for the day = 2.  (1) Lucky Espresso, unknown blend, flat white.  Below average.  (2) Revive Espresso, unknown blend, flat white.  Disappointingly very average.

Next time:  Why I write

Mostly old, sometimes new, occasionally borrowed, nothing blue (or black)

Red car, red sofa.  There’s a theme here somewhere……………………

So here’s the thing.  Apart from old buildings and cars I also like other old things.  I think it’s a family trait.  I remember my eldest sister inheriting an old lounge suite from our gran which she had for a good few years before she replaced it.  She’s still got gran’s coffee table in her holiday house, and I have the oak sideboard from our other grandparent’s holiday house.

If I didn’t inherit my furniture I’ve generally bought it second-hand from a shop or online.  This two-seater couch is a recent purchase that I’m looking forward to trying out.  It reminds me of old railway carriage seats – railway carriages are another mild obsession of mine.

I’m determined to try and buy second-hand furniture where I can – except my mattress – I think that needs to be new as you never know where they’ve been or what adventures they’ve had.  I made the mistake of buying a second-hand bed and mattress online a few years ago to discover the mattress was stained.  I’ve now learned to read between the lines!

I do like buying new kitchenware and appliances for some reason.  So far I’ve had to restrict myself to the basics that are essential for making coffee and heating lunch.  I’ve still opted for quality as I figure it will only cost me once.

Borrowed?  Well that may take the form of something a relative ‘insists’ that I use.  I’m trying to avoid it becoming a dumping ground for other people’s unwanted stuff without offending anyone.  I want it to be a peaceful and relaxing environment without jarring elements that don’t work for the space.

Blue and black?  They aren’t colours that I like or wear which is a bit of a challenge when it comes to purchasing clothes.  At least I can avoid them with my decor!

Next time:  Decidedly average coffee