Do it yourself?

Imagine ~ 2.00am and you cant sleep because the ONLY thing rattling around in your head......

Image via Google ~The border is similar to ours

Image via Google

"Did we do the right thing with the Plantation Shutters?"

Now we do not for one second regret the Shutters ~ nor do we regret the expense .... well ok it makes us a little itchy when we think about it ....
The problem is I was having a Date with Mr Google and I saw the whole Do it Yourself Shutters thing. Then I picked up some old decorator magazines and found advertising for the whole Do it Yourself Shutter thing.

"Up to 50% off " they screamed
"Save up to half the price" they teased and taunted

*sigh*

We have discussed it this morning and used the Positive approach. We have paid our deposits to Dezine A Blinds we have selected our finish and style. The price was 20% off and Cheryl gave us a pretty darn good deal. Then we remembered the Downstairs windows ........ They are this odd kind of plasterboard which is an absolute kicker to try and drill into. We showed Cheryl when she was visiting and she has noted they will be a little more difficult than normal.
Then Mr Fab reminded me ~ they would all have to be painted and primed and redone before we could install them ourselves .......

Ok all good now ~feeling much better and have made a note to self NOT to play around with Mr Google at 2am.

This week has been pretty interesting ~ time seems to have stood completely still or moving with the speed of molasses down a slight incline ..... However ~ there also seems to have been quite a goodly amount of work done!

We have stairs ~always a bonus in a two level house

 

 

Please excuse the pictures from Chris The Scottish Builder. He is still learning to send pics on his phone ~ bless him ~so I have to work with what I have.
He has also started the plaster boarding, fitted all the new doors and hardware, ordered the roof for the Man Deck, knocked out a few beams he thought ruined the look, removed and refitted a new front door and front panel , and almost finished the downstairs walls. Ryan The Plumber has found what he needs to do the Bathrooms and Andrew The Sparky has started doing all the downstairs lights which will be super insane hard as most of it is through very small spaces because of the brickwork.
We also ordered all the screens and new Security Doors from Absolute Security. Adam was super amazing and very helpful. I like it when they give you a gentle opinion based on years of experience. Makes the whole decision making process easy. As I have said before ~I am NOT  designer nor am I a stylist. I know what I like of course but I am also happy to listen to what others say. I am making a SUPREME effort not to second guess everything we choose to do in this Fabulous Renovation.

Till next time

Stay Fabulous

fs vintage
xx

Bathrooms and Man Decks ~ Week 11

There seems to have been a fair bit of progress this week. We have finally sorted out the drama with the Downstairs Laundry/Guest Bathroom and everyone seems to be working as a team. Chris The Scottish Builder sent us some pics of the all new shiny Man Deck. 

4.2 x 4.2 Kwila with a roof to go on in 10 days. We have also organised a ceiling fan and lights as we will tend to spend quite alot of time out there.

Almost done

Railings on

Picture by our wonderful neighbour

Everything ripped out ready for plaster

New Plan for downstairs

Smaller than we thought but we will make it work

I figured out my washing machine and dryer models this week and will begin looking for prices and discounts over the coming days. I thought I might go for the new LG stainless Steel 9.5 kg washer with the clear lid because I just think it is serious cool. Something kinda soothing about watching washing go round maybe?

This week was also REMOVE THE FRONT DOOR AND PANEL WEEK. This has had us worried as we have had to gently close the front door for fear of the entire bloody thing falling out on top of us. There were massive sheets of glass and I have to admit ~Ugly security mesh covering the entire bottom section. Yesterday ~ the wall came down.

Front of house ~ Entry

The whole finding a Front Door was interesting as I didnt really care to be honest. I know it is the Entrance To Your Home and The First Thing People See as Mr Fab has told me a million times but it simply never entered my mind. Chris The Builder was over at Bunnings and found a Sale on Doors so sent me through a pic of one he found at half price. Solid Hardwood with double glazed insert and lead light. The painter will stain it and the surround will have wood panels I believe?  We had been leaning toward the one with the vertical cut out sections with glass panels but as mentioned ~ it honestly didn't matter to me so Mr Fab made the decision. I do however ~ like it very very much. Kinda old fashioned but .... nice. It will be covered by a security grille door so it wont really matter.

Front Door

Overall a very busy week with 7 more to go till we move back home. It seems to me to be taking literally forever and I just want to be settled in and having a Bolle on the Zen Balcany ... doesnt seem like much to ask really does it?

Till next time

Stay Fabulous

fs vintage
xx

Makeover time with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint!!!!

#Annie Sloan Chalk Paint & Brush

Its MAKEOVER TIME!

The last few days have been very stressful as there were major issues with the Downstairs Bathroom/Laundry. Of course ~ as you already know ~ we are having a Long Distance Renovation Romance which quite frankly I would NOT recommend. Unless you can live nearby or on site ~ it is horrific. You have zero control and have to rely on phone pics and messages to sort any issues out. Yesterday I would have happilly bulldozed the entire house or simply left the door open to Squatters. Oh hang on ~ I dont even know if there is a bloody door?????? *kidding*
Basically without boring you all silly ~ the shower would not fit. So ~ after many phone calls and running around finding plans and such ~ I finally sorted it all out. Paul from Starkey & Christoe Designer Kitchens   sent me his plans and in the end I simply grabbed the trusty Biro and marked what had to be done. Then attached to an email with all the participants ................................................. and I just remembered right then as writing ~ SHOOT! I forgot Andrew The Sparky ~*writes down on pad to email*.
Moving on ~I decided I needed to cheer myself up and do some therapy. I find painting and revamping things very very therapeutic so with the prompt arrival of our Annie Sloan Chalk Paint  from  Paint Me White ~ I dragged out what I could get cracking on.
Now I thought it might be a good idea to try something small before tackling the big bookcase. The big bookcase is for the Book Nook (* Pronounced rhyming with Poo) and remember I mentioned I was going to try something a leeeeetle bit different? Well I did!
To start the proceedings I will show you the smaller pieces I did and then move on to a Step By Step on the Big Bookcase.

First one is a small table we brought at an insane good price and we think it is Oak. It is super heavy and the puritans out there may be gasping in horror that I painted it ~ but I think it needed a bit of a Fabulous revamp. I chose ©Annie Sloan Graphite as the first coat so the dark grey black would peek through when done. Oh my goodness  ~ that Wax is bloody amazing! Do you like it?

Next up I had a small shelf that had come from a demolished kitchen. I had already done it in latex paint and was never completely happy although to be fair to myself ~ it was one of the first pieces I tried. Personally I am thinking much MUCH better. I used ©Annie Sloan Louis Blue as a first coat so I could make sure it is the perfect color for the undercoat on the bedroom suite. THAT needs to be perfectly Fabulous.

The life of an old shelf

The finished shelf

Last on the agenda was an old tray I use on the desk and a small box which was cracked and very raggady. ( No Pics on these two ~once again ~I forgot. Not sure where my brain is living these days)

Now ~the moment you have been waiting for ~*drum roll*

The Bookcase.

Bookcase

Bookcase ~Annie Sloan and old papers

Firstly I gave it a good dusting and removed any cobwebs and so on. Last night The Girls wandered down with drinks and nibbles and we sat around talking Girl talk. Mr Fab went to bed so I had to drag this out ALONE. Interesting to note ~I laid it down on the side ( because it was to tall to fit through the door upright) and basically just lifted it. It is NOT a heavy solid piece of furniture but I hope The Fab Revamp has made it a little more interesting. I think it is that kind of light layered Pine stuff? The thing is ~ it is actually quite a nice Bookcase. Plenty of details and the four drawers hide a multitude of things.
Ok ~ I then did the first coat in the Graphite and left it to dry thoroughly. One more coat of Graphite inside on the shelves and I was ready .....................
That's when the fun part came in. I wanted something COMPLETELY different to anything I had seen. I have seen the inside of a cabinet done with wallpaper or other sorts of paper but decided to use the pages from an old book on  Early American Barber Shops and the development of them through the last 100 years ~ purchased at the dump shop for $1.00.  I also had a heap of pages from old books I find that are Bin Ready. Rip out the pages that are not ruined and use them for something fun later down the track.
I used Craft Glue to stick the pages on and I used my trusty cutter to make sure each piece was neat and tidy. I then did another coat of Graphite inside the Bookcase as I really REALLY like the color. Its gorgeous! I made up a kind of a paste? with craft glue / water and tinted it with some ©Graphite Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. After the Glue had dried there were little bits sticking up and it was super super bright so I wanted to tone it down a little and give it an aged appearance.

The final coat in Pure White followed by the ©Annie Sloan Clear Wax.

I used the Wax on the paper as well and was seriously chuffed when I stood back with fingers firmly crossed this is a small bit of WOW when it goes in.
Finishing off with  fab hand painted Paris ceramic knobs I found super cheap on Ebay ~ and there you have it.
I will be reusing the hardware from this Bookcase on another piece I have to do for the Fabulous Scents Vintage shop fittings when it is done.

A bit of a long one today folks so thanks for tuning in and reading till the end!

 Till next time .....


Stay Fabulous

fs vintage
xx

Fabulous Renovation ~ Lets have some FUN!

Our Funky Retro Phone ~Image Via Google

The BEST part when you are in Waiting Limbo is the hunt for the perfect bit or bod. To amuse myself while dealing with contractors, quotes and the never ending round of phone calls,quotes and sitting on hold ......... I have been searching for the little things to finish a room. Now I am not any kind of Stylist and probably get it wrong more times than right ~ BUT ........ I really enjoy looking for THE item to finish a room in my eyes.
You remember the shelving that is going on the wall in the Dining Room? All our vintage mason jars will live there along with a section on either side to reduce the mess we seem to create with phones, Ipads, wallets, keys and the plethora of crap from our everyday lives. On the left we will have the fantastic funky red phone! Boring old handset? Nope not in Cassa Fabulous! Found this on Ebay and spent probably three days justifying the expense and in the end thought ~ Just do it already!

 

This sensational big clock to go on the wall beside the Zen Balcony. The space there will lead into the Book Nook and we certainly do not want to clutter the walkway so Mr Fab suggested a large and pretty fabulous clock perhaps? After much Ebaying with many cups of coffee at around 12.30am ~This beauty jumped out and said ...."Buyyyyyy Meeee....I am pppeerrrrfect". I blame being hyped on to much caffeine and lack of sleep.

Now for the hanging pendants ~Oh yeah.  Beacon Lighting has proven to be a great place to find the perfect light and I cannot BEGIN to say how helpful the staff at Rocky and Carseldine have been. There will be two of these over the new kitchen bench area. Very swooonworthy~$79 worth of fabulous in my opinion!

Undercoat for Bedroom furniture revamp ~ Annie Sloan Louis Blue Image via Google

Then of course ~ regular readers will know we had to  Choose What to Lose and now need to restyle and revamp some old raggady and yellow looking pieces we have to fit the whole new "Look". I was a little bit daunted by the cost of Annie Sloan Paint but firmly believe ~to look fabulous you need to use the best possible products you can use. I like to think of it as an Investment in Gorgeous? Let's just cross fingers I do a relatively good job shall we?
While wandering around Ebay ~ as ya do ~ I decided to try buying the crystal knobs from Hong Kong and pay $1.90 a piece instead of what? maybe $6 to $10 each? I can report since purchase I have been issued a tracking number and a postal advice email so I am thinking positive that they do arrive and all in good condition.

Image Via Google

Yesterday we had an email from Paul The Kitchen Dude from Starkey and Christoe Designer Kitchens ~ He was very excited about some handles he found which he thought will be PERFECT. Once again ~he was right. New on the market and slightly different ~we love them!

Image via Supplier

So when the renovation gets tough? Go Shopping! Dream! Imagine! Get your mojo back and keep the images in your mind to see you through.

Stay Fabulous

fs vintage
xx

Fabulous Renovation ~ Week 10

We have reached the stage of the build where every single week seems to take FOREVER. There is about 8 weeks to go and I am a wee bit over the whole thing to be honest. It seems like a never ending constant battle!!! Every single day there seems to be SOMEONE with an invoice to be paid or something needed to complete a section. That whole "It will take 6 to 8 weeks to make" thing is also doing my head in.
Everything and I mean EVERYTHING seems to take forever. I am tired of constantly having a telephone stuck to my ear and asking questions and trying to get quotes. Oh dear me ~ Quotes????? I am telling you for real people ~ Business must be bloody well BOOMING in Brisvegas because it takes literally days and yes even weeks for suppliers to get back to you??? We have also had two companies who did not want to quote for large sections. One of the original Builders we spoke to is probably the only one who actually gets back to you within a day or two with all the information you need.

Our new Bed? ~ 6 to 8 weeks
The Blinds? ~ 6 to 8 weeks
The screens? ~ 6 to 8 weeks
The Kitchen? ~ 6 to 8 weeks

*sigh*

Of course grizzling and whiney me wants it all done .... NOW. Sensible me knows it is a process and just needs to finish when ... well when it does!
We have finally managed to decide on the downstairs floor. BONUS!!! ~ and are going with a relatively new type of flooring called  Decoria Floor
We have the Fabulous David from Koala Flooring  doing the actual install and supply of this amazing product!! I am pretty sure if WalMart can use it in their stores I can use it downstairs ..... Make sure you tell David we sent you over. This stuff is also recycled and environmentally friendly ~ Oh yeah.


This week we have had more pics from Chris The Scottish Builder who showed us our new sliders! If you look really closely you can see his cute little reflection in the second pic!

Upstairs leading out to what will be Mr Fabs ManDeck

The ManDeck should also be done by the end of the week and it did suddenly occur to me as I grumbled and grizzled and basically complained ~After this week it will be 7 left and then 6 and then 5. I bet you anything you like I go into a blind panic and start Blogging about not having enough time left.

Chris The Scottish Builder trying to use his phone

We have been discussing this downstairs area which will come from the Guest section / Studio and Shop
Fabulous Scents Vintage on Facebook

Thinking a relaxing area with some nice pots and perhaps a small outdoor setting?
*shakes head* STOP ~Lets not think that far ahead  ~ think about that later.

Zen Balcony ~who is up for a Bolle?

I did manage this week to sort out the final color on the Bedroom suite and ordered the most AMAZING Annie Sloan ©Chalk Paint  Annie Sloan Paint from  ~
 Paint Me White
I am actually excited about the pieces I am doing. I was of course really REALLY dissapointed we had to lose all the Built in Furniture when the costs were going through the roof ~ HOWEVER ~ Once I had pulled up my Big Girl Underpants and stopped being a tanty throwing two year old I saw that by adding our old furniture ~ revamped and made Fabulous ~ it will make the entire thing a little more .... hmmmm ...... personal? Is that the right word?

Today will be another round of quotes, phone calls and emails. At this stage ~6.14am in the morning ~we have had no invoices or payment requests ..... it is early and the day has just begun. I do have to sort out the final paperwork needed for the ManDeck approval and I have a feeling that is going to cost us MORE money.
Any tips from seasoned veterans on renovating would be most appreciated .....

In between all that we have been making sure all our orders are up to date and having a massive 20% Sale on existing stock. It seems you all love a bargain! Our Sale will last until we leave The Bah.

Vintage Pint Mason Jar with Soy Wax

Stay Fabulous

fs vintage
xx

A King Size Conundrum ....

Another day filled to the brim with phone calls and internet searches looking for the things we need for the finishing touches to this gargantuan project. As you know ~we decided to upsize to a King Size Bed. Now dont get me wrong ~I love sharing a bed with Mr Fab and Dexter .... both of them laying flat on their respective backs snorting, farting, snoring and scratching. It is delightful to lay safe and sound at 2am and listen to the soothing sounds of those two nutty zany loved ones ........

St Germain from Aspley Snooze

Do we need a King Size Bed? Should we spend the money on a new bed? Is it really a necessity or a luxury?

YES WE DO ~ GET ME A BLOODY KING SIZE BED ...... NOW!!!!!

*cough*

Before our adventure to Aspley Snooze we had reached the King Size Conundrum ~ Do we? Dont we? Our bed is ok and will do us for another 12 months and do we do it then? Now? Do we have a Bed Foot or a Doona Foot? Do we spend the extra money or dont we? We did of course and both of us were extremely happy with the decision. By the time I have finished restyling the old bedroom suite ~ I am pretty confident it will look fabulous. The bedroom suite is about maybe 25? years old and is a massive solid well made item but sadly needs to be spruced up. What you dont think about is ....... all new bed linen.!!!!!! It didnt even cross my mind!!!!
Finally finished all that yesterday with new underblanket, sheets, quilt cover, Quilt and everything else we need. I then added up what it had cost and keep in mind we are still in the "Oh shit we are running out of money" stage and we live 2 hours from the nearest town.

I needed a cuppa when I was done.

Our next King Size Conundrum was do we Bull nose the kitchen benches or don't we?  I am dazzled by the amount of time we have spent on the smallest things. Do we put in a tea towel cupboard or a waste bin? Do we need the built in waste bin? Can we just buy a bin from Big W? Do we glass the upper cabinets or leave as is? Every little thing costs money and I am serious when I say you can spend a few days trying to decide on the necessity of a built in bin instead of a free standing bin. Paul the Kitchen dude has been indulgent and so gentle with us ......... He made my day yesterday when he sent us ........... THE PLANS!!!!!

The breaky bar bench

Some of our Mason Jar Collection will go here

2 Pantries thankyou very much

Before Kitchen shot

We are having a kind of kick out breakybar instead of a dining table. We have used the dining room section to create the wall shelves and pulled the bar out. Mr Fab is not happy but I have assured him ~it will be amazing.
More time on the phone today trying to find what we need for The Bathroom. I keep saying to myself ........

"Not long now ... Not long now"

Stay Fabulous

fs vintage
xx

Choose what to Lose .......

Saturday rolled round clear and crisp as we lay on our Blowup beds on the floor of what is our Main Bedroom. We were of course exhausted but knew we were up for a HUGE day. ( Plus to add insult to injury ~ my bloody mattress had pretty much gone down during the night and the old back was not going to let me get up)
All the downstairs carpet had to be ripped up and removed so it was a day full of Tip runs and hard yakka~seriously hard yakka. We had only ever done one thing to our home ~ polished the upstairs floor about 12 years ago. On that occasion I had ripped all the carpet up ....ALONE. I do recall mumbling to myself as beads of un ladylike sweat dripped down my face that I would ....NEVER do it again ...

We were also going over the last of our Plantation Shutters measurements and deposit with Cheryl from  Dezine a Blinds
We were lucky enough that Mum had given us a discount coupon for 20% off so at least it wasnt quite so painful. Cheryl is seriously lovely and we both sat on the horrible carpet downstairs as we made all the decisions about 80ml or 63 ml , single or double opening and so on. Yes yes yes we both know this is a MASSIVE indulgence having shutters but DAMN people ~ have you SEEN how FABULOUS they look??????

Imagine this room with Plantation Shutters

Interesting to note ~as we discussed yesterday about the : "Oh shit I have no money" moment that seems to arrive in every reno  ~ sometimes you have to Choose what to Lose. Well we chose to lose the built in furniture to have the blinds. It means an absolute massive amount of painting and restyling work for me over the next 8 weekends but in the end? It will be worth it I hope. Laying in bed last night with my brain buzzing I came up with a few ideas on what to do for the bookcases and other pieces we have here which CAN be spruced up to look sensational. I will have to do a step by step on what I am going to do to the bookcase for the upstairs Nook......I am kinda a little bit excited on how it will turn out! Stay tuned for that one.

We really believe these Plantation Shutters will make the house look finished and seriously seriously Fabulous. Cheryl asked me to take heaps of before pics for her to use so I have a few ......

While Mr Fab ripped and sweated and made grumbly noises I went out to the side fence area and started to clean up all the terracotta pots and dead plants and ..... well just crap that was there. I was able to save quite a few really big pots and found one absolutely full of Aloe Vera ~ BONUS!
Finally I had to say ~had enough hun ~I have had ENOUGH.
Sunday dawned ~another glorious day but we kinda didnt really see much as there were more tip runs and the Carseldine Home center to collect our Ceiling Fans. We are putting in stainless steel fans to keep with the look we are going for and also managed to find the perfect exhaust fans for upstairs and downstairs. The nicest part of the day was when the Electrician came and I found out he will let me have a couple of kooky pendants even though there will be a fan in the kitchen. (Thank you Kells for showing me the lights!) He will simply have them at the correct height that they wont blow around when the fan is on.
Andrew The Sparky was amazing and very helpful. The biggest part of the expense will be the replacement of all the existing downlights as they are looking quite dodgy and we found a couple of smashed ones....

*refusing to think about how they may have been smashed*

Andrew the Sparky pointed out we will have a freshly painted house and these kind of old daggy looking lights so ~replace away...

2 x Kitchen Down lights

Pffftttttt whats a few thousand dollars more????? *blink blink*

Another early night to prepare for the round trip home at 5am. We are pretty sure we wont have to go back down for about 4 weeks. Each trip costs around $800 so it is NOT something we want to do anymore than we have to. The next trip will be to check the first part of the Kitchen install to make sure its all going to plan before they complete the final touches.
*wiggling with excitement*

Till next time

Stay Fabulous

fs vintage
xx

Fabulous Renovation ~Well here we are at Week 9 .......

Stairs to Back Deck

We have reached Day 66 since we first began the long and arduous process of Renovating. I came to the conclusion last night ~ never again. Yesterday was the worst day as we reached the dreaded :

 "Oh Shit ~we dont have enough money" stage

To be perfectly honest ~ and this Blog is to be honest and show others like us ~ who want to renovate ~ the absolute cold, hard and glaring truth. We honestly thought we had borrowed ~ in our eyes ~ a substantial amount of money. We honestly thought our estimates of costs for building and renovating were quite fair and reasonable ....

Babes in the woods ..... naive precious sillybilly ....... Bless ém they are so cute ........

The kitchen / lounge / nook / study and downstairs quote came in and we had been working on the assumption it would be around the 30k mark. We dont want anything over the top fancy schmancy ~ Just a few nice built ins and a really nice kitchen. I mean sheesh ~we wont be renovating this place again so we want something we can really love for many many years.
Yep you guessed it ~about 10K above what we thought.
I have to admit there was a big cry from me but I think that may well have been down to being exhausted ~ then I wiped away the snotty nose ~ gave myself a shake and pulled on my Big Girl Underpants. I will pause here and note ~ we can have more money from the Bank ~ not a worry ~ but we DON'T want to borrow anymore than what we thought was reasonable.
I will offer up to you dear reader the first ACTUAL piece of ACTUAL advice :

When you are given a "rough" quote for something? ~ DOUBLE it.

Now where are we in the Build?
We left The Bah about 7.00 pm on Thursday night for another Night Trip. We now share the driving as it is far to much for Mr Fab so one of us tries to catch a few zzzz while the other drives. We arrived about 7.28 at the house to find it literally SWARMING with blokes. The noise was horrific as the Tree Lopper was removing most of the beautiful old Australian Banksia? ( I will confirm that tree name later) from the back yard. It was a massive tree that literally takes up the entire bottom section of the yard and had to be trimmed ~ SERIOUSLY.  We also discovered a few really bad trees which needed to be completely removed ~$900 dollars later and a stripped yard.

Chris The Scottish Builder was there with his Apprentices and ripping out whatever needed to be ripped out. He had finished the fences and was pulling doors out upstairs. Dexter was not impressed with all the noise but he does love his new and safe Back yard.

Side fence & gate

Then Paul The Kitchen Dude from Starkey & Christoe http://www.starkeyandchristoe.com.au/
arrived about 9 am and we began the final finishing drafts for the kitchen and ~ the extra work. I must stress ~ his quote is what it is and it is not his fault we thought it would be far less but I as usual .... digress. We are insane super pleased with our choices for the kitchen and we love that he puts in his ideas as well. He takes on each Kitchen as his own and makes suggestions to help you make the final choice.
He said to Chris The Builder as he was finishing:

Paul: "Chris is this wall going or staying?"
Chris The Scottish Builder:  ( Picks up his hammer and smashes the wall then kicks it out ) ~ "Going "
Me: * sitting with hands on face and mouth open*
Dexter: *shivering at the noise*
Mr Fab: *laughing*

Kitchen

Lets rip out a wall shall we?

While he was there ~Jason The Tiler arrived to measure up and let us know how many zillions of tiles we will need to finish the build.
After they had gone we jumped in the car and yes we still had not had a shower, sleep or coffee ~ anyway we needed to go do the Tiles and the Bed.
We drove to the Aspley Homemaker Center and literally laughed out loud when we drove in to see 6 different Bedding Places. At Snooze we met Madison and I simply said to her ~ I will go to the other stores or she can do me an A ~MAZE ~ING deal and we can cut out the middleman. I was a woman on the edge and I think she saw it and took pity on me. The best little piece of news was her quote came in far cheaper than we had thought so we managed to get not only our new King Size Mattress & Bed but the Queen size mattress for the guest room! We also did The Snooze Bed Match and almost dozed off! I went back in and asked Madison to show me the beds Mr Fab had groaned as he tested ~I simply purchased the one he groaned the loudest after making sure I also almost passed out with sheer bliss .....
Mr Fab wanted no Bed foot on our Bed so .... wait for it ... Dexter doesnt find it so hard to jump up if he wants to .....

*Blink Blink*

The Bed from Snooze Aspley

On to the Tile Place for Tile selection and I have to say ~THAT is an experience in itself! Another area where there are literally 10 Tile places next door to each other??? We finished up at Top Tiles and I must mention the gorgeous Angela and the hilarious Ben. Super helpful and really accommodating with laying out tile combinations all over the warehouse for us. We found all our tiles and they are paid for and sitting on a pallet waiting for us to have them delivered to site.

Grabbed some lunch? Breakfast? COFFEE and went back to 46 Ballynde Street where Chris The Builder must have used his canny sixth sense to know I was a little dissapointed. I can see they have demolished and removed and cleaned out the house but there was no COSMETIC things I could see. No shiny new anything ~no doors ( which made having a shower with a house full of blokes pretty hard ) and nothing to really see and touch.
Next thing I know ~we had a new Kwila railing on the Zen Balcony.

New Railing

I was seriously chuffed.

After all the lads had gone we sat down and had a cuppa ~I lasted till about 5pm yes you read that correctly ~5pm and I fell asleep with Mr Fab right behind me ..... Tune in for Saturdays zany adventures in renovating later today!

Stay Fabulous

fs vintage
xx

The Fabulous Renovation ~Week 8

Well ~Day 57 dawns bright and shiny and I am here to chat about Day 56. Yesterday was START DAY and I really didnt expect much to happen...
 That was NOT the case.

Heritage Blue Mason Set

I was actually finishing some Heritage Blue Mason Sets and packaging them up when my phone made its bird whistle noise. Normally I wait till I am finished before I do all the text messages but this time I didnt....
Our AMAZEBALLS builder ~Chris Hall The Scotsman has sent me through pictures of what he had managed to accomplish in ONE DAY.

Pic 1 : Back Yard ~Fence removed to be replaced

Picture One is the view of our backyard ~Chris has removed the fence in preparation for replacing with a hardwood one on two sides. 

Pic 2 : Downstairs where the new shop will be

Pic number Two is the downstairs area. Mr Fab and I have enlarged the picture and looked a million times and we believe Chris The Builder has removed all the dodgy 70's tiles ( yes yes I am a retro vintage girl but damn if those tiles were not awful!) the carpet is gone and *blink* so is the old brick wall!!!! He must have the best apprentice IN THE WORLD as it looks really clean and tidy as well! Now you have already seen the pics of this area so just to recap ~ it will have brand new stairs and the under stair section will be filled in. We will put a fab chair we have for sitting and waiting ( your choice but you will have an option) ~ we will then re purpose some old cabinets we have by painting them up and using them as the shop fixtures. No point in wasting anything ~the furniture is there and a lick of paint will make them perfect! There will be a glass paneled door next to where the stairs are so the Fs Vintage shop will be completely separate to the rest of the house.

Mr Fab is amazing when it comes to the mess that is generally around ~he doesnt say much and tends to work around the Mason Jars and packaging that are normally on the bench but he did admit to loving the idea of the shop being away from the rest of the living area...

Pic 3 : Back of house with door leading from kitchen

This one is the back deck area. This morning I looked up Kwilla wood as I honestly had no idea what it looked like and have to admit I LOVE IT. The deck is going to be 4.2 x 4.2 metre and will come out from this door into the backyard. The stairs are concrete and just need some refurbishing and sprucing up so we decided to keep them and restyle. Why spend money on things we dont really need to replace?  We will turn the underneath section into something Fabulous as this is the area that leads from The Shop and Guest area. (sounds way flasher than it will be but I love saying Guest Area.) Mr Fab admitted this deck is one of the things he is really looking forward to seeing. He said he just wants to walk outside and stand there .... feeling the Serenity maybe?

Stay Fabulous

fs vintage

xx

fs vintage Renovation ~ Week 7

Well ~ Here we are at Day 55. Money seems to have been literally hemorrhaging out of our account and not much to show for it. I understand the concept ~Foundations to be laid for kitchens / bathrooms, tradies to be found and hired, Builders to start ordering.... yep SENSIBLE Tracy understands completely.
Emotional Tracy is screaming ~START ALREADY!!!!!!

And tomorrow .................. IT BEGINS!!!! Monday the 5th August 2013 is START DAY. Yes yes yes in capitals and yelling! Also doing some squirming, wiggling and ........ dancing ......

Downstairs ~Under the stairs where the shiny fs vintage will be

Mr Fab has arrived home safe and sound after his mini trip down to do some ripping and tipping.
He managed to remove the entire kitchen including all the wall tiles and even managed to remove doors! He also called me to advise :
Me: ~ "Hey babe whats up"
Mr Fab: ~ (cue serious deep quiet voice filled with loathing and disgust)  "There was an electrified rat behind the stove......"
Me: (trying not to laugh) ~"You ok?
Me Fab: ~ (continued low and deep quiet voice) "No".
I absolutely should not tease him about his disgust with Rats but seriously I think its his little face ~it is so darn serious!!!! His loathing of Rats comes from his job where they had to wear whats called Sperm Suits
(yep you read that right) to clear up the sheds with the product they use. Apparently Rat Poo and such cause a terrible lung problem......
*cough* Moving on ......

I said to him last night I am finding the fact he is so focused and committed to our Reno a little bit disconcerting. As a rule he generally says ~"Whatever you want is fine Babe" and lets me toddle on to do what I like.
He seems to have a need to contribute...

Yep ...contribute. I am woffling on about this drawer knob or that paint swatch and he will actually look at what I am showing him and make comments.
Ummmm no thankyou just nod and agree sweetie ~ dont need any input just agree with me....
Take our Fi for example ~ who is building a new family home ~ we have these weird conversations where we have paper and our respective "The Books" sitting between us ~ we have pens and highlighters at hand as we dissect and create spaces and rooms and living areas. We half finish each others sentences and start new conversations as one finishes....we both seem to understand what we are saying.

(I must also pause for a second and send much love to the rest of the girls in our group ~they do tend to have a glazed kind of half smile on their faces but they do LISTEN and nod in what seems like the right places.... bless their hearts!)

I have been entertaining myself looking for gorgeous and suitable Fab things to put in the all new and shiny Fs Vintage. Mr Fab and I have discussed adding a range of stylish yet simple home wares as we will have a beautiful space with restyled fittings and fixtures so why not make it even more Fabulouser?????
Everything in the shop will be FOR SALE ~ I have even managed to find some terrific tags to make up with prices and information. There will be our beautiful range of signature Soy Candles in both New and Vintage Mason Jars ( Thats how we roll here at fsv ) HOWEVER ~ now we will have sensational and gorgeous home wares to compliment and enhance your home!!! How cool is that????? Even the restyled furniture and fittings will have a tag along with vintage wares we have found in our travels ~You want it? You got it.

One of the Fab things we are putting in The store. Image via google

We are going back down on Thursday and driving through the night. Gotta say ~I loathe driving through the night. Hate it / Yuk / *spitty noise* / shudder / groan / complain. I could not even begin to tell you how much I dislike driving through the night. However ~ to ensure everything that's needed is done and dusted and deposits paid? We have no choice. We are so hoping we see SOME sort of progress on Friday. Yes yes its only 4 days from commencement but SOMETHING ~ even a frame perhaps? A ripped out wall maybe? Tiles removed from downstairs ? Ohhh what about the framework for the upstairs wall??? *swoon and faint*
We both have fingers crossed after this trip we get a few weeks where we dont really have to visit again. Did I mention the Plantation Shutters will take 6 to 8 weeks to make?

Image via google

Now Mr Fab seems to think ~Maybe October for a finish and ready to move in? He said the other day he reckons we need to add a month to that estimate just to be sure? I dont really care how long it takes as long as it is Fabulous!

Stay Fabulous

fs vintage
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