Drum roll ... Eccola qua - Voila' !!!

Welcome to our home ...

Entrance hallway + cat (LuLu) :)

Staircase to be finished (soon!)

Wood-burning stove to arrive soon (!)

(to be installed to the right, on the fireplace hearth)

Our cosy den ...

Our wallpaper choice actually involved many hours of research.

The wallpaper is designed with varied shapes of frames. The frames

are meant to hold pictures. So, this wall will now become our wall

of travels & adventures to display. We think it will be fun to add

to it over the years (in lieu of buying picture frames that need to be

dusted & cleaned incessantly). :)

Door opens to reveal...

(once inside, behind this door is another door for utility room)

Door opens further to reveal ...

Looking to the right...

See? It's not all bathroom ... there's even a cat!

Returning to the den ...

Looking into kitchen area ...

*Anyone notice the colour theme of our chairs?

Please do not say Christmas ... because that is NOT the theme ... :)

(LOVE my wall of photos!!! Can't wait to begin printing ... )

Getting closer ...

Unpainted area above the radiator is waiting for completion.

We're having a tile mural done in the unpainted space on the wall.

Our rustic farmers table, industrial rad and fun coloured chairs

We wanted to combine rustic beauty with contemporary pieces

for a nice contrast effect.

View from outside on patio ...

Our dining room: Credenza (to hold our china sets)

Well, now that the kitchen is in and we have a den to relax in and essentially enjoy the house we're going to begin unpacking everything. I will post more photos after the winter holidays once the rooms are all set up properly and look less like storage spaces :)

Fall-term break ...

FINAL PHASE: Den & Extension to paint

Sanding, filling and prepping the den & extension for paint.

Walking down steps into den (beyond is the extension where the kitchen will go)

Kitchen area prepped for paint

kitchen zone (can't wait to cook!!)

An Identity at Last!

Living in London is interesting on many levels, and unique too. The fact that Anglo Saxons speak the same language, English, would lead one to believe it's the same language, but it isn't. There are distinct, and yet subtle, linguistic differences between Americans and Brits that never fail to amaze; the similarities in our love for foreign foods; the fantastic museums and exhibitions on regular tour; love for shopping (good ole consumerism); the great ritual of meeting friends at the pub for the traditional Sunday roast (yummy!); the regular use of one's fireplace at home (which even benefits those without one b/c the smell of the air in one's neighbourhood is scented with the smell of burning wood); and lastly the individual identity of one's house based on the colour of one's front door. I love being told the door colour of a friend's house, in lieu of the house number, as a way to identify their home.

When we bought our derelict house we began to wonder which colour we would choose for our front door. When we found ourselves driving through London and its various neighbourhoods we found ourselves looking at other people's doors to see the vast array of colours that have been used by the citizens of London. We originally wanted a subtle colour to blend in with our neighbourhood, but then later realised that by just blending in we weren't providing our home with a proper identity. So, after many trial colour pots, many discussions, and many long walks, or drives, we have come up with a colour: sage/olive green.

Our door has now given our home an identity. We are now able to tell people visiting our home, "We are the sage coloured door" on our road.

Our newly painted door

(sage/olive green)

August 2010 ... rendering outside (FINALLY!!)

The day our house finally gets her external facelift!

Our phenomenal plasterer team: Jay & Wayne

The boys working their magic ...

and Jay is wearing his Union Jack shorts (how patriotic :) )

Progress is being made... how exciting!

Messy job ... like making mud patties and throwing them onto the house :)

It's looking like a nice house, "innit" boys?

Dried render & newly painted entrance door to LGL

Painting to follow soon ...

August 2010 ... update

The entrance of house with our new sage/olive green door

The newly rendered front well area and both sage/olive green doors.

The entrance door to our lower ground level apartment/flat.

The newly rendered well area in front of the flat and the newly painted front door!

INTERNAL PICS (of flat):

We spent many days, even weeks, sanding, filling, sanding again, prepping and painting a small portion of our rooms in the house, roughly 200 sq m/2000 sq ft wall space, ourselves. I have a whole new respect for our painters who painted the majority of our house - what a laborious profession!

Antonio and Luas diligently painting the flat before our renter moved in.

High on fumes...

The painters hard at work - we've got a deadline Boys!

PAINTING & DECORATING COMPLETED:

Furniture selected and renter moved in ...

Entrance inside (open plan layout: living space & kitchen)

Another view of entrance

Open plan living - living & kitchen space

"Idem"

Little kitchen

Kitchen & utility room (right)

Utility room (right) & kitchen (left)

More ...

Looking into flat - entrance to bedroom & bathroom on right

(utility on left), entrance at back

Looking into bedroom

Bedroom and bathroom (door to right)

It's a sweet space and turning it into a flat made sense b/c we wouldn't know how to use it otherwise. There is such a thing as too much space, contrary to some beliefs out there. It's also a good investment to have here in London where there is a shortage of housing everywhere in the city.