The madness, it hurts

So we've pulled apart the fireplace in  the lounge room. Every single brick removed by hand... It was incredibly messy work but not too difficult. Thing is, now we have to brick it up again.

Yes we are the nutty renovators, who do EVERYTHING in the most difficult, ridiculous way possible.

Don't laugh too hard, there's work to be done...

via apartmenttherapy.com

I swoon when I think of living in this space. No messy ash, no dirty soot. Dust free and care free. I would love to have a room like this right now...

I also often think this could be the easy solution to renovating our fireplace. Just clean it up and paint it in a crisp white. Stack it with firewood as a feature and then never have to worry about it again.

Problem is we need heating and that just won't cut it.

via odhnerandodhner.com

I was thinking this look could really work in our space. Very little work. Simple and classic. Very little work. It's completely different to what we've decided on (and it would be very little work), but this image will remain an inspiration if our plan doesn't work out. The plan that involves quite a lot of work.

Love that armchair with the chaise. I'm sure IKEA have one in a very similar style.

via luxury-modern-interior-decors.blogspot.com

How sophisticated is this space? It wouldn't work at all in our current reno but is very much what I love. Clean, simple lines and no clutter. That room suits my temperament. It's just a bit too dark for my taste.

Anyway, back to work. There are bricks to be ordered and a mantle to be built. 

Anyone have any great images of nice looking mantles? 

I'm thinking they're a rarity.

Not so National Day of Action

I'm keen to have one room complete so have started on the main bedroom. It's the largest in the house and I'm hoping we can move soon from where we're currently camped out in the dining room. Yes it's all crazy here but I'm taking the brakes off and hauling in the anchor. It's time to transform the Pink House.



The pink house has two or three areas with tin ceilings.

And. They. Are. A. Nightmare.



Firstly they are damaged by water and mould so I'm trying to figure out the best way to keep them without putting in a thousand years of work to fix them up. The life of a renovator. Burger is determined to put in some serious couch hours so is watching 2012 which I've refused to watch. I'm upset to even have it in our house but what can I do?

I've also been attempting to fix up the walls but they have proven quite difficult as some unthinking nit painted them with an oil based paint. So they're a lovely shade of apricot and require extensive repairs in addition to now needing a coat of multi purpose prep coat. This stuff could be my saving grace as I was thinking I'd have to scrape the whole lot back. With a multipurpose prep you simply fix your wall up then clean and paint. Apparently it can hide a multitude of sins so I obviously am investing way more hope in this product than what it may be capable of delivering. Wait for an update...