And So I Don't Forget...

Goodbye Yellow House

Tuesday evening, after drinking one last bottle of cider sitting on the floor of an empty living room, I locked the front door and said goodbye to Yellow House.

Boyf and I spent the weekend getting Yellow House ready to rent. We:

• painted the remaining four yellow rooms
• patched and painted nail holes and dints
• trimmed the back hedge down to knee height
• cut 5 foot off each of the conifers
• rehung the towel rail in the bathroom
• painted the trim in the bedroom
• replaced the clothesline
• planted out the gaps in the front and back yards
• covered the garden beds with tan bark
• took the fridge over to my sister's home, including up three flights of stairs 
• replaced the laundry taps
• fixed the kitchen door so it doesn't stick
• emptied the house of the last bits and pieces

The list doesn't even include all we completed. It was an exhausting weekend.

For many of the tasks, we couldn't help thinking we should have got them done months ago. Hindsight. Those last yellow rooms look so much fresher now. 

A massive thanks to Mum who organised and hemmed the kitchen curtain, cleaned the oven and spent 5 hours clearing out the front garden bed. Incredibly grateful Mum!

As my footsteps echoed through the rooms Sunday evening, Yellow House empty for the first time since the day I moved in, I got a bit teary. Just thinking about the impact I've had on Yellow House in the last 14 months, the changes I've made.

This was my first home. The first time I could pick paint colours and hammer in nails with abandon. Buy curtains and move curtain rails. Install a kitchen island bench. I'd ummed and ahhed over some of these decisions for hours.

No room is now the same as when I'd bought Yellow House; you'd even have to peek under the laundry sink to find any of the yellow. My changes are everywhere, yet I'm still wistful for what might have been.

I do want Yellow House to have someone living there and appreciating it, and there may have been a little happy dancing after Tuesday's meeting with the real estate agent when I did some financial calculations, but I am sad that Yellow House will not truly be mine anymore.

Goodbye Yellow House. It has been an amazing 14 months.

My Scrap Room

The final 30 before 30 goal I'm ticking off is one I really completed way back in February:

11.   Have my own, specific area for scrapping. Maybe even a room. 

I kept meaning to write some long post full of pretty photos and details of my organisation. Somehow that never quite happened. But, I do have a scrap room of my own and I love it. 

It may not be decorated and pretty, but it's well used and suits me fine.

And you never know, maybe I'll get that detailed post written some day. ;)

24 down, 6 to go.

Peacock Blue

Before:

After:

We actually finished painting this room back at the end of September, but I didn't want to share it until I had some big frames on the wall. There's no denying it's a lot of blue! Although, I think these photos are showing it a little too royal blue - in real life the colour is a little more peacock. It's called Lake Louise, by Taubman's, and I love it!

I had headed to the hardware shop with an intended colour, one that I'd sampled and displayed. But, when I saw a very similar colour in a Taubman's Colour Confidence brochure, I ummed and ahhed and ended up changing my mind at the last minute. 

The frames are from Ikea, the biggest size of Ribba frames. I had so much trouble deciding what photos to get printed, and was incredibly apprehensive about how they would look. I've never seen any of my photos so large before!

I love the layer and depth that colour has added to Yellow House. There are so many different spots where you now get glimpses of colour through archways and around corners.  

Both bold colours I've painted, the green and the blue, seemed like disasters after the first coat of paint. Blotchy and garish and horrible. Thankfully, the second coat has turned them wonderful. I can't help thinking, however, I'm about due for an absolute colour disaster! 

And to finish, I'll slip in this photo of the gorgeous bunch of flowers I received for my birthday from friends. They're the perfect pop of contrast colour for this room. :)

Kitchen White

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

I think this is now one of my favourite views of Yellow House:

Two weeks later I'm still walking out of my bathroom and stopping to take in this new look.

One weekend of time and a few cans of paint makes so much difference. So much fresher and cleaner. I absolutely love it.  

And did you notice the glimpse of my dining room in a photo above? We painted that room too, but certainly not white! I decided it deserved it's own big reveal so look for that post later this week. ;)

A Month at Home: Day 29

I'll admit it - I had trouble coming up with something to photography today. I'm glad there is only one more day left!

These photo frames (which I must print photos for) and candle are sitting on top of my microwave in the kitchen. And for the record, the candle is further away from the curtains than it appears and I didn't leave it unattended. :) 

A Month at Home: Day 27

It's been a rainy miserable day so coming home from work and curling up on the couch with a book sounded ideal. 

I do love this perspective of looking down. Such an easy way to get a different view.

A Month at Home: Day 26

This afternoon I reclaimed my table - finally clearing it of stuff. (Photographed here on Day 11.) Much of the stuff still doesn't have an official home, but at least it's off the table! :)

3 days of the month to go!

A Month at Home: Day 25

It's 10:30pm and I've just got back from a trip to the beach with friends. Great day but gosh I'm tired now.

As we drove home I brainstormed a few ideas for today's photo and, thankfully, this one worked out. Now I think it's time for bed. :)

A Month at Home: Day 24

I have a lot of frames. A LOT. There are more not pictured here. And don't forget my collection of masks, some decorative plates, Ds... Problem is, I can't decide how and where I want to hang things! Decisions, decisions.

A Month at Home: Day 23

My little lemon tree. I think it needs some love. And fertilizer.