Monday 21 October 2013


Two and a bit weeks to go….

Hi Vintage Lovers,

The last few weeks have flown by and I know it's been a couple of weeks between posts.
So here is a bit of an update......
 
Last weekend we went away for a few days just to catch up on some sleep, take it easy, and see everyone back home.
We had a fantastic time but it's now time to get back to all the jobs and there will be a few over the next few weeks. We are having a cleanup and taking a few loads to the dump, the work in the garden will be continuing, as well as finishing some final bits and pieces in the kitchen before our stove arrives.
 
 
Agatha (our stove) is due home on the 6th November !!!!! Yay!!!!
As you can guess I am just a little bit excited.
Only two and a bit weeks to go!!!!
 

So, there are plenty of little jobs to do before then.
The staining of the skirting boards being one of them,
that was last weekends job.

 
 


After planting the Irises (I have trimmed them now so they look a little different after the last photo of them) the other weekend, I have been planning the next stage of the garden bed.



I am going to create another garden bed around the Irises with a rosemary hedge that will highlight the store house and Irises. Down near the new shed I was thinking of planting a pittosporum hedge to hide it.
 


I then decided that my two iron gates would look fantastic in the garden bed as well. One at the front of the store house and the other at the back between the store house and the new shed.


 
Sooooo.........after poisoning the grass over the weekend and grabbing some rosemary clippings from Mum and Dad today and potting them up this afternoon. The garden bed is well and truly under way.
 
Hope you are having fabulous week.
 
Mel xx
 

 
 

Tuesday 8 October 2013


A "How to attach Skirting Boards" Tutorial

Here is the tutorial on "How to" attach skirting boards as promised.

1) Cut the end of the skirting that fits into the corner at 45 degrees. Measure the length required and cut to fit.


2) Pre drill the nail holes to prevent the timber from splitting. Use a drill size approximately half the diameter of the nails to be used.
 
 
3) Sit the skirting board in place and gently tap the nails into the plaster wall to mark the position of the plugs.
 
 
4) Circle the nail marks with a pen or pencil to avoid losing your place and drilling in the wrong position.
 
 
5) Drill to the required depth using a masonry bit on the "Hammer" setting. The depth is easy to set by pre measuring and marking on the drill bit using tape. 

  
6) Remove as much dust as possible from the hole.

 
7) Measure, cut and taper the ends of the dowel plugs. 



8) Hammer the dowel plugs into the wall ensuring a firm (but not too tight) fit. Liquid nails can be used if the fit is a little too loose.

 
9) Sit the skirting board in position and hammer the nails into the dowel plugs until just the head of the nail remains.
 
 
10) Using a nail punch, bury the nail head of the nail about 2-3mm below the surface of the skirting board.

 
11) Cut the matching skirting board and repeat the process. 




 
 I hope this tutorial is helpful and has given you a few tips as working with old houses can be tricky sometimes, but certainly not impossible and well worth the extra effort.
Mel xx
P.S. I have created a 'how to/tutorial' tab on the blog for future reference. J
 

 
 
 

 

Monday 7 October 2013

The very busy long weekend….
 Hi Vintage Lovers,
Just  a quick update post.
 We have had a long weekend here and it has been a very busy one at that. My bones are aching all over tonight and I think I need an Epson salts bath and then my bed. 
We had a list of jobs for the weekend........and a perfect weekend for it.

So the first job was to plant the bearded irises around the old store house. These are the ones that I kept from our old home and they have multiplied beautifully. I have decided to dig out the gravel from in front of the store house and pop them all in there for now until I am ready to plant them in the front garden.
 
I  had more than enough irises to fill the two areas either side of the little path and still have some left over for another area in the garden. 
 The two terracotta pots contain pink geraniums that I rescued from the front garden; they were covered with weeds the poor things.
They are much happier now and they have even given me a couple of flowers already.
 I am so happy with the area.
The irises look fantastic and I will not want to move them back into the front garden.

We also moved the last of my vintage collections  home from Mum and Dad's.
 
My favourite piece that came home was my 1880's church pew.
She is about 4 metres long so the perfect spot for her is along the long side of the outdoor entertaining area. 
The kitchen went back to looking a building site this weekend while we attached the skirting boards. My Dad helped (A very big big big thank you, Dad) us today and we couldn't have done it without him.
Now, it was a bit of a different process to pop the skirting boards on due to the old bluestone walls and the plaster. Hence why it was fantastic to have Dad on hand. His wealth of knowledge is invaluable when it comes to old homes and renovating them.
The skirting boards are yet to be stained and varnished, we will tackle that after a few days away next week.
I will post a helpful tutorial on "How to" attach skirting boards in the next day or two.
Mel xx
 





 

Friday 4 October 2013

A sheltered spot…

Hi Vintage Lovers,
This week has disappeared way too quick as holidays always seem to, don't they???? 

This is the first beautiful spring day we have had for the school holidays. The rest of this week we have had gale force winds and huge downpours of rain.
Certainly not spring weather at all!!!!!

We have had a chance to do a few outside jobs in between rain showers and gusts of wind. Not as many as I would have liked to do. But a few is better than none at all, right?????

I have planted the hydrangeas that I bought a few weeks ago in a sheltered spot at the back of the garden.
 A perfect spot for them.


This garden bed was empty and with the over hanging tree branches from the neighbours yard it is the ideal spot for them. I went for five different colours - red, pink, white, purple and blue. I can't wait for them all to grow and flower. They will certainly hide the fence eventually which will be fantastic.


I have also been given a few more orange clivias from a friend, so I decided that the perfect spot for them would be in front of the hydrangeas. The lawn in that area was not growing due to the beautiful over hanging branches, so I decided to create a new garden bed and pop the clivias in there.


I then decided a touch of vintage was needed to finish the job off. So I popped my old iron tulips in between the hydrangeas. I found these at a vintage garden shop a while ago and couldn't resist buying them.
Aren't they just gorgeous?????
I just love them.......
 
 
 
.......and just perfect for holding tea lights.
 
 
 Enjoy your weekend.
 Mel xx