Friday, February 01, 2008

A Sterling Stirling Street Renovation: Part the First

Okay darlings, so here it is. A grapeshot of photos of my flat, pretty much "as-is". The only difference in these photos from how the flat looked the day of settlement is that I have ripped up the carpet and a bit of kitchen lino, as... exploratory surgery.
This is the kitchen.

The good people at Ross's Makeovers have done me a new kitchen which should go in a about mid March. Suffice to say it will look completely different.
The living area, below, is a lot bigger than it looks here. Not much to be done in this area except have the parquetry (which I found under the carpet) polished up. I've had one quote which was really cheap and I'm waiting for another on Monday.

Really not much to show in the bedroom which, as with Lindsay's catbox, has the bathroom coming off it. I've actually got plans for this built-in-robe though. It must be modernised.

Now for some reason my very expensive and fancy computer doesn't have an easy way for me to rotate photos, so forgive me for making you crane your head and please don't send me your chiropractic bills.
The bathroom is in a terrible state. I'm going to put on a glass shower door and replace all the taps and faucets. I'm going to put in a classy vanity, too. And those terrible blue tiles, sincerely, have to go.

I'm getting a plumber in to investigate this terrible water damage in the bathroom, too.

You can also see in that photo just how freakin cool the bathroom floor tiles are. I'm very excited about those.
So that's it. So far the kitchen has cost $6000 plus probably another $1500 to install. The floor is going to cost just under $1000... plus a bit extra because I'm going old skool (50s) black and white linoleum in the kitchen (I need help finding this people... any suggestions?). Apparently the built in robe will cost a grand, so I'm paring back my plans for that as that seems excessive. The plumber may be another $500, the vanity $500, glass shower screen another $500... This isn't a cheap exercise.
But it will enable me to increase the rent from about $165 a week to about $240-$250... which will pay the mortgage. Or this is the plan at least. AND then provide me with the perfect place to live in a few years time when, hopefully, it's basically paid off.
Or that's the plan.
I'm not good with plans.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yay! You've inspired me to actually start plastering the holes in the kitchen and getting shit done. PS T-dog looks good in your flat. Get the B/W lino. Hot.