Tim-berrrrrrrr

I love trees. I think our world is so much the lesser for not having more trees and it makes me angry and sad to see trees being cut down unnecessarily. So you can imagine my dismay when we had to come to the decision to cut down one of the trees in our yard. We had discussed it at length and we really couldn't see any other option. It was VERY overgrown with the base of the trunk splitting into about 8 smaller tree trunks. All of the growth inside the tree was dead and huge fire danger. It was also planted far too close to the house. This is the best photo I could find of it (it's the large one on the left taken in the fall when the renters were still here).

So my amazing husband set to work to trim as much of the tree back as he could safely do on his own, which made it look like this:

He had a mate come to help with the last 3 'trees'. They secured a line to ensure the tree fell in the correct way (namely not in the direction of our newly renovated home!)

So while one 'pulled' the line, the other cut and............

Down went the first one......

Down went the second one......

And there goes the last one. Then the real work began with the chain saw cutting up the felled trees for firewood.

And during all the excitement the kids only watching for the first few minutes and then they disappeared around the back to their new favourite place. Ahhhh....I love our new house.

Our front room

I wanted to share our front room next as it is a part of our kitchen area, one big room. I love the open concept and it doesn't really get more 'open' than this!

So, this is the original room:

The little doorway is the separate 'guest' entrance which we converted into an office, but more on that later!

During the renovation process:

Painting the newly sheeted walls:

When we moved in we had no where to store the kitchen cupboards so into the front room they sat for 2 weeks!

And now.......

I love this little children's corner we created. Eventually when downstairs is renovated all the boys toys etc will go down there, but until then this is where the creativity will hopefully happen.

We are still waiting for the moldings to arrive. Who knew such a simple thing could take so long. I am really happy with how things have turned out in this space though. It really feels cosy whilst still be open. It is a wonderful place for our family to spread their wings without being on top of one another. I hope you enjoyed the tour. Next I promise we will head into the bathroom. Looking forward to it!

Kitchen

Hello!!! I apologise for being away from this space for so long now. It has been a stressful but rewarding road and I needed to just be. I am so happy to be back and I have so much to share with you all. So as not to overwhelm myself or you guys, I am going to break the renovation pictures down room by room and share a little each time. I thought I would start with the kitchen as it is the heart of our home.

To go back and set the scene, this is what the kitchen looked like at the beginning:

And mid way through the construction:

And now.........

We still have lots of work to do but it is starting to really come together. We still have mouldings to put up, a pantry to build and an island to replace our camp kitchen island! We are planning on painting the kitchen cupboards a creamy colour but for now, I really like the wood. It clashes with the flooring a little but each day I notice it less and less. I love the open feel and think it is going to be a great place to entertain and hang out as a family.

So that's all I have for you right now. I will maybe move into the bathroom next time! See you then.