feb, 17th - limi's first house: part I....

day 376:

i haven't really shared many pics of the Shoebox but since it is Limi's very first home.....here's a brief tour......(okay, i confess...these are pics pre-small-fingerprints-everywhere)

(the kitchen very rarely looks this neat as we cook and live in it...but well, if you're taking a pic then....)

we bought the Shoebox when it had magnolia walls, low ceilings (hiding another 1.3 metres in height) and a weird layout. we totally gutted the place.....there were a couple of weeks where i had my dream (very industrial) loft...open from one end to the next....

it's definitely still work in progress and things move around a bit but a couple of things that i absolutely LOVE from the renovations are.....

• our ensuite......we bought a John Reeves outdoor, zinc table from Heals (this is another design by Reeves which i love for inside), cut it in half, drilled a hole in it, embedded it in the wall and made it our sink console (when i say we....i mean that we bought the table and our fantastic Polish builders did the rest). the grey mosaic tiles are from Trend which was started by one of the brothers who used to run Bisazza, after he had a falling out with the family. the mirrored cabinets are 4 bathroom cabinets from Ikea and we installed our own mood lighting.

['My huis is my Paleis' is Afrikaans for 'My house is my Palace']

next....

• our white gloss floors. after 3 years, some stiletto abuse and now daily rubbings of food....they need a repaint. but i still love them.

• the little things that remind me of home, travels, friends and family. this chinese cabinet was given to me from my sister and her husband for my 30th birthday.

• and the original cornicing, plus ceiling rose (from 1869), that A and i painstaking liberated from five thick layers of magnolia paint. this room looks pretty different now in terms of furniture (i will try and add an update soon)...but i still love the cornicing, orignal panelling that we stripped back and the shutters that we debated and debated about.

anyway.....that's a brief tour....next, Limi's nursery.