Tuesday, January 23, 2007

the befores and afters

This is an entry I've been meaning to work on but never got around doing. It's to put up pictures of this house when we first moved in and contrast it with some pictures we've taken with some hardwork and a pinch of TLC.

First is Living Room 1. Old fashioned sofa, worn-out curtains, very cold carpet.

And this is what it looks like with some touch-ups. We put in a cream coloured remnant carpet (got at bargain price on Boxing Day: huzzah!!) to make the room look lighter and bigger.




Then, Living Room 2 (aka: computer and all-in-one room). The sofa initially covered the heater (what's the point??).



And, with goods from carboot sale and Boxing Day sales, this is a simpler lay out we've got.



Next, the toilet - urgh, and double urgh... This was Mr.D's project. We strongly take our toilets seriously. Mr.D changed the flooring mat so naturally, he had to take out the board covering the bathtub to slide the mat in. Guess what he found? A dead rat as hard as stone! Don't worry, no rat in this pict...



So, with a change of toilet seat and some accessories from the carboot (all bought at 50p or less), we gave the toilet a little bit of character (notice the boys' ninja turtle hanging on the light pull?).


My kitchen was another disaster! The walls, ceiling, fridge, cooker, cabinets were all covered with a THICK layer of oil. I tried scrubbing it off with my usual Cif and some hot water. It didn't budge. Got some help from Mr.Muscle, and it finally went away - good riddance! It still needs some work but at least I'm happy it's grease free!



I realised that I didn't take as much pictures as I thought I did, before we claimed this house ours (well, rented of course). I should have taken more pictures from all angles, for easy comparison later. The bedrooms were only taken partially, thus can't really compare it to anything we have now. Will probably work on the angles we had taken previously and take new picts in the same funny angles.

Meanwhile, you're all most welcome to drop by.

12 comments:

Idham said...

D....

:)

me nodding with a smile in approval!
suka....there is something about the new persona of the house which sings a song with me...
- the colour contrast; light colour sofa and carpet with red cushion! so nice...
- the little touches of 'boy and girl' ; ninja turtle is an example..
- simple yet a pleasure to look at.

nice home, enjoy!

idham

Mama Sarah said...

D, waaahhh. so malu to invite you over lah macam ni! u have nice touch lah.

HAve you been to Dunelm? Dekat dgn PC World (Coventry Airport)?

Anyway D, is the inv today - Tuesday? Sarah is v.excited to go. But, we are expecting some special deliveries. Lepas dah settle, kita make appointment eh?

p/s: just incase u didn't get my gmail acc b4: nisakzin@googlemail.com

D said...

idham,
thanks.. just cannot stand the gawdy paki colours!

mamasarah,
yup, got the throws for the sofas at dunelm. my house very simple. cheap stuff from sales or carboot je. hehe! no prob, can come whenever u r free.

Mama Sarah said...

what a transformation. Reminds me of House Doctor. Love that programme so much.

Both you and husband are something, boleh tukar flooring dlm bilik air.

Dunelm, i just found out its existence. I bought some lace curtains recently. Yang dekat rumah dah koyak rabak.

p/s: one item dah tiba. tunggu satu lagi. bila entah nak sampai ni?

k.d said...

Fantastic job you did on the house. Should be proud of yourself to do all that on a budget. And the small little personal touch makes it your home.

Well done. Can we come over if we're in coventry?

D said...

mamasarah,
guess the old one really put us off! have to DIY maaaa...

kd,
of course you HAVE to drop by if you're in England (well, even my neighbour mamasarah still hasn't found our place or the time).

IBU said...

d... got a lot to catch up; reading your blogs i mean. congratulations! dah pindah. bersihnya kitchen!! salute. ibu dok procrastinate ni bila nak pindah. tak panggil2 contractor to quote sebab..... fulus yelek! hahaha...

D said...

ibu, lama tak nampak. your site pun menyepi je... busier than bees?

Mama Sarah said...

D, what are you up to tomorrow (Wed) night? Busy with work? Would like to invite you and family over for dinner. Confirm, ok? (or you want to come thurs?)

Idham said...

wahhh....dah berinvite meng invite tu...mesra tu...nice nice...:)
suka bila baca tentang blog-friendship blooming into real friendship.

plssssssssss laa dtangggggggggg Mekah buat umrah ka, haji ka......saya nak jemput datang ke rumah saya jugak....

:)

idham

D said...

mama sarah,
not fair, you haven't accepted my invite, and you're already inviting us over!!!

idham,
how much longer in jeddah? we all ni memang kepingin nak ke sana (mekah la). that's on the top of the list...

Mama Sarah said...

why not fair? afterall, it was rude of me not to meraikan orang baru.

so, are you coming tonight? I nak siapkan apa yang patut. I promise you we'll come for tea (lepas i get the 2nd parcel)

datanglah... datanglah... (hehe!)