Lockdown Diary

 I think we are at day 17 of our Lockdown this time around. I have lost all sense of time!

We are just about to start home schooling tomorrow so I  thought I would pop up a few photos from our time at home these last couple of weeks. 

It was a slow school holidays and while I was keen from a break from the busy schedules and commitments, I think this was taking things to extreme! So grateful though for my healthy family and a warm space to bunker down in. 

One of the only things that changed through our days was where we took our daily walk. We are so lucky to have so many beautiful places so close to home.

Blue skies and ocean walks...

Another day, another walk. Through the trees with the remote control cars

Our studio apartment/office above the garage has been the perfect escape when you need a little space and quiet time. It's also lovely and clean compared to inside while we do the renovations!

You can see more of this space here and here

Manly Dam

Our renovations continue on with Simon doing a lot of work himself. We are doing a first floor addition soon and thought we'd take the time now to open up the walls to put in the structures needed to hold up the first floor. We are also pulling walls down, adding wardrobes, changing windows, refreshing the paint and carpet. We built our home 20 years ago and we are making the changes that will sustain our family life as we go into the next 20 years. 

Dash has been enjoying having us all home and his extra walks each week.

I hope you are well and keeping healthy xx

Our attic space reveal

 As you know, last year we renovated our garage into a studio apartment/office space. 

You can see the reveal here

The attic space had remained unfurnished except for a desk and chair as the boys had been using it as a study zone. But life after COVID is slowly returning to a certain kind of normal and we are looking forward to having family and friends be able to stay over. It was time to makeover the attic space into a cosy bedroom for our guests.

I wanted to keep the space very simple and serene and connected with the style below in the office/apartment area. I went with a palette of white (of course!) and neutral tones. The light is really beautiful up there and it has turned into such a lovely place to be.

I wanted clean lines and low to the ground furniture to maximise the space.

Bed - Malm (Ikea)

Bedsides - Malm (Ikea)

Lamps - Target

Wall Hanging - Flower Power

White Linen Quilt Cover - Adairs

Pillow cases - Pillowtalk

Throw - Target

Cushions - Spotlight

I have also added some photos from the office space below. It still looks so fresh and lovely.

The plants are all doing so well. They really love the light in there and Simon does a great job of keeping them all so healthy, especially the fiddle leaf!

Completing the attic room was the final step of our office/studio apartment renovation.

We are so happy with how everything has turned out and it is such a wonderful, useful space that the whole family utilises.

Time for a new project!

Our office space/studio apartment reveal.

For the last 5 months or so we have been working on building a studio apartment/office space on top of our detached garage at the front of our home.

During all of the changes that have happened in the first 6 months of 2020 with the bushfires, floods and COVID 19 this has been our constant. It has been great in a way to have a project to focus on in uncertain times. Simon was front and centre and did a lot of the design and construction himself.

We also employed a lot of friends and utilised their trades and skills which made it a pleasant and smooth process. It was nice to have familiar faces on the job.

We wanted to utilise the space (about 58 square mtrs) to maximise every possible inch and corner.

We wanted to fit in an entry way, laundry space, bathroom, kitchen, office and living area and lots of storage. We wanted it to feel light and airy and a nice place to be.

Spiral staircases helped us get to the next levels with only a small amount of space taken up. 

White walls, floors and minimal furnishings with a neutral palette kept the space feeling bright and spacious. 

We added hints of brass, rattan and plants to bring in colour, texture and add interest.

For the forseeable future it will be our Real Estate's office space and eventually it will be a space for our boy's when they want to move out. At the moment the boy's are enjoying using the space for study (Finn has his HSC this year) after hours. 

Now that we have the t.v, wifi and Foxtel hooked up I can imagine they will love it as a place to hang out and catch up with friends as well!

I've popped up a few photos of the interiors and details below. I will do a bigger post on the whole build once we complete the landscaping at the front of the house.

The Entry Way

We kept the slab downstairs and painted it with Dulux Luxafloor in Vivid White.

This is what we did with the floors in our house so we knew it would look great and be low maintenance.

We made the console table to fit the space and hung the kombi artwork to identify it as an office space. The citrine crystal signifies wealth and prosperity, the apples add freshness and a pop of colour and the forever flowers were made from bits n pieces from Barefoot Gypsy Homewares and Feathers.

Spiral Staircase - Spiralworks

Lounge Area

Upstairs we kept the palette neutral and calming. The use of white paint, floors and furnishings really opens up the space and creates an airy feel. Plants were a must!

I've tried to keep the space very simple and pared back.

Again we signified the room as a work space with the surfboard with The Beaches Real Estate on it.

An old surfboard painted white with craft letters stuck on. It's hung on the wall with 3M picture strips. The company logo is repeated on the t.v with the kombi.

Walls - Dulux Vivid White - Wash n Wear

Floors - 130mm cypress pine painted in 2 x coats of Feast Watson proof seal and 5 x coats of Feast Watson flooring paint in white.

Mirror - West Elm

Sofa - Ikea

Coffee Table - Freedom

Rug - Miss Amara Loves

Floor Lamp - Beacon Lighting

Side Table - Hope and May

Fiddle Leaf - Foley's Nursery

Pot - Bunnings

We wanted lots of storage for office supplies and eventually when someone lives in the space.

We replicated what we have in our home with a wall of storage and shelves.

I styled these with home and interior books and bits n bobs in the same tones. 

Again plants were used for colour and life. I love a trailing plant on a shelf!

Bookcases - Billy Bookcases - IKEA. 

We also used the IKEA Oxberg doors and extender pieces. 

We had our carpenter build them in with a kickboard and pelmet to finish them off nicely.

Decorating items were a mix from Target, Adairs, Kmart and Typo.

The desk space fit nicely in the corner and the rattan cupboard holds the printer, paper and other office supplies.

Table - IKEA

Chairs - Temple and Webster

Rug - Miss Amara Loves

Cabinet - Freedom

Cushions - Target

Kitchen

For the kitchen we chose a Kaboodle kitchen carcass, doors and kickboards from Bunnings.

We chose the Alpine profile in Macaroon.

The kitchen is about 5 metres long. At the moment we have kept it simple with just a sink and fridge space.  The other appliances will be added at a later date once it is utilised as a living space.

Sink - Hardware + General - A Blanco undermount sink

Tap - Phoenix tap in brushed gold

Cupboard handles - IKEA

Bench top - Quantum Quartz in Michaelangelo - Set in Stone, Brookvale

Shutters - Plantation Shutters - I Seek Blinds

Forever flowers - a mix from Feathers + Barefoot Gypsy Homewares

Vase - Adairs

Kombi - Riot Art Shop

Rainbow - Target

Coffee machine - Breville Oracle Touch

Bathroom

Glass shower screens to come...

Tiles - 600 x 600 - Beaumont Tiles

Toilet - Hardware + General - Parisi in wall toilet

Tapware/Shower head - Phoenix

Vanity - Hardware + General - Marquis

Other items throughout the space...

LED downlights

Daikin ducted reverse cycle air conditioning

Windows - Bradnam Signature Series. Double Glazed

Frameless Glass balustrade - Hardware + General

Below is a peek of the exterior in progress. 

I will share more of the build in another post once the exterior and landscaping is complete.

I hope that answers any questions you have regarding the interior of our studio apartment and office space. Thank you for following along!

I've kept some videos of the finished space on my Instagram under my saved stories.

Let me know if there is anything else you would like answered x

Visual Diary - Isolation/Covid19 - March, April, May 2020

With all of our boys back to school full time from tomorrow, a little bit of normality and routine will be restored to our lives. For the last 9 weeks we have filled our time at home with books, puzzles, LEGO, Netflix and movies, painting, baked and experimented with new recipes, gardening, building our new apartment/office space and family walks with Dash. We've celebrated 2 birthdays, Easter, Anzac Day and Mother's Day. 

Add in the home schooling onto that and it has been a fairly full couple of months.

 I'm grateful to come out of the other side with all of our family healthy. Also I'm so thankful to those front line workers who kept things going in the thick of it all and put themselves at risk to help others.

I thought I'd put up some photos as a visual diary of our time in Iso. 

Hopefully a once in a lifetime experience!

Hope you're all well xxx