Funky Bunk

 

Decided to go for this funky bunk bed for Eve's bedroom.  She is now one very excited little girl and is already planning what she is going to decorate those shelves with!! 

Contemplating

"Verbier in a field in Limerick"

Castello Royal Bath & Dornbrach bath mixer 

as seen in Richard Bransons "The Lodge" in Verbier, Switzerland!

Dithering at the moment (nothing new there then) as an opportunity has arisen to purchase this fantastic Castello Bath for our master bathroom...(it's a fantastic deal and I'm a sucker for a bargain...oh the dilemma, almost wish I'd never clapped eyes on it...I did say almost!)


I've already ebayed my way to ownership the very same Dornbracht bath/shower mixer as seen in the Verbier bathroom for a steal. Mr C is egging me on, but someone has to wear the sensible hat around here and for once that seems to be me (dangerous territory!)....oh just can't decide Heart says "love it, want it, buy it"  Head replies "good deal but you already have a bath Mrs" and "overstretched budget fit to snap no matter how good the deal"

bath shown here in the latest edition of KBB Magazine

Ok, the blue wall papered background is so not me, but if we do go ahead with this bath we will have to mount the bath on a plinth, in a very similar fashion to the image above. The said plinth would be a necessity, as we would need somewhere to hide the waste trap as drilling down into the concrete (and recently tiled floor) at this stage isn't an option!

Need to go figure the cost implications of "the plinth" as well as the bath splurge and it's impact on the budget....

however in true Craggy Island style I'm so tempted to just feck the budget and have my own Verbier in my field in Limerick....well if they can have Las Vegas in the hills of Donegal...

Goats Don't Shave - early 1990's performance on The Late Late Show

Brick bone Mosaic Shower part 2

Used some of the good old pebble tiles on the base of the shower.  The pebbles mould particularly well to the slight gradient in the shower floor, which is needed for drainage.

The pebbles also provide a great non-slip surface

still can't quite comprehend it's only a few weeks to go til the house will be ready

scary!

even more scary perhaps is the fact that my 3 kids finish school for the summer tomorrow at noon, so much to do with kids in tow!!

Happy...

I've been ebaying again 

(what would I do with out it??)

This morning from the comfort of my living room in Limerick, I bought two of these retro sofas from a lovely lady in London. 


They are destined for the kids games/play room.  I just couldn't bare to put anything brand spanking new in there and to be precious about them taking a serious bashing from my kids and their friends. 


I've always found black leather most forgiving (baby sick and most other kiddie gunk wipes off a treat!) and as a bonus with this pair, I really love the funky design, perfect for a games room (well I think anyway!) 


So, I'm feeling very pleased with myself (read smug) to have got the two of them for a grand total of £300, which is way less than the cost of one of the sofas we were considering yesterday in Ikea.

*****

These sofas won't be perfect, I know that...but they'll have bags of character and I'll love them anyway....just like my kids!!

*****

It's been a while

....since my last blog post and if I'm being honest I finding it difficult to know know where to start...good or bad first????

900 x 600 Brazilian Black Slate

The bad I think....we are currently having "issues" with the large format slate flooring not sticking (yes, sad but true....never been heard of before in the tiling world until "The Conlon House" but that damn slate just won't stick!) 

the variation in colour isn't as pronounced as in this pic,the tiles were wet, 

the lighter shade of grey is the true colour

Several brands of fixative have now been tested all with the same result - tiles don't stick!  


We are thinking that it's due to the heat coming in through the huge south facing windows and sky lights.....sounds implausible to be fair, this is Ireland after all, but it can't be ruled out!!  

Today's experiments are, 1) priming the back or each individual tile with a bonding agent and 2) laying a couple of tiles in the darkest, coolest area of the kitchen as a further "test" to see if sun/heat is really the cause of the problem.  Will check on the progress tomorrow evening....keep your fingers crossed they've stuck!!


It's not all bad I suppose, I really like the tiles and am happy with my decision to use them extensively on the ground floor....now if they would just stick...is that too much to ask?!!

Brick bone Mosaic Shower part 1

Relief

I like these tiles!

No tiling to the base of the shower yet...pebbles will be making an appearance as they mould really well to the curve in the floor. It will certainly be a unique walk-in shower, but I like!

Amelia says her tiles look a bit like bamboo! I'm taking it this is a good thing...

The tiles have curved really nicely where needed, this wouldn't have been possible if I'd chosen to lay them horizontally!

No grouting or sealing yet and Still a way to go with the finishing the bathrooms.  This does not stop me now however, from growing increasingly impatient to see the actual bathroom fitting going in!

Ever fallen in love

with a spiral staircase...?

Think I just have....

I'm  prepared to be heartbroken though, get the feeling that this good looking chap is out of my league :-((  I'm going to send  my drawings off anyway and see where we get to.....not going to talk myself out of it just yet!  


I have been quite sensible with sticking to my budgets and juggling the whole way through this build, however this really is a nasty case of "just gotta have" no off the peg kit spiral staircase will compare to this one now....

(need to get a life really, grown woman obsessing about a bloody spiral staircase....get a grip Jo!)

saw the staircase here by the way

On a mission

Have decided it's time to be decisive!

Both me and Mr C are in agreement(at last)over these lights from Zenza, have had them on my definitely/maybe pile for well over a year!!  So now I've started the hunt to track down three of them to hang over our island in the kitchen. (similar idea to the image below...may hang mine at different heights though)

I've just fired off an email to the manufacturer in The Netherlands and am keeping my fingers crossed as I can't find a supplier for them here in Ireland.

I'm also mad about this water dispenser too

and the dinky little table top BBQ just to the right of the shot!

Loads more lovely lights and delights here, I could buy up their whole shop!!!

Thinking of getting a dog....

I must be mad for even entertaining the idea, but coming under increasing pressure from husband and kids to agree to a dog!

How cute are these pups?! 
Their images jumped out at me whilst "blog surfing" think I'm broody?

Apologies have lost link to credit this image

if it's yours please let me know

image found here

image found here

I am very aware that a dog is for life and not just a whim (no matter how cute)and is a major commitment.  I also know that ultimately it will be me who will do the walking and general caring for of a dog - no matter how much my husband and children protest otherwise!!

Tonight I'm thinking....

pic from the lovely Lotta Agaton

Oh I'm out of my "zone" at the moment for sure.  After months of looking at other peoples gorgeous homes and interior design schemes I think I have gone into meltdown...lost the plot....

• one minute its a black kitchen, the next minute its going to be white!!
• I think I like pebble tiles....then I'm not so sure!
• do I go for painted doors....or should I go for wood?
• Do I really need coving....no...or maybe I do?
• WILL IT ALL COME TOGETHER....????

I think I've lost my own sense of Style....I'm experiencing an



information overload


has this happened to anyone else??....am I alone in my total indecisiveness and absolute fear of the "interior design"???

Solar Panels are up.....

Now if we could have some sun over Ireland instead of volcanic ash please!

The six flat panels equates to approx 15m2, I went for the in-roof option and flat plate over evacuated tube as thought they looked better and cost less!  We are going to see how we get on with these and know that we can always upgrade to evacuated tube or whatever the latest technology is further down the line!

Amelia's Loft

"disclaimer: I take full personal responsibility for allowing my child to climb up that ladder - Mrs C"

This is still a work in progress, we are still to decide how to incorporate both storage and access here!  So high up too...but we've kind of gotten ourselves over that, just need to make sure the loft access is good & safe.

Some inspiration & ideas I've found on other blogs I follow

(seriously don't know what I'd do with out them!)

borrowed image from here

 Like how the stairs above are almost vertical against the wall...this design would work well for us I'm thinking and quite practical & inexpensive too :-))

 borrowed image from here

OMG where do I start with this one...LOVE IT, but not so practical and a much more of an expensive option.  This is one to save for "next time" I think!

borrowed image from here

Another practical option, Amelia's loft is much higher up from the floor though than this one shown above.  Do like the white painted ladder though...it's an option!

Good news I suppose, is I have another few weeks before I will need to make a decision on the girls lofts. Need this breathing space to do some budget juggling tricks. 

Top of the list for cabinetry at the moment - bathrooms!! Bought undermounted basins for 3 of our bathrooms and totally forgot that I would need to budget for cabinetry and granite/marble tops to go with the damn things....oooops!!  Hence sitting here nervously waiting for the quote to come in.