Home sweet home

Well here it is - nothing fancy but it is a place to call my own.


I love my teeny tiny home and have tried my best to make it as lovely as possible. The house didn't always look like this though - when I first bought it the previous owner was an unemployed chain smoking, non-stop tv watching stay at home bum and you should have seen how disgusting the place was...

Every single wall was permeated by nicotine - it took endless bottles of sugar soap and mutliple coats of paint to remove all traces of this however the smell took much much longer. I remember coming home from work the first summer after I moved in and the house absolutely reeked despite me leaving windows open all day.

The carpet throughout was horrific and there was a mysterious stain in the middle of the lounge room floor that looked as though something had died there - it had to go. Underneath however lay a real gem - solid hardwood tasmanian oak floorboards. I had them sanded, stained and polished and my floors are now stunning. The only drawback with dark floorboards is that they show up ever skerrick of dirt, dust and pet hair!

The kitchen paid homage to the most frightful colour imaginable. Now I'm normally a pink girl however this was like no pink I had ever seen before - it wasn't quite salmon, not quite apricot but something completely barf-worthy. Unfortunately I am yet to assail total anhiliation on this with it being still visible on some of the door trimmings and floor skirtings. The remainder of the kitchen however has been replaced by flat pack cabinets (one of the best inventions ever!) and while this will never be my dream kitchen (think glossy white 2-pac cabinets with granite benchtops, canopy rangehood and freestanding oven and stovetop) it is a vast improvement.

Unfortunately after having both the floors and kitchen done (plus all the painting inside) prior to moving in I ran out of money to renovate the bathroom. Instead I was forced to wear flip flops into the shower for the next 6 months (despite going through litres of bleach trying to rid the germs of the previous inhabitant) and put down a toilet paper barrier between me and toilet seat every time I had to go until I could save up for a new bathroom. I will never forget the first day in my new bathroom - it was heaven!

Looking back now there are some things that I would've definately done differently (Mr Kitty has caught me on numerous occasions staring for no reason at either my kitchen or bathroom - little does he know that dreams of french doors and a freestanding bathtub are what preoccupies my mind!) but I guess that's the beauty of hindsight.

I am forever grateful for being able to fulfil my dream of owning my own home (or at least having the bank own most of it for the time being) and buying my place before the insanity that is the current Melbourne housing market kicked in. In fact I am also extremely grateful that the place was in such revolting condition which kept most prospective buyers at bay and made it relatively affordable. That said if I ever do decide to sell I think I would merely be trading like for like rather than being able to upscale.

I'll put up some pictures of everything soon.