Our last home in England

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This is the third house we bought in England. It was built in 1892.
We moved into it in January 2008 and moved out in June 2011 when we emigrated to New Zealand.


Grant's parents invested with us and used the "penthouse suite" - the three bedrooms (one of which was converted to kitchen / living room) and bathroom on the top floor - when they visited from South Africa, where they live.


The front reception room on the ground floor was my photography studio. It was then used as an office and craft room and lastly became the living room.

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Hallway Before

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Hallway After

We hung two rows of hooks in the vestibule and a mirror in the hallway. We used a small white cabinet that we already had for shoes and bought the bench and shelf set (I'd always wanted one!)

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The cabinet housed the electricity circuit board and meter. I covered the bench cushion with some funky fabric and then used the same fabric in a picture frame to create artwork for the wall above the meter cabinet.

The plastic tub held Grant's police boots - there's no telling what he has to step in sometimes so they were not going into the little cabinet which held the boys' shoes.

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I used Making Memories rubon letters to put this little caption on the mirror frame.









Front Room Before

Excuse the crazy kids, we were all a little giddy at finally getting the keys to our new home!

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Front Room After 1 - my photography studio

We installed white wood blinds and curtain poles, hung curtains, installed the office furniture, hung a canvas and had some pictures framed for the chimney breast and above the printer. We also installed a backdrop support system.

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Front Room After 2 - office and craft room

After the cabinets fell off the wall we redecorated the room like this:

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Front Room After 3 - living room

I was itching for a change so I switched the living room and office around:

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Middle Room Before

Excuse the crazy kids, we were all a little giddy at finally getting the keys to our new home!

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Middle Room After 1 - living room

I made and installed Roman blinds (fabric is "Buckingham" by Globaltex); hung pictures; added a rug; made some cushions; hung a mirror.

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Middle Room After 2 - craft room / office

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Kitchen Before

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Kitchen After

I added some accessories; hung a clock, a shelf, a picture gallery (my own photography) and a paper towel holder; installed a curtain rod over French windows, made a valance for the window. I love that the fridge-freezer and dishwasher are integrated - it makes for a seamless look.

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My father gave me the glass giraffe and it is very dear to me. That's rain on the window, not dirt! I used Making Memories rubon letters to put the wording on the soap dispensers, then sealed over them with Diamond Glaze so they won't rub off.

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Loved my paper towel dispenser (eBay.) I kept changing the little shelf display.

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Ikea Stripa shelves cut in half, jars are also Ikea (discontinued.)

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The picture on the left was taken facing into the kitchen from the living room.

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Facing into the living room. The door you see is to the cellar.

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Bathroom Before

With seller's stuff and empty

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Bathroom After

We hung a new mirror, installed a wooden blind, put in a storage unit, hung pictures and accessorised with brown towels and bath mat.

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I took the photographs for the artwork. They are 20x16 inch sepia prints in Ikea Ribba frames that I painted dark brown with acrylic paint. I drilled big holes in the bottom of this plastic basket. The kids scooped their toys up when bath time was over and the basket simply sat in the bath to drain and store the toys in between baths.

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Updated artwork:

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Boys' Bedroom Before

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Boys' Bedroom After

We added bunk beds and new, bright bed linen; installed a blackout roller blind and curtain pole; put up some wardrobes; painted some picture frames; created artwork and hung some pictures.

This is the metal sign on their door - I got it off eBay. (It amuses me - our surname is Morris, which would make our boys ..... see, it's witty!)

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The small pictures top to bottom: my mom with the boys, Grant's parents with the boys, my dad with the boys. Noah loves the road mat. Excuse the glare on the pictures in below.

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I took photos of the boys' artwork and made digital collages which I had printed at a photo lab. Frames are the Ribba range from Ikea. Here's the link for more details.

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Master Bedroom Before

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Master Bedroom After

We installed Ikea Pax wardrobes, white wooden blinds, curtains (which still need to be lengthened), hung a mirror and added artwork and a homemade headboard.

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DIY headboard made from Ikea kitchen cabinet doors that we had lying around - they used to be on our office units in the last house. I connected them to each other at the back with little screws and metal plates and attached it to the wall. Artwork above bed is also DIY - click here for details.

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The bit in the corner with the door is the ensuite bathroom. DIY artwork on the right hand wall - a cabinet door, some cardstock and a bunch of photos. Click here for more details.

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DIY bedskirt - I used iron-on hemming tape to attach satin ribbon to our white bedskirt. And as you can see I added a dressing table to the bay window.

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Autumn / winter look.

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Ensuite Before

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Ensuite After

We added a double towel rail from Ikea, installed a mirrored storage cabinet and accessorised.

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Cellar Before

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Cellar After

The cellar was used for storage, laundry and to keep our second freezer in. I added peel-and-stick vinyl tiles to the landing (our first DIY project in our new home!) and we installed a bunch of Ikea shelving. Loved my ironing board hanger behind the door. We also added shelving to the wall alongside the stairs and had planned to continue it all the way down but we moved before doing it.

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Front Garden / Yard Before

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Front Garden / Yard After

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Back Garden / Yard Before

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The blue barked bit was just open to the alleyway.

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Back Garden / Yard After

We added paving stones for a path, had the back bit fenced in, removed the metal gates, laid lawn, created beds and put in a wooden gate at the side return. We grew lots of fruit and vegetables in this tiny little garden.

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