Tom Dixon - Fluorescent Bulb

While on the topic of light bulbs, if I had £150 cash spare - one of these would have been hanging in the toilet room instead.... but as it stands that seems a bit of an indulgence. (Especially considering I still have the cheap paper IKEA lantern in the bedroom!) I intend to specify these energy efficient beauties in a cluster in the reception area of one of my projects at work as soon as I possibly can instead...

Let there be light!

After looking for ages for the perfect (and economical) pendant fitting without much success I figured it was time to come out of the dark and make a decision. I decided on a bright red fabric covered cable which really pops against the dark grey walls, a chrome bulb holder like the one in the kitchen, and a simple clear glass light bulb.

Its not exactly energy efficient, but I really love the simple way it looks, and the light isnt really on for very long.

The DIY exchange continues

Last weekend the DIY exchange continued. The new rubber flooring and skirting have now been installed in my toilet room (photos to follow), in exchange for the installation of a plywood subfloor and some unexpected plaster removal.

Dark Grey Skirting for the WC

I have decided to paint the new skirting boards in the WC dark grey to match the walls. I feel they can be treated differently as they are not original and there are no crown mouldings or window architraves in the WC to match them to. The skirting boards which I took out were mis-matched in height and covered in layers of uneven gooped up paint so as they werent the original Georgian ones I decided it would be easier to replace them with the simple ones you see above.

WC Window works

After a slight loss of DIY momentum, I started up again with the refurbishment to the WC window. I sanded off the flaking paint and sanded smooth the areas where the old paintwork was bumpy and uneven. A bit of 2-part filler did the trick with the cracks and old window stay holes and I even managed to get on the first coat of paint. I hope to get the interior side finished over the course of the week so I can work on the window frame and exterior side next weekend.

Happy Fathers Day

Happy Father's Day Dad!

A sunny sunday evening

Enough dusty progress photos... lets have a quiet moment in the sunshine filled living room with its view to the leafy tree tops beyond.

A New Cloakroom Floor

A few weekends ago I participated in a DIY exchange and helped a friend install a large heavy door. Last weekend in exchange, my toilet was removed, the old floorboards ripped up, some acoustic insulation added, and a new 18mm WBP plywood subfloor was laid level. We didnt quite get the rubber flooring down, but it was still good progress for the weekend.

Cloakroom Cabinetry Plans

There is a small gap between the end wall of the cloakroom and the door architrave, but the plan is to build a skinny cabinet here to hide the waste trap and pipework so its all nice and neat.

I could have bought a chrome waste trap designed to be on display, but that would still have left me with the problem of hiding the old exposed copper pipes that supply the water to the tap and also the old stop-cock.

The initial plan was to have a wider cabinet in the middle which was the depth of the sink to hide the waste, however after discussions with a friend the plan is now to install an elbow below the sink so the waste can sit tight against the wall.

Ooof. Lets hope the plumber is up to the challange when it comes time for his second fix!

Our old WC sink makes its stage debut!

Last weekend I managed to get rid of some of the items I had listed for sale on Gumtree. A polish builder came and collected the extra IKEA doors I had ordered and didnt end up needing, a student collected the old bamboo blind that was hanging in our WC, a shelf unit went to a guy starting up a charity shop, and a girl working on the the stage set design for The Gate Theatre's next production collected our old WC sink!

Its nice to know these items are finding new homes in other people's lives.

Cloakroom window stay

All the windows in the flat are sash windows, except the strange little central pivot casement type window in the cloakroom. The window stay was entirely covered in layers of gooped up paint and so rather than spend hours scraping and scratching it off, a new one has been ordered.

We've gone with the second one from the left in polished chrome to match the chrome tap and fittings. There is still a lot of painting and work to finish on the WC, but I am quite looking forward to putting in these shiny finishing touches when the time comes!