Retro vanity

Well, it's been a long time coming! When we first built the house nine years ago the downstairs toilet had a 'temporary' vanity. It was made from a sheet of laminex-coated ply, four pine posts (from the original set-out posts for the house) and a second hand sink. Not a pretty thing, and after several years it had started to sag in the middle.

A few years back we bought four cedar table legs on ebay. The tops were in bad condition, so Russell removed them and made new tops from old cedar window frames.

The legs then just needed a quick run through a lathe (via a friend's Men's Shed connection).

Rails and shelf were made from the remains of the wardrobe rebuild done earlier in the year.

As we have another old marble-topped washstand in the room, we bought a Corian top in 'raincloud', which has similar colours to the old marble. The Corian is not cheap, and we had to limit the width to 930mm as this is the standard width the Corian comes in - any wider and it would have almost doubled the price.

The sink and tap are Bunnings purchases, very much on the budget end. Tiles are a mixed selection from oldworldtiles.com

 I'd had this beautiful old oak wardrobe for ages, but like many of its era, it was too shallow for the depth of a coat hanger. For years it was just a storage cupboard, too impractical for clothes.

When we moved we deconstructed it, hoping to put the doors to use again as a built in wardrobe in the house, while the base would become a window seat.

We contacted local fine furniture maker (and amazing wildlife artist!) Garry Rogers to turn the whole thing into a new, practical built-in wardrobe in the sloping walls of our attic bedroom.

Garry made up the front frame in his workshop, using the wood from the side of the wardrobe as new drawer fronts, and wood from our property for a new pediment on top.

Garry's attention to detail is meticulous. All the doors were refinished and cracks and imperfections fixed.



The finished frame was then built into the sloping upstairs hallway, where it serves as a very practical wardrobe with shoe drawers below.

We're extremely grateful to Garry for bringing this beautiful piece of furniture back to life, and cannot recommend highly enough his fine woodworking skills.

Path lights - more recycling

The opening of our new B&B suite required us to improve the path lighting to the house. We wanted something a bit funky and unusual. Russell had the inspiration to use some green glass high-voltage electrical insulators which he had picked up on one of his field trips.

We began with standard Bunnings 12-volt lights at $5 each - pretty boring!

Lights - before

We took off the top cover and slipped over some scrap pieces of PVC water pipe. These were various heights, painted matt black and with holes of assorted sizes cut into them to diffuse the light.

The PVC was topped by the green glass insulators to provide a gentle green glow upwards, but with the majority of the light directed down to the path.

Cheap, good looking, very funky and great recycling!

Lights - after

Junk craft

Russell is the tip and skip king. He is always picking up interesting things, particularly from the tips of dam sites which he visits as part of his seismology work.

Beeswax candles

These ceramic power pole insulators make terrific candle holders, either with regular candles, or filled with beeswax.

Insulators as candle holders

 They're fitted into a routed hole in some well-worn timber. Nice on the dining table, or beside the bath - either way with a glass of wine!

Restoring a cane daybed

I've got a couple of old cane daybeds, and while they are quite comfortable, they were looking a little the worse for wear. The cane binding that wraps the joints was disintergrating, and the cane slats were weathered and discoloured.

I thought the larger one would make a good addition to the new cottage, as a single bed suitable for a child.

I replaced some of the broken cane binding, and we painted the whole thing using a spray gun (by far the easiest way for something so fiddly). A new 40mm foam mattress replaced the three existing cushions. I made covers in a tapestry fabric from Spotlight, and covered over the padded base with a pleated valance in the same material. The cushion covers are removable and the valance goes on and off using velcro strips on three sides.






 







The daybed is about the same size as a folding bed, but more comfortable and much more attractive. It's been used by a couple of youngsters, who have given it the thumbs up.

Butler's Bell

Rose is not at her best in the mornings until she has had a good cup of tea. As I am frequently up early it falls to me to supply this while Rose is still in bed. The problem lies in knowing when to present the said cuppa!

My solution - a butler's bell.

We purchased one from Doorchimes.UK and it duly came, complete with string and three brass pulleys. The rather limited instructions suggested the length of string and number of pulleys be limited.

Original brass pulley

el Cheapo pulleys

Of course I had to get the string through a wall, upstairs through the ceiling, along a kick wall and then over a cathedral ceiling. This meant I had to purchase two more pulleys.

Old rock drill bit for weight

To get over the ceiling I used some heavy twine in a plastic conduit and then to overcome the friction I placed a large weight at one end. A hefty pull down from the other end lifted the weight. When it was released it was meant to pull down on the string leading to the chime. Unfortunately the length of string and the number of pulleys meant the whole thing didn’t work. I increased the weight (to 0.8 kg - using an old broken rock drill bit!) but still no action.

Ball bearing from old router (1)

Ball bearing from old router (2)

I surmised that the friction on the el cheapo pulleys was the problem and I needed two decent ball bearings. These came from an old router that had blown up. Luckily I was able to make them with grooves so the string didn’t come off. A few bits of home-made mounting brackets (which would have impressed my Dad!) and we were in business.

So now I can rest easy in the morning knowing that I will be summoned at an appropriate time to supply a cuppa and some toast – As a friend of ours once said, “It's not breakfast, but it's certainly a good start!”

Actually come to think of it, I'm not sure if this was such a good idea of mine. Maybe it wasn’t my idea at all?

The joys of hand-made

I'm always amazed to see the money some people spend on kitchen and bathroom fittings, and the sort of prices some manufacturers charge for what is perceived to be 'fashionable'.

Maybe I have some deep biological memory of life in a more primitive culture, but I honestly enjoy making something out of what I have, rather than spending money on something that has been made in bulk in an anonymous factory.

When we needed a vanity for our new cottage, we worked with what we had - lots of assorted pine timber, some really nice left-over Ironbark flooring, and our own Rose Gum, milled from the property.

The result, which Russell made quite simply yet beautifully, is this - with Ironbark top, painted pine legs and slatted Rose Gum shelf.

Yes, it's more work than walking into a shop and taking something home the same day, but also a whole lot more satisfying.

Iron balustrade

One thing we felt was important in our building project was to incorporate lots of hand crafted details. It’s probably also the reason some things are taking a long time!

The verandah balustrade, which wraps around the north and east faces, was always going to be a major and very prominent element of the house. We wanted something that would reflect and complement the natural environment around us.

Working with the guys from Dean WilsonIron, we designed a balustrade with a trailing vine that follows through from one panel to the next.  Incorporating a hammered finish, twisting tendrils and curved leaves, it mimics nicely the vines in the rainforest below the house.

It is both beautiful to look at, and open enough to see through it to the trees and garden beyond.