OUR RENOVATION JOURNEY : THE PLAY ROOM/ DEN MOOD BOARD REVEAL

As we reach our sixth month anniversary of building work over at the ‘Rat House renovation’, I thought it was about time I shared one of my mood boards for our first room reveal.

Today I’m talking about our playroom/ den.

Located on the right side of the house on the ground floor, this room was previously used as a dining room by the previous owner. It was filled with antique furniture and a lot of rat poison (I’m not exaggerating- at least they were aware they had a problem), it had been left pretty neglected and hadn’t seen a duster or a hoover in a long old time, although it was easy to see that it must have looked beautiful in its former life.

The evolution of the playroom

This room is now going to be used as a playroom for our little boy during the day, and a cosy den for us Adults in the evening. A space for us to retreat in to watch a movie whilst having the eco wood burner on from Arada stoves (I’ll talk about this more soon).

Although we will have a lounge across the hallway from this room, we love that this room is completely separate to the kitchen/ dining space and you can shut yourself away and have more privacy. Aka, when I have my mates round and we’re drinking Prosecco in the kitchen my other half can lock himself away with a tv and a cosy wood burner and escape from the cackles.

 We want the space to feel fun and imaginative for Otis, but also grown it up and quirky in the evenings once the toys are packed away. I’m envisioning this room becoming a musical room one day in hope we might own a piano for our son, and then will evolve into his X box room, and then one day his pre drinks space with his mates. Ha, yes I am already thinking that far ahead! And although I’m sure I will have decorated this room a trillion times by then, I’m hoping I won’t want to change it for at least a few years (he’s only 2 so I have plenty of time until then).

I still need to research storage, but I’ve got my heart set on a large sideboard for our grown up lounge across the hall and would also love something practical and hardy for storing toys inside in this room. For the playroom I don’t want it to look too childlike, but it also needs to pass the toddler durability test. I saw a beautiful sideboard at a Heals press event which I literally dream about day and night, but sadly its out of my price range (even in the sale), and I’m under no illusion that this would work for a playroom, but I’ve still stuck it on here anyways as you should all see it.

We will also have a tv on the wall, away from little hands, which will also be handy as it will take up less space.

 But back to the wallpaper, and the theme. Because let’s face it, that’s why you’re all here.

If you haven’t guessed already, we’re going for a subtle jungle theme in here. As you know we’re big fans of jungle prints, so it was inevitable that we should continue this theme into our new home. Plus, being a massive fan of Divine Savages and their beautiful wallpaper and prints and having had their Deco Martini wallpaper in our previous home I was super excited to see that they had launched a new colourway of their Faunacation print into the jungle greens, so it seemed like a match made in Rat House heaven.

And yes, I know what you’re thinking. I said I wasn’t going dark… I just like to keep you on your toes *wink. What I probably should have said is that I’m not going to have any Railings paint in our house which was a bit of a trademark paint colour in our old home. So much so, I wish I’d got ruddy shares in the stuff we had so much of it. But it’s time for a change, and this time I’m also giving some new paint brands a whirl to see how they stack up as I think it’s time for some new kids on the block.

We’re putting picture rails back up and will be wallpapering up to the picture rail and then painting above it in new paint company Lick Green 06 in Matt, then using Lick Green 06 eggshell on the woodwork and using Lick 02 white on the ceiling. Lick are a new paint brand which I discovered in lock down and I’m excited to see how their paint compares.

We’re getting some gorgeous new cast iron radiators from Best Heating for this room and for our grown-up lounge across the hallway- these are the Milano Tamara oval column in antique brass from Best Heating and are just stunning.

 We’ve removed the old brick fireplaces that used to be in this room and the main lounge and we have replaced the fireplace in this room with with a beautiful eco burner from Arada Stoves for extra heat, and I’ve bought an original 1930’s deco wooden surround  on ebay for a bargain £150 which I want to leave in the wood to contrast with the wallpaper and side board. And even though we have stripped the house back to the bricks and removed the original features, we’re hoping it will still have bags of character from what we put back in.

To furnish it, we will be super excited to be reunited with some of previous belongings which will fit nicely into this space, including our West Elm Drake green velvet sofa and Distressed Arabesque wool rug in steel for this room, and layering some of my favourite House of Hackney cushions which have accents of gold and teal to being some new colours into this space.

 I’ve also found some beautiful lacquered brass transparent light switches and sockets which are amazing to go over the top of wallpaper from Corston Architectural detail. They’re clear so let the wallpaper shine through whilst still being practical and having a pop of brass which I think will look amazing in this room.

 That just leaves me with deciding on a light and curtains. I’m hoping for something with a bit of drama like the attached Anthropologie Victoria tassel light or something similar.

So what do you think? Was it pretty obvious that we’d go jungle somewhere? You never know, the giraffe might even make an appearance in here at some point. You’ll just have to watch this space.

1. Lick Paint Dark Holly Green 06 in Matt for the wall above the picture rail ( £38 for 2.5L)

2. Lick Paint Off White 02 in Matt - for the ceiling (£38 for 2.5L)

3. Divine Savages Jungle Faunacation wallpaper (£140 a roll)

4. West Elm Drake sofa in Green Velvet ( £1,099)

5. 1930’s original wooden surround purchased from Ebay £150

6. West Elm Distressed Arabesque Wool Rug in Steel and £449

7. Corston Architectural detail switches and sockets from the £28

8. Best Heating Milano Tamara - Oval Column Cast Iron Radiator - 760mm Tall - Antique Brass from £229 

9. House Of Hackney Saber cushion £195

10. House of Hackney Florika cushion £165

11. Heals Remi sideboard - large £2,639

12. Anthropologie Victoria tasselled light £298

13. Arada stoves eco burn from £879

I’ve also done a bit of research on beautiful sideboards as I’m currently looking for two and have become sideboard obsessed.

1. Anthropologie Wallace Cane and Oak Sideboard £1,498.00

2. Heals Remi sideboard £2,639

3. Mustard Made Olive sideboard £249

4. Made.com Markle sideboard £549

5. Anthropologie optical inlay sideboard £2,498

6. Mango Wood & Marble Dark Oval Sideboard / TV Stand £1,300

7. Made.com Anderson sideboard £649

8. Cult furniture BALHAM WOODEN SIDEBOARD WITH THREE DOORS, NATURAL £1199.00

9. John Lewis & Partners + Swoon Franklin £699.00

Which ones your favourite?

MY FIVE WAYS TO SAVE MONEY WHEN BUYING CARPET

Image Credit : A black and white stripe carpet runner with yellow whipping in the home of Sandra @The_idle_hands

I know I’m still a while off the finessing stage of Rat House. Choosing paint colours, carpets, rugs, cushions and wallpapers, not forgetting my glazed ceramic vase collection to faff with. Oh, how I miss the styling part. I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am for that stage to come, but I know it will be here before I know it.

Now the only problem is… will we actually have any money left for all the fun things like carpets, paint and wallpaper? I was advised to budget for 15% extra of the agreed quote, but two weeks in and our architect has already added in extra steels in the structural drawings which are slowly eating into this budget.

I am determined not to live without these things and to make Rat House as homely as quickly as possible, so I’ve been looking at ways to save money, starting with the carpet.

I used to have a jazzy carpet runner down our staircase, but this got destroyed by hundred years’ worth of thick black dust when we converted our loft, and we never replaced it once we finished the renovation. Instead, we lived with raw stairs which echoed every time we walked up and down and meant you could never walk past our son’s bedroom quietly without waking him.

So, this time a carpet stair runner is high on my list of must-have items. But the carpet is usually quite pricey isn’t it, meaning we’ll have to wait a while to afford it. Well, actually no…

Image credit: Pinterest

Today I’m going to talk you through my top tips for saving money when buying carpet and the rules that I’m going to live by when choosing my own.

1. Rip up the old carpets/ flooring yourself. I know it sounds obvious but ripping up your own carpet or old flooring and disposing of it safely yourself will save you £££. Most large carpet retailers will charge for the privilege, so just do it yourself.

2. Move your own furniture. Again, this sounds so obvious, but honestly ask any carpet fitter and they’ll tell you they will charge to move your large pieces of furniture around the room to lay the carpet. It eats into their time, so don’t pay them to do something that you or your other half can do.

3. Choose the right material. Consider your lifestyle and how much traffic an area will get. And think about if you’re likely to want to change it up in a few years. Natural fibres are lovely but can stain easier and can be more difficult to keep clean.

4. Buy remnants. I recently discovered Designer-Carpet, an online carpet retailer which specialises in - you guessed it - designer carpet. But here’s where it gets exciting. They have some real bargains in their carpet remnants section. I always thought remnants and “off cuts” were the scraps that I could use for a box room, or for my dolls house floor (my dad used to actually cut me pieces of real carpet for my doll’s houses). But these remnants are a mixture of end of the line, discontinued carpets and surplus carpet rolls which didn’t make their intended journey but could be yours for a fraction of their recommended retail price. For example, you can buy a Brintons carpet for almost half the RRP price. Or get a luxury Kersaint Cobb sisal carpet for a fraction of their price. Plus, they’ll still give you the full customer treatment, and offer you whipping and framing options if you want to turn these remnants into stair runners or even a made-to-measure rug.

5. Buy supply only and fit yourself (or find your own fitter). If you were to buy from an online retailer like Designer-Carpet they would offer you supply only, which means you can save money by finding your own fitter (search the National Institute of Carpet & Floorlayers directory for a fully accredited professional near you). Designer carpets will still help you with the measuring up etc to ensure you’re not over or under ordering for your space. 

I’ll be going through some more top money-saving tips throughout the Rat House Renovation, so do come back to see what else I’m trying to save money on.

Image credit: A natural fibre rug by Geri @overatno18

** This post was sponsored by Designer-Carpet.co.uk. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. **

OUR RENOVATION JOURNEY: PARTY WALL ACTS AND WHY WE NEED THEM

The back of our New House. We needed a party wall act with both our neighbours (Even the one on the left).

If you’re thinking of submitting plans for an extension or have already submitted them, but have heard the term ‘Party Wall’ and don’t know if it applies to you, then this post is for YOU!

I found this area all quite mind boggling because I didn’t think Party Wall’s applied to detached houses, but it still does. And what you don’t want to do, is leave it to the last minute like I did.

So, today’s post is all about… you guessed it… Party Walls.

Why you need one, what they’re for and why they can be a massive headache if you don’t get it sorted before your building work starts, not to mention the extra cost which you might not have accounted for if you have to involve a party wall surveyor.

So, what is a party wall Act?

Sadly, it’s not a party of any kind. Boooo! And it doesn’t even have to involve a ‘Wall’ to be needed.

The Party Wall Act came into force on 1 July 1997 and applies throughout England and Wales. (The Act does not apply to Scotland or Northern Ireland)

 The Act provides a framework for preventing or resolving disputes in relation to party walls, party structures, boundary walls and excavations near neighbouring buildings.

Basically, in a nutshell, it serves as a legal document between you and your neighbour to stop you from falling out when the digging and building work commences (although it can’t actually stop you from falling out). But it’s there to protect your lovely neighbour’s property. This could be from you hammering a massive steal into their walls for an extension, or it could be because you need to excavate near their foundations to dig your own foundations. It’s your way of politely serving notice that you will be whacking a great big steel into their neighbouring wall when building your extension or digging next to their foundations which you’ve now had planning permission for.  You’re politely letting them know in a legal document – aka serving notice.

And it’s there to cover the neighbour so that if you cause any damage, you will make good - aka resolve any disputes.

Who needs a party wall Act?

Anyone intending to carry out work (anywhere in England and Wales) of the kinds described in the Act must give Adjoining Owners notice of their intentions. The Act applies even to Crown, Government and Local Authority owned property.

What does the Act Cover?

• Various work that is going to be carried out directly to an existing party wall or party structure – ie on a Mid terrace house – loft conversions between neighbouring properties, ground floor/ 1st floor extensions on Semi-detached houses.

•    New building at or astride the boundary line between properties.

• Excavation within 3 or 6 metres of a neighbouring building(s) or structure(s), depending on the depth of the hole or proposed foundations. So in a nutshell, if your property is within 3-6 meters of your neighbour’s property and you will be digging for foundation work, you will still need a Party Wall Act even if your walls aren’t adjoining.

The document

You can find generic documents online which will help as a guide when serving notice on your neighbour. Just make sure you amend the details to be yours and your neighbours. And in the foundation section, try and give as much information from your structural engineer as you possibly can. I.e.- will there be any special foundations?

Then attach a consent form for them to sign and return, and make sure you stipulate a date for which the building work will commence. You’re meant to give your neighbours TWO months’ notice – but if your neighbours are nice and understanding you can talk to them about bringing the start date forward.

I’ve linked templates below that you can adapt and use for this purpose. - Because sharing is caring…

DOWNLOAD A FREE PARTY WALL TEMPLATE LETTER

and

DOWNLOAD A FREE PARTY WALL CONSENT FORM

Can they refuse to sign it?

Yes, they can. But just remember that even if they do refuse to sign the free Party Wall Act, it doesn’t mean your building work can’t happen. It will just delay things until you have appointed a Party Wall surveyor and a Party Wall Award has been served to the neighbour.

What is a Party Wall Surveyor and What do they do?

This is where it gets a little complicated. If your neighbour refuses to sign the free document, they are entitled to have their own Party Wall Surveyor – at YOUR COST.

They are actually entitled to their own Party Wall Surveyor, in addition to one that will represent you. I.e. two different Party Wall Surveyors. They can even request a third to act as an adjudicator if they really want to be difficult and these will all be at YOUR COST.

But they can also choose to use one surveyor which will represent the two of you. This is the ideal option and will be the least expensive option to you. This is what YOU want.

The Surveyor will do an assessment of your neighbour’s property which will involve taking numerous photos of their internals, externals and their garden, noting any previous movement, cracks etc. In the long run this will help you if they say there’s been movement and your building work caused it etc.

Then once they have done the assessment, they will work on a schedule to ensure the excavation or structural work is done as safely and with least disruption as possible to the neighbouring property and then the Party Wall Award will be Served. This is where your structural engineer will come into play in a big way as they will be asked by the Party Wall Surveyor to go into more detail regarding foundations or joining walls/ steels etc. I’d also make sure you have this cost covered in your structural engineers initial quote, as you don’t want them asking for more money when you’ve already paid them and now have Surveyors to pay for as this cost can suddenly escalate quite rapidly.

Your structural engineer will produce a series of sketches like this for the Party wall Surveyor to show the relationship with the neighbouring property.

How much will a Party Award cost?

You’re looking at between £700-£1500 (including VAT) per surveyor. It depends on the project size and where in the UK you are located.

Keep in mind that if you need a Party Wall surveyor award with each neighbour this could double or even triple in cost for you.

When Should I serve the Party Wall Act to my neighbours?

Do it as soon as possible. As I mentioned before you’re meant to give your neighbours two months’ notice before starting work, and you will need to have this in place before starting, otherwise you will only be able to do the work which is within 6m or more from their property.

You can even serve the notice to your neighbours at the same time as you submit your planning application. This way you can talk your neighbours through your plans and gauge their reaction to whether or not you think they will be happy to sign the free notice and if not start researching for a surveyor.

It’s a stressful time, but once you get over this part the building work is all GO GO GO.

Good luck with your build if you’re about to start one, or if your knee deep in one already send me the address and I’ll send the wine to help steady the nerves. Just kidding. I need ALL the wine right now for mine.

MY HALLWAY PLANS - IN COLLABORATION WITH DIVINE SAVAGES

Hallway inspiration. Image from Pinterest. 

I've been dreaming about decorating our hallway and staircases for what feels like an eternity. We last painted the hallway over seven years ago when we first moved in. At the time we were poor first time buyers, and we chose a cheap blue/grey satin finish emulsion to cover the walls which I've hated ever since. It was one of those quick, rash decisions of 'oh its plastered now, let's just paint it'. Well, Let me tell you, never make rash decisions when choosing paint or wallpaper. This stuff's up there for the next 7+ years, so you have to love it, and paint isn't cheap.

After our loft conversion in February, we've been left with a trail of black dust on the walls throughout the two staircases, all the way through to the front door, so its never looked worse than it does right now.

Our hallway and stairs are narrow,  and I mean super narrow. Its not even a meter wide, so its cosy and slightly claustrophobic, which makes it a bloody nightmare with the buggy and baby but thats a whole different story. *I think I screamed 'lets move house' in the first 4 weeks of Otis arriving, but I've calmed down now*. 

I've also come to realise that this tiny space, is actually the biggest room in the house per square meter,  which in turn makes it one of the most expensive to decorate. It might be narrow, but it is long!  And we have three floors to cover, which is why its been a long time coming. 

The vision and wallpaper...

I want to add more character back into the space since its the first room you see when you enter the house, so its got to serve impact. I'm planning on using the deco martini wallpaper in blush from Divine savages to do this.  I've teamed up with the boys from Divine Savages to showcase one of their signature prints, and it should add some opulence and drama back into this drab grey hallway. 

I'm planning on grounding the wallpaper against a dark bottom half, which will be painted in Farrow and ball Railings. 

I recently added a dado rail half way up in preparation for the renovation. We added the dado for two reasons. One, it will save money on the wallpaper, as we can only afford to paper the top half. And second, it should elongate the spaces. Who am I kidding, it's still going to be the same width and length but a girl can try right? 

Adding dado rail is an inexpensive way to add character back in to any room. We bought ours from Wickes for £4 per 2.5m, and then all you need is some no-nails glue, an angle cutter/saw, and maybe a handy dad like mine to do it for you. Cheers dad! 

The hardware will be a combination of black and brass. Black plugs and switches from Dowsing and reynolds, a brass mirror from Made.com, and we've ordered a new brass coat hook from westelm.  I'm going to wait until its complete to decide on art/ photography as I want pieces which are monochrome and simple to not draw too much attention away from the paper. 

About Divine Savages 

Founded in South East London in 2016 by husbands Jamie Watkins and Tom Kennedy. Through a shared passion for quirky interiors and styling they set out to do interiors their way and put their experience in fashion and design to create a new brand for the artistic shopper; a brand that mixes influences from classic prints, bold fashion and iconic modern design yet always with their signature Divine Savages twist.

If you like dark, maximalist, vintage inspired interiors which are on the quirky side, then start following them on instagram as they are definitely ones to watch for the future.  To see their full collection click here.

And I'll be back on here in a few weeks to show you how it all went!

To see the full moodboard and details of the hallway plans, scroll to the bottom of this page! 

A before shot of the first floor landing. 

The second set of stairs leading to the loft bedrooms. 

The moodboard 

1. Antique crystal chandelier, purchased from Ebay.

2. Deco 'martini' wallpaper, £140 per roll, from Divine savages 

3. Colour Railings, Modern Emulsion paint, £78 per 5L, from Farrow and ball

4. MDF Dado rail, £4.99 per 2.4m, from Wickes

5. Black double toggle light switch, £24 from Dowsing and Reynolds

6. Black double socket £24.99, from Dowsing and Reynolds

7. Alana brushed gold mirror, £119, Made.com

8. Deco marble Coat Hook £69, From West Elm

9. Black and ivory stripe carpet runner, Price on request Spicers carpets

10. Haman rug runner £117, From Wayfair