Finally having a real living room feels so good. We really enjoy just sitting on the sofa, listening to music. Cooking in our real kitchen and having dinner on the table. We kind of took it easy a bit and relax.
Some of the small things we did was getting a induction adapter for the moka espresso maker Mo had gotten from Stefano. While we where at the wholesale store I had noticed these adapters, so when the moka maker did not work, I knew how to fix this.
Mo’s mother also gave us an old lamp with yellow details in the same colour as our kitchen wall. So we tried it and it seems to fit nicely.
And with the kitchen finished, we don’t have to do dishes in the bathroom anymore, so we could finally install the vanity desk in the bathroom.
The first thing to finish was the bathroom ceiling. The majority of the work was done already, only the main ceiling had to be put in, plastered and painted. This went pretty smooth. In between we moved the temporary kitchen to the garage and made it into a pretty cozy kitchen. The only thing missing was running water and a sink, but this was fixed with a the vacation jerrycan and a bucket. It is temporary anyway. Soon we will be able to use a real kitchen. Finally we could also put in the cabinet in the bathroom. At first I thought of building a cabinet, but when I found out it would fit a stock cabinet from Ikea with matching wooden doors, the choice was easy. Just in time for the arrival of my dad. It was good seeing him again in Tallinn. Looking forward to all the work we have planned.
The first thing we planned to do was take out the floor in the living room/kitchen and make it completely level. So taking out all the floor boards again. Minor detail was then we had build the insulation and walls over the floor, so we had to cut the floor. My old cheap jigsaw broke, so time to replace it for a real one. For some parts this was not the best solution either, so we also got a little circular saw blade for on an angle grinder. A scary tool that got the job done nicely. With the floor out, we had to find out how big the difference was. After a lot of measuring we found out the difference between the highest and lowest point of the floor was almost 5,5 cm. No wonder the floor was wavy. We put in screws at the measuring points to visualize what we needed to fix and decided to screw some straight beams against the sacked beams.
This first decent vacation since we got the house has done us good. We rested, got inspired and were ready for a big large sprint. On a rainy day in France we went to Ikea and made the last decisions about the kitchen, so we where ready to order it. It had been hot in Estonia, actually this region has been the hottest in entire Europe. Those small tomato plants we left a month ago, turned into a huge tomato plant jungle, which Mo cleaned up nicely.
After that it was a week of visiting a lot of shops. First stop was Ikea to check some final details and double check if everything we picked was also available in Estonia. Than we went for Floorin as I though linoleum might be a good solution for the kitchen. Mo’s first response was something like ‘No way!’ Ben when she saw the modern colours, she agreed to check it out and after seeing it in real life the decision was made quickly. We also found some roles of heavily discounted linoleum in the colour chartreuse, which we thought would be nice for the hall way. Nice detail was we brought a bottle of Chartreuse from France and it is clear how the colour got it’s name.
Next was a few countertop specialist, the good thing of have two offers is, you can negotiate prices. Since the first company we checked couldn’t beat the price of Granimar the order went to them.
For the living room we wanted a wooden floor. After earlier success at K-Rauta we went there and also this time we found a floor we liked quickly. As a bonus we also found a vanity desk for in the bathroom that was on sale, so we took that as well.
With these preparations done, we could start the real work. We wanted to try to get the bathroom done before my dad would arrive. It was just the ceiling, starting with plastering it.
And since we would replace the entire floor in the living room/kitchen we also needed to make space there, so we cleared out the garage to create a temporary kitchen there.
Once all the metal studs where put in, I could put in the vertical parts to create a light cove. When this was done, I could put in the LED strips and connect the power supply and QuinLED. After a quick test run it was time to put in the ceiling plates.
With the help of Mo and Mattias we put in the 4 plates, which went pretty smooth. On to the plastering and painting.
Time flies when you are having fun. But that does not finish the bathroom. So after putting in the last tiles a few weeks ago, it was time for the grouting, which again was a finishing touch.
Next up was the ceiling and the indirect light. I made a combination of the lowered ceiling and a place to connect the vertical part that will hold the LED strips.
In the mean time all stores are closed due to corona, but luckily ABC already had a web shop and they offered the option to pick up the order from the store.
Detail of the lowered ceiling
With the wide angle lens on my new phone the bathroom looks huge!
With all this working from home I figured it was time to get a sit-stand desk. After some research I found the best value at Ikea. Since there still a good normal desk, I just ordered the mechanism. After a putting it together I put it under the desk and raised it. It turned out a great investment. I change between sitting and standing several times per day.
During the weekend it was tiles, glue and more tiles. Slowly a real bathroom emerged.
Time flies. After making the plans for the bathroom window, it took some time for Mo and me to get to the glass shop and double check on the colours of the stained glass and which frosted glass to pick. But then we could instantly order the glass and the lead strips that had to connect the pieces.
While waiting for the delivery, I sanded and painted the windows frame. Since it is Mondriaan design we picked black. It looks very classy.
A few days later I could pick up the glass and the I could finally put everything together. I started by laying out all the pieces and cutting the lead to size. Then part by part I put in the glass and put in the nails to hold the glass before I could put in the glazing putty.
The result was so nice I instantly wanted to make a picture to send to Mo, who was at work. I put the window in place and kind of had to push it in as it was a bit tight. Click , picture, click, another picture. OH NOOO. There the frame fell towards me and the a big bang a lot of glass broke. Tears forced their way out. I was so sad.
A bit later everything was cleaned up and I had ordered 4 new pieces. The positive side was that only white and blue had broken which where the cheapest colours. Luckily the replacement glass was available soon, and the result was just as great.
Earlier in the week I had lost my phone so some of the posts have a few pictures less then normal since I had not synced my phone for a while.
The shed is cleaned up, so it was clear the glass in the outside window needs to be replaced. Some are cracked, one has a little hole and one has some spray paint on it. So on to the glass store. Of course also the frame needed some attention, but it was mainly sanding and painting. Something that could be done on my new workbench.
With the new glass in place, we started talking about the inner window. I suggested to use frosted glass at the bottom to get some privacy in the bathroom, but Mo thought that was a bit boring. We talked a bit more and 10 minutes later we had thought up a nice alternative. A window inspired by Mondriaan and Mo’s Mondriaan inspired wedding dress. Another half an hour later a sketch on scale was made and even a bit later I had drawn it on the wall and card board/windows. That showed we needed a little adjustment, to have the tiles match the floor tiles. Great plans, now see if this can be done within a reasonable budget.
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