Tag Archives: A Room Of One’s Own

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A Room Of One’s Own – Week 9 & 10 – Update

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I skipped last week’s update so I wanted to post a few pictures or “piccies” as they are frequently called here. Brits seem to have fondness for adding “ies” to words I wouldn’t normally consider changing in this way, such as rellies for relatives and wellies for Wellingtons the rubber boots we sometimes wear on our walks. Putting the language lesson aside for now, let me show you what John has been working on over the last two weeks.

When I posted the last update the new master bath still looked like this.

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The pictures below show the most recent developments and how close it is to completion.

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John tiled everything including the window ledge and all around.

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Thankfully, this shower is larger than the current one in the family bathroom which has a shower and a separate tub.

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These are typical shower fixtures for here where you can control the temperature independently from the water pressure. I still haven’t mastered this very well yet and ouch can be frequently heard when I’m washing up. I will not have this kind in my tub/shower combination.

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The wall is tiled even into the exit where the door will be into the master bedroom.

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Testing the toilet and sink placement… (not permanent yet) the hardwood floor will go down first.

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View of the layout from the shower (No wasted space)

In addition to all of this work, John painted part of the outside of the house (The master bedroom and ceiling multiple times to get a good coat of white.) and began knocking out parts of the fireplace so he can install a small woodburning stove. The one below is the one we’ll have in a few weeks. These are cute little mini ones compared to the ones I’m used to in America. I’m still deciding on paint colors and what I’ll need in the way of furniture. I’ve made some decicions, but this post is running a bit long so I’ll share that with you later.

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A Room Of One’s Own – Week 8 – Update

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This week John finished putting the plasterboard (sheetrock) on the bathroom for the master bedroom and he did a bit of plastering and framed out the doorway to the bath. He gave the ceiling and walls a base coat of paint in the master bedroom and later today will begin tiling the bath. I think I mentioned last week that we’re working to finish the master bedroom and bath so we can move out of the guest room and back into the bedroom before we refocus on finishing out my studio/writing/office space.

I’ve been doing a massive amount of research for just the right way to make this all work…color, furniture design, room setup, lighting, and any and everything else one might want to consider to make it all work best. What began as a new space for me has not surprisingly spilled over in to the master bedroom with a totally new look complete with new furniture. Additionally, the kitchen and half bath have become projects for next year. It’s a good thing John likes to renovate. We hope to have the master bedroom and bath finished in two to three weeks. Next week I’ll be showing you a tiled bathroom along with a painted (probably blue) bedroom.

As you can see by one of the pictures, we’ve chosen a darker hardwood floor for the bedroom, both new baths and my new room. The rest of the house has a light colored wood flooring so this darker one is a shift for John who prefers white walls and light floors. We’re off to the store in a few minutes to pickup the bathroom tiles. He’s designing and decorating the master bath completely while I’m doing the bath that goes with my space and it’s interesting to see how different we are based on American versus British design ideas.

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The bathroom ready for tiling.

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More of the bath

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Bedroom with the new ceiling and window.

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A Room Of One’s Own – Week 7 – Update

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This week John has managed to get quite a bit accomplished on the renovation, but it’s hard to photograph in a way that is as impressive as walls going up or the roof going on. The bathrooms are framed out and have flooring in place. Additionally, the pipes for the showers, sinks, toilets and tubs are in along with the insulation and sub-flooring. He also did a bit of plastering and finished off the new window in the master bedroom and closed in an opening in the master bedroom wall that will be part of my bathroom medicine/storage cabinet. He’ll be putting up plasterboard tomorrow in the master bath and building the wardrobe/closet back into the master bedroom. He’s decided to focus most of his efforts on the master bed and bath so we can get out of the guest room and back into our room. We’ve picked out a new bed and mattress…well actually, I’ve picked them out, but John is so agreeable that as long as it falls within a few parameters, it is pretty much whatever I want.

I have a bit sad news about Brian who you may remember is one of our builders. Last week he fell off a ladder on another job site and broke his left shoulder in three places. He’s had surgery and will be out of work for a while, but he should be all right.

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If  you look closely you can see some of my paint samples taped to a door in the back. I put them up to see how they look in the different light that comes in from the window throughout the day. I’m undecided somewhere between pale greens and buttermilk yellow for my walls. Any suggestions?

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A Room Of One’s Own – Week 4 – Update

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This post is mostly pictures because I managed to get some (arty ones) I really liked of Brian and Bob while building this past week. While they may be used to the odd snap or two by a property owner while working, I think they’re beginning to become a bit more aware of when the camera is around. Both have been such good sports, answering my too many questions at times and flashing me an occasional smile when I’m moving in with my camera trying to get just the right shot to keep things interesting.

No one is safe from the camera not even the people who deliver the big stuff.  Interestingly none of the drivers with the large deliveries seem to even notice the woman with the camera snapping photos from different angles like it’s a red carpet event.

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You can see by the delivery what Brian and Bob worked on for a fair amount of  this past week.

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Brian is putting brackets in place to help anchor the trusses while Bob is doing the same on the other side in the shot below.

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When that’s done, they put the trusses into place.

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I did a little climbing to get this one.

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Brian

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Bob

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That’s all for this weeks update, but remember, tomorrow I’ll have the first TMAST posting so if you’re writing along with me be sure and post yours on your site and send me a link so I can include it with my post tomorrow. If you need a reminder as to what I’m talking about go here and here to join me.  Remember it’s practice writing not perfect writing and it need not be lengthy to post and participate.

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A Room Of One’s Own – Week 3 – Update

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Brian and Bob have been very busy in spite of the wet weather we’ve been having and you’re not going to believe how quickly things have changed. Before I show you how much they’ve been able to accomplish, I want to show you what Brian’s face looked like when I told him that I was writing about the new addition and putting pictures of the progress on the internet for everyone to see.

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I’m just kidding…he wasn’t bothered at all about being on my blog and his real expression almost always looks like the two pictures below.

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Getting back to business, let me show you where things stand now.

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Here’s a photograph of the finished stonework. I love how everything is coming along so quickly and I’m getting really excited as I try to visualize how it will be to work in my new space. I have to confess to standing in the rain this weekend with a tape measure in one hand and an umbrella in the other as I was trying to decide how much room I need for certain pieces of furniture. Have a look at the stonework and before too long I hope to be sharing some of the choices I’m considering for flooring, paint, and tile.  Oh…and please stop by tomorrow to see something new I’ve been working on lately.

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A Room Of One’s Own – Week 2 – Update

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Last week I introduced you to the work being done in the back garden. Since John first surprised me with the idea of a room of my own, I’ve imagined all the places I could place my desk and what my view might be while writing. I’ve gone back and forth thinking… should I position it so I’d be looking at the wall or would an outside view be better for my creative process. I’m still trying to decide what would be less distracting and better for my work.

Watching Brian and Bob our builders work over the last few weeks has been a lesson in not letting distractions get in the way. They’ve worked steadily through a heat wave while breaking up the concrete for new the plumbing. It looked like tough work making a space beneath the walkway and along the side of the house. They spent the better part of a week digging deep into the backyard (garden) through three or four feet of dirt and rock to lay more pipes for the new bathrooms and making way for the foundation. Recently Brian and Bob have had to work around the rain with enough stops and starts to aggravate even the most patient soul. We’ve had a wet week or two lately and they never seem put off by it.  All along they’ve moved at a pace that John said was faster than he’d imagined possible and we don’t think it will be too long before we see the roof going on.

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A Room Of One’s Own And A Bathroom Too

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I have a secret I’ve been keeping from some of you and now that things are taking shape, I feel inclined to share the news. Remember what Virginia Woolf said about a woman needing “a room of one’s own” in order to write fiction…well guess what John is giving me. Yes, that’s right four walls that will exist just to serve me and I get to make all the decisions about fixtures, color, decor, flooring, anything and everything..it’s up to me. Now if a room of my own wasn’t enough by itself…John decided I should have an en-suite bath as well.  As you can see by the building plan we’re actually adding two bathrooms so instead of the bath and a half we currently have, there will soon be three bathrooms and a loo. (half bath)

I can’t begin to tell you how loved I feel by John’s decision to add on to a perfectly reasonably sized 3 bedroom bungalow in order to make me feel more welcome and at home. When I came over last May for three months, he totally restructured the closet in the master bedroom giving me the bulk of the space, later he added extra cabinets in the bathroom and bedroom for me to have enough storage for all the things a woman uses on a regular basis, then he added bookshelves and space in his study for me before revamping the kitchen and later installing more cabinets for my kitchen things that should be arriving any day now.

John’s been so caring and considerate, commenting more than a time or two that he knows how difficult it must have been for me to sell off my things and leave my home and family and move here to live with him. He’s done all these things without my asking, suggesting, or mentioning anything about space.

It’s a tremendous gift he’s giving me and I’m not just talking only about a room of my own. I had an awareness the other day as I was making decisions in my head about how I wanted to do certain things. Having never had the opportunity to design a space from the ground up, I realized I was placing limitations on my creativity out of habit as I’ve always had to work within the framework of those who’d gone before me. The more I thought about this, the more I saw a pattern in some of my creative writing…as in too safe and too predictable. So you see, this room of my own, my quiet place for writing fiction has already has given me a bit of the freedom Virginia Woolf spoke of when she wrote about all the circumstances that kept women of her day from being able to tap into their creative voice. Going forward now, I need to remember sometimes the limitations are not those placed on us by outside conditions, but rather the internal ones we create for ourselves.

I’ll be posting updates in the building process weekly and I hope you’ll come back to see the progress.

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