Renovations 1 - Kitchen

 Hopefully I have finished renovating the house I purchased in February 2010.
More for my own interest I have decided to do a series recording what has been done. First was the kitchen which had the biggest makeover.  The only original item remaining is the dishwasher, something I do not really need. In the first photo taken not long after I took possession of the house, the new refrigerator, chairs, toaster, jug and microwave can be seen along with the table I brought from Australia.

 In the next photo taken today, the cupboard on the right which hid the water heater has gone, the water heater is now under the house. The new stove and the original dishwasher are now there along with some narrow cupboards. I now have one and a half sinks and 3 good size cupboards underneath. There was only 1 drawer in the original kitchen.  I discovered the other was a false front, after I moved in.

 

 The next set of photos show that I now have a good set of drawers not just for cutlery but also for pots, pans and dishes. The microwave is now up and away from the bench.  The new stove has power points for the jug and coffee maker so I do not really need the extra power points I installed.





  

The final 2 photos show the new much larger pantry and cupboards on the opposite wall. I also had new vinyl tiles laid, tiles on the walls above the bench, and finally the walls and ceiling were painted but in the same colour as before.

My New House

I have paid the 10% deposit for a house in the suburb of Brockville, Dunedin so, as promised, am posting some photos.  The first is from the official advertisement.

The next is one I took myself from the front gate.

And the last, while taken over the top of the roof, indicates the view from the kitchen window of part of Dunedin and the ocean.

 I should settle on February 25th but just when I will move in depends on the arrival of my furniture. I am waiting to hear if it has even left Sydney yet.

House For Sale

Although I chose the Estate Agent 2 weeks ago, photos were taken and one couple inspected, our law does not allow a property to be officially up for sale and advertised until the vendor has had a contract of sale drawn up. The conveyancer delivered this to the Estate Agent yesterday and so we are up and running.

When I purchased the property 28 years ago, the previous owner was also selling the vacant land next door and it was offered to me. I was moving from a 2 bedroom apartment to a 3 bedroom house on half an acre of land and declined.  I had not long moved in before I realised the vacant land protected the views from my house.  Fortunately the couple who purchased the block, decided to build elsewhere and so 3 years later I was able to buy the land and now own slightly more than an acre on two titles. Since then I have landscaped part of the block putting in paths, lots of steps and many plants including some now very tall conifers as well as flowering fruit trees.  There is a shade house, which needs repair and a latticed arbor covered with clematis and containing a stone bench.

I do not want to sell the house but not the land. The land is very steep and it would be difficult to build a house on it. I do not want to be living in NZ paying rates but unable to maintain the block of land. Therefore at the moment I am offering the 2 blocks for sale as one at a reduced price to what I could obtain separately.