DIY Project – week 11

We finally moved into our bedroom! Six months after we moved into our house. The mattress & the blind arrived on time; we created the radiator cover from Hessian and attached some floating shelves on the wall facing the bed. I filled the storage boxes with stuff but I also got rid of many things I haven’t used for years. I found things in boxes that I didn’t even remember I had – so  I reckoned if I haven’t needed them for a long time (or ever) I won’t be needing them now. It’s such a good feeling to clear stuff away!..

We had to go to IKEA to buy the floating shelves and found a wardrobe on sale that would fit nicely in the hallway. So we bought two sets and installed them the next day. Actually, this wasn’t a simple task at all because the wardrobes were only 20mm shorter than the ceiling height so it wasn’t possible to turn them up. We had to put them together in situ. Also, to complicate things further I wanted to cut off the plinth that so obviously shows when a piece of furniture is a flat-pack. We put them instead on two 3 by 2 length of timber (which I painted white) and put a rope light in front and around them – the wardrobe therefore appears to be floating and light floods into the space at night. I believe it’s always best to try to customise Ikea or other ready-made furniture. I bought some teak handles from an Architectural Ironmongery shop and by adding these, together with the floating effect, the wardrobes no longer look like Ikea units. One of the wardrobes is facing the staircase; the other at right angles to it faces the landing. Because the width of the staircase-facing wardrobe is less than the depth of the other wardrobe it created a rather ugly corner. So we made a simple timber frame and covered it with Hessian (just like the radiator cover) and streamlined the two wardrobes by softening the angle. The triangular space can be accessed because the frame is attached by magnets.

By then another week was gone. At last I can hang my clothes. The office is clutter free. But we still have to finish the rest of the house – the entire first floor, the hallways, the other bedroom…

Next Monday I’ll have to go to planner’s office to discuss building regulations regarding open spaces. I have several ideas but I have to prepare proper drawings and illustrations to show them. Originally I wanted to have a big open space on the first floor to accommodate a kitchen/diner and living room. Apparently this isn’t possible because of fire regulations applicable to a three storey building: there has to be a protected escape route between the bedrooms and the front door. This means we can’t get rid of the hallway walls on the first floor. I’ll write about my ideas in next week’s article.

Note : for technical reasons this article could not be published last week.