This before and after took up most of last year. For a large part of the year, our house was surrounded by mud. We had a temporary fence between us and the world.... but the results were definitely worth it. While our house was very pretty on viewing, what is not so apparent in the photos was the rotten timber in the veranda, and that the front fence had a lean to it and was in danger of collapsing. The garden had largely been destroyed in the drought (the house stood empty for 3 years), and the survivors tended to be feral rose bushes, and anything poisonous. In areas it was spartan, in other a jungle of overgrown mess.
 |
| a before shot, just before the renovations started in 2010 |
 |
| There were a lot of "features" in the garden, like this fountain. |
Firstly, all of the veranda was rebuilt. Approximately 1/3 of the timber was rotten, and it had a terrible, ropey paint job. The labour cost to get the painters to sand all the timber properly for repainting rendered if financially impractical when coupled with the need to check every piece of timber for rot and replace as required. In addition the original veranda foundation was cracked and uneven cement with just a small patch of the original tesselated tiles at the entry (which could not be salvaged - they had been stuck down with liquid nails or something similar and shattered when the builders tried to remove them).
 |
| Veranda and front fence demolished. |
 |
| The small square of tesselated tiles that were originally at the entry |
 |
| Front door and surround had been stripped to the timber which was not authentic |
New foundations, new timber, and the original and very pretty iron lace was stripped and repainted. We managed to retain the original slate edging to the veranda. The whole house was repainted (the roof had been replaced before we moved in), and new exterior lighting that I chose to complement the house and not stand out (I didn't want any faux victorian fittings, because the house wouldn't have had them anyway as there was no electricity when it was built). The entire veranda was tesselated tiled with a new design (mostly because there wasn't any terracotta colours anywhere else in the house, eg brick, so I thought the blues/ charcoal colours worked better with the bluestone of the facade).This was a very labour intensive process, and cost an absolute bomb. But it was worth it, as it really completes the house.
 |
| Veranda finished with new tesselated tiles |
 |
| New tiled entry, painted front door, and new lights on either side |
The front fence were demolished, whereupon we discovered that it was not an original fence, as we thought, but a 1960's wall with Victorian iron inserts in it. On talking to some of our elderly neighbours, they thought the house originally had a picket fence. On the strength of this information, I redesigned the pillars to be more substantial and in keeping with the style of the house. The original ones were undersized and very plain, which I had thought a bit strange, but then, not all Victorians did things by the book, so I had accepted that detail as being authentic. The side wall (we are on a corner) had a very high rendered blockwork wall go up. We wanted privacy to the back garden, and the new pool will go along one side of the house, so this was important.
 |
| Front all finished with new fence |
 |
| the letterbox has not been a success - it is rusty metal, but it continues to rust.... I would have preferred bronze but it wasn't available. |
Finally, I designed the garden. One part of me wants a perfect, Architectural style, fashionable garden, the other part wanted something that was a little looser, textured and more of a garden- garden in keeping with what would have been here. I went with the latter. The house has always had a "country" type feel to me with its wide verandas. Once the plants have grown, they should provide that lush, green, looser and more Victorian style garden. I might do a more detailed garden post at some other stage, but I do second guess myself whenever I see a new, perfect garden go in in our neighbourhood. Mine requires quite a lot of growth and maturity to work.
The front path I oversized in width. It gives a much greater sense of entry to have the width. Large slates were used (from the
Mintaro slate quarry in South Australia, best slate in Australia and used in Billiard tables). I put grey pebble inserts between to make it look a little contemporary. We have also installed slate pavers down the shady side of the house. Lawn wouldn't grow there, so the babys tears give the green look, and I think it makes it a nice definition to this area.
 |
| Slate entry |
 |
| Side garden, slate pavers with babys tears |
 |
| baby's tears and the slate in the shady side of the house |
So, that's it. It was a huge part of the renovations to date. I got heartily sick of builders by the end of the year, but it was well worth it.
