Status: One Week to Go!

We are approaching the end of the penultimate week in renovations! Yup, the guys had promised that The Job will be complete before Easter. Whoa, I can’t believe it. Really?? There are still so much to do, imo.

I think this week they were concentrating on the kitchen. Here was the status on Sunday.

 

And on Tuesday, they have put the bottom cabinets in the right place.

We have also placed a huge order for custom-made glass doors, mirrors and sliding doors early this week.

And tomorrow morning, we have to be on site bright and early (ok, 10am but we have to leave at 9am to beat the traffic :# ) because the stone top company will be coming to measure the stone countertop. I’m so excited! I’d been mulling granite vs. quartz. Online opinion seems divided as to which is better in terms of maintenance.  Proponents of quartz say granite requires sealing once a year and quartz is harder than granite. But granite defenders say it depends on the porosity of granite (every granite is different as it’s a natural product); good quality granite is in fact more expensive than quartz. And granite being shaped by Mother Nature has lots of ‘movement’ that is absent in quartz. Bottom line?  Go with the heart.  Oh, and I’m seriously thinking of bringing a jar of blueberry jam – what better way to test porosity than actually testing it? 😀

Also on the agenda tomorrow is finalizing the colours of paint for our renovators. They will be painting the whole house with the exception of the 3 bedrooms… which I realize is about 40% of the house? 😛 And yes, yours truly will be wielding a paint brush and masking tape for the next 2 weeks…

A schematic of paints for the house

We hit a snag with the second floor toilet. It is the permit we haven’t gotten that so far. Granted that it is moving an entire toilet, pipes and all, to a new place, it’s supposed to be a routine job. The Espoo (my municipal) regulators are giving my renovation guy hell. It isn’t a difficult job. In another municipal, it was approved without any fuss. In Espoo, there is probably some fat. balding guy or menopausal lady who needs to feel self-important. So it appears that we have to enlist an architect or engineer to draw up some detailed plans before the regulator could rubber stamp the permit. Grr…

Cuckoo

If you think cuckoo clocks are stuffy and belong to grannies, you haven’t seen This. Meet Diamantini & Domeniconi’s Cucu (if you haven’t already guessed, that’s cuckoo in Italian).

Laser cut in metal and lacquered in several colors, even one that is 24 carat gold plated. How’s that for opulence ….. or tacky, imho. A tiny cuckoo comes out every hour to sing the hours and it comes with a volume switch if you want the cuckoo to be less intrusive. What’s really cool about it is that the clock comes with a light sensor that stops the cuckoo from cuckoo-ing if it’s dark. Oh, and did I mention the pendulum? What self-respecting cuckoo clock wouldn’t have a pendulum? 😉

And so I thought I would hunt for it online. If my shopping for wallpapers have taught me anything, it’s to go on the Internet and source directly from the country of origin. First, go to google.it to ensure that only Italian sites are searched first. A quick search turned up the Cucu for 202€ and I’m talking about the basic color, not the stainless steel mirror nor the wood paneled ones… and certainly not the gold one.

But at 81cm long, I wasn’t sure if it was too long. Besides, cool as it would be, I wasn’t sure I want a bird reminding me of every passing hour. The Cucu Mignon at 34.5cm was a tad too small for the space I was thinking, even if the price tag of 48€ was sweet. So just like Goldilocks, I found the perfect compromise – the Low Cost Cucu (kid you not, that’s the name). It measures 69cm, comes with the pendulum but not the cuckoo. And its price? This birdless version costs less than half the price of the Cucu. I’ll sing to that 🙂

For a 100% made-in-Italy product, the Diamantini e Domeniconi Cucu makes an elegant statement. And I’m glad some things haven’t been exported to the Far East. Watch the video on the website – just love Moreno, the Cucu Man!

…Apparently not the last word

Just when I thought I’d everything ‘pasted’ down, I learnt that the Esta for Kids’ Keek-a-Boo collection is not of the non-woven type. Why is this significant? It is because of the advantages of non-woven wallpaper compared to the other types of wallpapers.

• Non-woven wallpapers do not require soaking. Many people shun from wallpapers because of the amount of trouble it takes to soak each strip of wallpaper for a specified period. There’s also the problem with over or under-soaking. Over-soaking can result in gobs of glue oozing out from the seams; conversely, under-soaking can result in dry spots.
• Since non-woven wallpapers do not need to be soaked before installing, there isn’t that problem with expansion or contraction which will result in unsightly gaps when dry.
• Most modern non-woven wallpapers are also of the paste-the-wall variety which means a pasting table is not needed. (or costly wallpaper professionals to do the job!)
• Quite importantly, non-wovens are supposedly a breeze to remove. They do not need soaking and can be removed dry with little damage to walls. I have heard horror tales of people spending huge amounts of time and effort steaming wallpapers to remove inch by inch scraping them as they go along. The previous owner of our house said she removed *seven* layers of wallpapers when she bought the house 6 years ago (how lazy were the past owners in not removing the old layers?). I don’t blame her for not having a single wallpaper since then! 😉
• Non-wovens are also breathable making them mould resistant.

In other words, non-woven wallpapers are perfect for DIY!

Coming back to the Keek-a-Boo faux pas. I found myself back at square one. Found a few stripy ones that may pass for the boys’ room. Found this from Dutch Code Red. Unfortunately, it was not non-woven. Moving on.

Eventually I found what I was looking for in Esta’s Giggle #137336. At long last!

The last word on wallpapers … hopefully!

I’ve made up my mind on the wallpapers! (most probably…I think) 😀

I went all gaga over Eijffinger (see ‘Luscious wallpapers‘ post) that I hunted for the albums I wanted to see all over Helsinki. You see, there isn’t a single shop that stocked the full collection.

And I refused to pay 75eur for a roll when I know it is selling for 40eur in the Benelux countries. Thus began a web trawl of online shops in Netherlands that will ship overseas firstly and secondly, ship Eijffinger… because apparently, it’s Eijffinger’s marketing policy to segment its markets by countries (just like the Illy coffee capsules that I’m trying to obtain right now). At last, I found one that didn’t seem to have a problem with that silly policy and was even able to offer a 10% discount when I asked to buy 6-8 rolls. Me happy 🙂

So, here it is.

Eijffinger Pip, Birds in Paradise Khaki (#313014) behind the headboard.

And on the opposite end of the bedroom, Eijffinger Carte Blanche (#302006) in the lightest shade of pink.

On the dining room wall on the second floor, Eijffinger Petits Fours (#397046) in silver. Facing this wall is an open kitchen of glossy white and black cabinets with a lime-green splash-back. At different angles, this silver wallpaper is either a dark gray or a very light gray. The plan is to put a huge gilded mirror on this wall.

And coming to the first floor in the entryway, I’m going to have Eijffinger Petits Fours (#397035) in white. This is going to be a rather narrow wall measuring about 1.7m wide. I’m intending to place an old Chinese writing desk against this wall and maybe a black & white picture on the wall.

I made a conscious decision to have the same motif carry over from one room and floor to the other with the clover geometric pattern. Don’t ask me why Eijffinger’s Carte Blanche and Petit Fours have overlapping designs! The former is more expensive by a couple of euros too.

Oh! and the kids’ room…. Nothing too Disney or cute. They will outgrow those in 2-3 years. I found this Esta for Kids Keek-a-Boo little dinos (#114618) in army green online and liked it immediately. It did cross my mind that it’s rather dark so I plan on having the other walls painted a brighter green-yellow.

Again, if it’s not obvious by now, I’m only going to have one wall wallpapered. (Honestly, I find it a little claustrophobic and overwhelming to have all four walls of the same wallpaper unless it’s a single coloured wallpaper – in which case, why not just paint the wall??)

So, this is it. The wallpapers decided on and en route to being ordered. I just need to ask the seller to confirm that the ones I selected all are non-woven which make them breathable, tear resistant and easy to install and remove. I hope they are going to turn out nice!