A tour of Journey Home at Home

The entry hall at Journey Home showcases our work.  custom designed our front door, specified new antique style hardware and electrical. designed the wall panelling and trim details.  New custom French doors to fit the odd size opening.  We selected a grass cloth wall paper to compliment other furnishings.

This time entry hall is accented with practical and stylish classic furnishings.  We custom sized the runner.
Design accents provide the finishing touches.

BEFORE - Well we had already taken out the mottled olive carpet and polished the floor.

INPROGRESS - Wall panelling design has gone in. 

IN PROGRESS - Sixties style doors about to go!

 

To skip ahead to see the rest of the house visit our portfolio at www.journey-home.com.au

French Style Guest Room - Furniture Installation day

If you have an interior designer that turns up on installation day wearing heels, then you should be worried.

 

Because I work on project basis we have an installation day where the Journey Home team delivers, unpacks, assembles and installs all the new furniture and window coverings, under my onsite supervsion to transform the room.  Just like on TV.

 

 

Mirrored furniture - you have to be careful , very carefull, my

eight years as a furniture wholesaler are paying off.

Dean installs the Bed crown.

The little things are done so that everything is perfect

AND now and please take note of this  because this is important!,  we remove all the packaging so you are not left with this.

 

 

 

 

French Style Guest Room - Furniture Mood Board

Apologies if my last two posts lacked the excitement that comes with  new products, colour and inspirational images but sometimes renovation is about getting through the hard yards to arrive at a point where design flair beings.....



French Style Guest Room Mood Board

Click image for larger view

As a starting point to the room furnishings it is a good idea to see what you already have.  I had the large ceramic bedside lamps which I've been moving around the house to find a home for and I pulled the chandelier and bed crown out of storage , lucky for me  it is the perfect proportions for this small  room and it's crystals compliment the mirrored bedside cabinets.  Large bedsides are great for keeping harmonious balance with proportion to beds.

 

The French sleigh bed is mahogany finished in a golden oak stain that will age beutifully over time and I've upholstered it in an off white velvet with antique brass studs.  Yes,  I am using white upholstery, its been scotchguarded and I am prepared to be careful.

 

I've chosen to use a fully upholstered chair instead of a timber framed chair to avoid adding another different furniture finish to the room and to help keep it relaxed which is aided by the slip cover.  I will be custom  making a diminutive version because the room can't fit a full size arm chair.

This hall table is suitable as a place for guests to put their nick nacks and do their hair etc  it also has a  shelf for guest luggage and the contrasting timber work provides unity with the  bed frame.

 In addition to mirrored bedsides I have used two large mirrors to bounce light around the dark space, their  white frames contrast beautifully against the olive walls.

It is important to have something soft underfoot as you get out of the bed especially in the cold Canberra climate so a cosy rug is essential.   The room is nearly a square shape so standard rug sizes will leave large gaps on the floor this will be resolved using a custom made rug.  Journey Home can supply custom size  Sisal rugs in a variety of colours and weaves within 3 weeks, Wool and Art silk rugs take about 12 weeks.  Sisal can be made with built in underlay for added softness.

 

The hall table's  lamp has teal glass balls  - I will have to physically check the colour of the glass before it is purchased but so far it's looking perfect and after many moons of research I am very happy with my selections. 

Forgive me if I've raved on, I am so passionate about furnishings.

 

 

6. French Style Guest Room - Let the decoration begin.

 

 

A funny moment on the job .... Some one asked me referring to my bed crown

 

Why are you installing a shower curtain in a bedroom?



Bed crown purchased at Madura in France

You might also ask whether I  am removing that ugly electrical conduit & point, the answer is no because I am avoiding construction costs to this room,  the drape behind the crown will hide this. 

I am elated as  the olive paint colour is applied to the walls, It feels warm & cosy already.

 

 

French Style Guest Room - Renovation problems revealed and solved.

Warning!  Demolition in progress!

The old wardrobe is removed revealing cracks in the walls and cornices.

Plaster will fix that.

demolition in progress

Oh dear! the old carpet has been removed and the floor stained, however there are fuzzy remnants of carpet stuck to the skirting due to the method of carpet installation back in the 60's .



Fuzzy Skirting

To avoid reskirting this room and risk damage to the walls and newly stained floor we've covered the furry part of the skirting with a new timber bead.





New skirting makeover in progress.



Now we have a step in the clean skirting 







Skirting problem resolved.

 

 





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



French Style Guest Room - building luxury in a tight space & budget

Bearing in mind long term plans to one day turn this bedroom into my dream formal dining room,  I want to keep construction costs to a minimum and do the most of the work with furnishings.  

 To create a new French style guest room my plan is to remove the old wardrobe, polish the floors and paint the walls and ceiling,  I won't restore the current windows or repaint them and I will stick with the original door giving it a fresh coat of paint and new hardware.   

 

To resolve the first mentioned issue of the bedroom's location off the kitchen I do have a space planning solution up my sleeve but I will detail that another post.

Plans for the French Style Guest Room are as follows.




Floor Plan or new Layout.

 

View 1 of new room layout

View  2 of new room layout

 




 

I would NOT recommend that clients squeeze an armoire into such a tight space.  However my guest room is temporary and I am prepared to live with the trade off between extra storage and spaciousness so I am including the armoire in the plan.  I have checked that the armoire door swings will not hit the bed. 

French Style Guest Bed Room - Getting Started

Before

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brief:

The renovation and decoration of this room starts with a few issues that need resolving.

1: it's location is off the kitchen which is not ideal.
2: it feels cold and dark.

3: it has a crumbling old built in wardrobe and carpet.

Bedroom is to the right off the kitchen

 

 

 

In the long term I would like to convert this room into a formal dining room which would better suit it's proximity off the kitchen and lounge room, and when this dream extension happens I will replace the windows with French doors and create the following dining room layout.

Formal Dining Room Layout

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until such a time, the room will continue as  bedroom and my design will meet the needs of our overnight  guests. 

I would like to bring out of storage a lovely bed crown I had purchased in France and a chandelier I bought to style an apartment, plus  I've always wanted a French sleigh bed hence  a Classic French Style guest bedroom will be the mission for this renovation.

 

 

 

Our Reno - Front Porch Makeover & More

The front porch makeover is not quite complete however I couldn't wait to reveal how these cane chairs have been brought back into fashion with a fresh coat of bold red paint and new upholstery. For a colourful seasonal element I've added the brightly coloured chain stitch cushions and French, ready made, outdoor curtains.

Lantern $219, Feature Cushions $120, Curtain $200 each
All available through Journey Home 02 6156 2379

The black and white stripes continue through to the new eye drop awning I mentioned would be arriving soon, and here it is now recently installed.

There's just a few more things to finish before we can reveal the complete facade and garden. Stay tuned for before and after photos.

Design Dilema Solved - Timber flooring

The problem to be solved is this: At the junction of the Lounge and Study the timber flooring stops and starts again, the Lounge floor is a couple of milimeters higher and the lines of the two floors don't align. The builders and flooring people were suggesting a brass strip which won't be aesthetically acceptable.

To solve this problem I've designed a timber strip with a chamfered edge, the chamfer is to avoid trip hazard

Now that it is stained you can hardly notice that the floors don't align.

Applying the solution again, this time at the hall and bathroom junction, the timber has broken away in bits over time and there is a gap in the floor between the timber and tiles.

(At this point we are not renovating the bathroom that will be stage two, so the lovely apricot tiles are staying for a while)

I've also noticed that flooring restorers only seem to offer red or yellow coloured stains but don't you love my chocolaty black stained floor.

These are example of why it pays to have access to an Interior Designer, say me during construction or renovation.

Front Guest Room - Contruction Begins

Arhitectural Elements I will be looking for the room

Contruction begins, hello new wardrobe.

The old veneer cupboards and dated carpet are removed leaving the walls, skirtings and cornices in an icky state.

New built-ins robe was constructed on a smaller foot print to make space for furniture The extra space opens the room up and yet there is still ample storage for a guest room and my ironing. Due to the existing ceiling battens, you are always going to realise that the wardrobe was retrofitted, so I chose not to cornice the new wardrobe, the goal was to make it look smart and tidy, which it certainly does.

I would have prefered to keep the original doors however they were heavily damaged so when bedroom door was replaced we took the opportunity to change the swing direction to open up the view of the room from the hall way making both the room and hall way feel more spacious. Gotta love those floral door handles.

2 new additional power points have been installed in the room for lamps and other modern day appliances. It would have been rather costly to move the light switch out from the behind the new door swing, we've installed the fan light remote on the side of the door for easy access. I chose to mount the remote onto a traditional switch block for consistency. It's the details that count.

Vive La France - My window planter is complete

Do you have a jigsaw? Great then lets make a window box!

I had these teak shutters custom made for the windows - I ordered them in March I will mention time and again that some bespoke items take time, however Chris and I knocked up the planter box in a day, well to be fair, I drew it and shopped for materials and Chris my carpenter did the rest.

Later that evening I found my other half outside laughing - He finds it amusing, says it looks like we live in France. Vive La France! I say.
Don't you just love geraniums in window boxes.

Now I'm just waiting on the black and white striped eye lid awning. Will keep you posted!

Front Guest Room - A starting point

Before Photo

As I would do with clients I like to set out a brief for the space which includes both function and style.

Our guest room at the front of the house needs to cater to our guest requirements such as sleeping, luggage placement and dressing, using a computer, reading and childs play. It will also be used as a quiet place where we can use a desk, and hang the ironing.

Building Constraints & Issues to resolve:
The room has a dated dark veneer wardrobe. Low window heights are a consistant issue around the house but I have solution for that so stay posted. As with many of the rooms in older houses the door swings into middle of the room, The room has only one power point making placement of lamps difficult with no spares for charging mobile phones or running a computer or the vacuum. In terms of climate control this room is anticipated to be the hottest in the home due to it's north west aspect at the front of the house. Street privacy could be an issue. Existing furniture includes two existing single extra long ensemble beds which can be reconfigured to a king size bed.

New Floor Plan of Front Guest Room

Style Quest: The existing elements of our 1930's bungalow style home in Canberra will blend beautifully with the British Colonial Style and masculine feel I am going for in the Front guest room.

Room concept Sketch - Facing South East

Room Concept Sketch - Facing North West

The Beginning

We've bought the house, My first house at 40 no less! Too exciting for words, but that's not really the beginning of our Journey lets go back a few years.

Our house was built back around 1930's when the Federal Capital Commission was organising housing for public servants for the new city. The Architecture style later became known as FCC style, there were a number of houses built with the same Spanish Mission / Bungalow design known as Cottage Style No 4, one of which is photographed below soon after completion.

Kitchen and Bathroom of the FCC style home.

Lets be clear - these are not Before photos of our actual house, we have sixties style to deal with! More about that later.

Images sourced from the National Archives of Australia - Mildenhall's Canberra

If you are interested in the history of Canberra homes visit www.naa.gov.au or google FCC style.