Home is where the hearth is

The most exciting development this week has got to be the arrival of our lovely new fireplace.

After painstakingly working out the measurements and calculations based on the stove size and fire regulations, my (very) rough drawing of a fireplace has miraculously been turned into reality.


The colours and textures of the materials fit perfectly with the planned look and feel for the house, and they've all been up-cycled from the old house so we have a lovely juxtaposition of old with new. Bricks from the old conservatory have been used to construct the lower half of the fireplace, with the lintel made from a sawn-down beam that used to be in the kitchen.


We may have to wait a little while to get the fire to go inside, but for the moment it looks great just the way it is!

Top tiles

Day 70

Well the builders are keeping busy, moving swiftly along in the new bathroom this week - my latest obsession with the house...

The tiles have been chosen for a natural, rustic look, and I love the way the textures and colours work together. Even though we've used a dark slate for the shower tiles, the slight luminescence of the white textured floor tiles helps to reflect the light from the velux window around the room.

The tiles actually proved a bit of a nightmare for both us and the builder, with a combined total of around 8 hours spent in various different local B&Qs searching and buying the correct tiles. I think it's been worth it (although I'm not sure our builder would agree!).

Wall tiles

Floor tiles

Shower tiles, showing main wall tiles and
inset tiles

Now we just need to find some lights, shelves, and decide on the paint colour.

Tiles include: Shower - Porcelain wall and floor tiles in Energy Black from AG Ceramics, inset with square Natural Stone 100mm tiles from B&Q's natural tile selection; Wall - Natural Slate in Oyster; Floor - Ceramic Metallic floor tiles in White Field (both B&Q).