It’s over a year since I started roughing out extensions to our house on my iPad, and exactly a year since our architect son-in-law Paulo Costa was out from London and we discussed his preliminary sketches with our builder, Bruce Henderson. Finally, today, we moved into the new room.
It’s wonderful, of course. Our wee cottage is transformed.
Moi applying the finishing touches this morning.
It’s not finished yet, though. We still have to install the full-size fridge from our Wellington house and we’re struggling with the bar fridge Peter Chik gave us nearly 14 years ago. It was OK for weekend use, but now we’re here most of the time, only returning to Wellington for a few days each week to continue tarting the place up to sell.
Also waiting to go in the new room are a range hood and a clothes drier that will go above the washing machine in the laundry cupboard. (Which incidentally is great. To think of all the wasted space in our former homes that had separate wash houses.)
Looking north-west from our newly-reupholstered antique sofa. We’ve retained the round table from the old dining room, as well as the lovely chest of drawers that I restored a few years ago. It was made by by my great grandfather Hugh Mair, we think as a wedding present in 1907 to my grandparents Archie and Mary (née Mair) MacGibbon.
Looking east to the kitchen. We’ve been cooking here for the past three weeks or so, but the rest of the room furniture had to wait until the room was painted. We’re very pleased with our roof beams. And so we should be, considering their cost – about $2000! They made the ceiling very complicated to paint, because of all the beading alongside them. Incidentally the colours in the photograph are a bit misleading: the ceiling is bright white and the walls are a much lighter greeny-grey. Still missing from the kitchen are our full-size fridge, a rangehood and a drier that will go in the laundry cupboard on the right of the photo.
Lighting comes from three rectangular ceiling-mounted fittings (one is visible here) and three multi-spotlight ceiling fittings. All lights are independently switchable.
We still need to paint the new separate toilet that’s been created in the former pantry. And we’re waiting for our elusive sparky to finish quite a lot of work in the old part of the house.
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Martinborough Musings 
The new room looks beautifuland hugeand so bright and open, with views to outdoors everywhere! No doubts about where you guys will be spending much of your time from now on!
BTW I dont remember the story of how you happened to have chosen MB for your weekend/retirement house in the first place. Did you have some other ties to the town prior to choosing your house?
BTW, a bit amusing that they have left the Post Office sign on the new bar. Actually makes me think about all the rumors about the U.S. Post Office shutting down due to mind-boggling losses increasing every year. Thatll obviously never happen thoughbut something will need to change. Theyll probably initially drop Saturday deliveries and go from there. The private competition (UPS, FEDEX, DHL and so on) has really hurt them, but in the long run I dont think the Govt. will completely put mail delivery in completely private hands. Who knows though.
We could be seeing a lot of new bars around the country if they dochuckle.
Also enjoying the fine day were patrons of 101 Bar.
Its a brisk 50F right nowbut its promising to push up close to 80F later during the weekcant wait!
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