Creating A Family Friendly Home

With our new addition due in May (just over 3 months away!) Mr P and I have been busy turning our Jarrah Jungle into a family friendly home.

We are trying to finish all our renovating projects big and small in the next few months before our little one arrives - from plastering and painting ceilings, to installing door handles, wallpapering, planting a vegetable and herb garden in our front courtyard, setting up our new deck and patio space, making the backyard dog friendly with some grass and paving for Lexi ..... there's so much we want to do!

Besides all the renovating projects we also need to make changes to create a more family friendly home for the baby's bedroom, living space and bathroom and this is what we've come up with.

1. Goodbye Study/Craft Room .... Hello Nursery

We have 4 bedrooms - our master bedroom, guest bedroom, Mr P has his man cave and I have my study/craft room.

So what room will be turned into the nursery? After much consideration, unfortunately for me, we decided the best option is to turn my study/craft room into a nursery so Mr P gets to keep his man cave for now!

I've been busy finding a new place for all the bits and pieces I store in this room. I loved having my own creative space but I'll admit it was used more for storage and I would actually do my creative projects in the living room.

I can't wait to set up the nursery and plan to decorate it on a modest budget and use furniture and decor we already have. 

2. Creating extra living space .... An outdoor room

Another issue we have at home is we only have one small living room. Perfect for a couple but it's a bit of a problem now that it's going to be a combined space for entertaining adults mixed with an area for the baby's toys and equipment and things.

I like my home to be neat and tidy and everything in its place and know that sitting on the couch trying to look over all the baby's things will drive me crazy!

We are hoping our new backyard deck and patio we have just finished building will give us essentially another living room that can be an outdoor room and entertaining space for adults. 

We'll put some comfortable outdoor furniture and a TV out here so Mr P won't miss out on his sport if the cartoons are on and if the baby's equipment is spread everywhere inside we can retreat to our adults only outdoor room!

3. Bath time without a bath

The other issue we have is when we renovated our bathroom we indulgently removed the old bath and included a big double shower which I absolutely love but it means we don't have a bath for the baby!

I plan to get a baby bath to sit in the shower but from what I know most people bath their baby and young kids in the bath not the shower - I hope it won't be too difficult trying to use a baby bath in the shower.

We did think ahead when we did our laundry renovation and installed a large laundry trough and a laundry bench in here.

So for bath time I'm hoping we can utilise the laundry as well as a baby bath in the shower.

I'm pretty sure for the first year at least we will manage just fine in our home as it is with these changes.

Although we are keeping an eye on the housing market for a bigger family home to move into for the future, but for now we don't want to leave our beloved Jarrah Jungle home!

I think we're on the right track for creating a family friendly home.

Did you need to make any family friendly changes to your home?

Sharing with link parties:
Curly Crafty Mom - The Creative Corner
The Dedicated House - Make It Pretty Monday
Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesdays

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[All images my own]


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DIY: How To Hang Art With Trojan Tools

Over the years as I've traveled to different places I've limited my gimmicky souvenir purchases which ironically are mostly made in China and I've never even been to China! Instead I look for handmade items from the markets or local streets to buy direct from the people who make it.

On our honeymoon in the USA last year we came home with three beautiful artworks all representing special memories of our travels. This black and white sketch of Bourbon Street in New Orleans we picked up from the artist himself at the local market and he even wrote a message for us on the back - you can't get a more personalized souvenir than that!

This art needed to be framed and luckily it was an easy size to frame myself so I hit the shops and found an inexpensive frame at Kmart with a simple black frame and white matting for a professional look.

Mr P and I are experienced art hangers now and have become a lot quicker at this DIY task compared to how long it took us to hang our first gallery wall of black and white photos.

Once you have your art hanging technique right there's no stopping the different arrangements you can create - centered arrangements, gallery photo walls, gallery art walls, the possibilities are endless!

But of course you need to have the right tools for the job too. Being a home DIYer I'm a fan of Trojan Tools which are an Australian brand of tools found on the shelves at Bunnings and marketed towards home improvement and DIY enthusiasts. I've used their renovating tools before and was more than happy to receive some tools needed to hang art at home like a pro.

To hang art you need - A tape measure, level, pencil, hammer or drill

Then you can use - A nail, wall plug, screw or hook

I decided to hang the framed art in our recently renovated powder room just off the laundry which was in need of some finishing touches.

The framed art may have stayed in this spot for a couple of months before we hung it on the wall just to be sure we had found the right home for it .... Does anyone else take months to decide where to hang art or is it just me?

A step by step on how you can hang art

Firstly, you need to decide where to hang your art - hold the frame up and play around with different positions until you find the one you like. As this is a small room, it looked best to center the art on the wall. 

Another tip when it comes to finding the height for hanging art is at eye level, otherwise it can come off looking too high or too low. We went with Mr P's eye level because I am a short-ass!

Use a tape measure to find the center of the wall and mark the center with a pencil.

Next use a tape measure to measure the frame and find out where the center is and mark the center of the frame with a pencil.

Hold the frame against the wall in the position where you want to hang it and use your pencil to mark the center point on the wall.

We used a small level to check the frame was straight and then a large level to draw a straight line.

Now this next part is something we learnt from previous mistakes to do - otherwise your picture will not hang in the exact spot you want it to!

If you have hanging wire on the back of the frame you need to hook your tape measure into the wire and pull towards the top of the frame and measure the distance between the top of the frame and the wire. Likewise if it's a hook on the back of the frame you need to do the same thing and measure the distance from the hook to the top of the frame - this frame had a hook.

Measure on the wall again adding in the measurement between the hook/wire and frame and this new X marks the spot is where you need to drill the hole and hang the hook.

Bear in mind the nail, screw or hook needs to be the correct weight to support the frame.

We use both screws and hooks depending on the type of frame or art we are hanging - nails don't go through our brick walls so that's not an option for us. 

As we have brick walls we used a drill to drill a hole and then a hammer to drive a plug in.

Then we used a drill again to drive a screw into the plug.

A tip to keep the dust from going everywhere when you're drilling is to hold a dustpan underneath to collect the dust - then you don't have anything to clean up!

I have myself a very handy hubby he can work a drill and clean at the same time!!

Once your hook (or screw in our case) is in you're ready to hang your art on the wall.

With one final check of the level, place it on top of the frame, to check that it's straight and then stand back and admire your handy work.

There you have it - in less than half an hour we have hung our art just like a professional!

It's so nice to have some personality on the walls and something interesting to look at - the powder room can be quite a boring place otherwise!

It's so nice to be reminded of our travels to New Orleans with this gorgeous piece of NOLA art on our wall at home.

Do you take months to decide where to hang art? Or is it just me!

Sharing with link parties:

Curly Crafty Mom - The Creative Corner
The Dedicated House - Make It Pretty Monday
Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesdays
The Plumbette - Home Improvement Thursday

Disclosure: Thanks very much to Trojan Tools for providing some Trojan tools for review. I have not received any payment or compensation for this review. As always, all opinions are my own.

For exclusive extras and daily updates ... follow Jarrah Jungle on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

[All images my own]

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The Laundry Room: Organising + Storage

The laundry and powder room renovation has been finished for quite a while now ... almost 1.5 years!

I will share a proper before and after post on that just as soon as I hang some art and find a mirror for the powder room - I can't find the perfect size and style of mirror to sit over the feature tiles no matter how long I've been looking and it's been driving me crazy!

 

Today I want to share how I've organised the laundry since the renovation .....

Putting wall hung cupboards and a bench in the laundry was the best decision we made because it's added heaps of storage to keep everything neat and tidy.

I got busy organising the contents of the new cupboards with these baskets I found in Kmart - 2 baskets for $2.50 and I got 3 packs of baskets as they fit on the shelves nicely.

Labeling the baskets is a must for shorties like me because I can't see the top shelf of the laundry cupboards unless I stand on a step ladder - but what I can see is the labels which tell me the contents of each basket.

I used these Avery dry erase labels on each basket. The labels are re-writable so I used a white board marker so I can wipe them clean and change them down the track if I need to.

The labels are removable too which is handy so you can remove them if you need to change around storage containers.

They also stuck well to these plastic baskets which is great as sometimes it's hard to find labels that adhere to plastic surfaces.

As you can see Lexi our pampered pooch has a shelf just to herself for pet care supplies and dog treats.

I'm slowing working out what else to fill the cupboards with - having no storage in the laundry before means I haven't quite worked out what to put in here yet!

The pull out caddy that we installed inside a drawer is the most amazing organiser - it holds all of the cleaning bottles neatly and is so easy to use you just pull out the drawer and everything's there!

This was part of the flat pack cabinets that we installed ourselves - this pull out caddy is also great in a kitchen (we put a caddy under our sink when we did our kitchen renovation).

We also have a large built in cupboard in the laundry which gives us heaps of storage but the shelves were old and damaged and they weren't secured very well so use to wobble and move whenever we put things on them.

We replaced them with new shelves and wall brackets and it is now a very functional appliance cupboard, as the laundry is just off the kitchen it's useful for all the large appliances that won't fit in the kitchen cupboards.

I am head over heels in love with our renovated and organised laundry, it was once a room that I'd cringe at as I walked into, now I love how fresh and bright and homely it feels.

Now to find that mirror for the powder room and hang some art so I can do a long overdue before and after post!

How do you organise your laundry ?

To see our laundry renovation progress to date check out these posts: 

Laundry Renovation - Wallpapering A Wall and A Door

Laundry Progress - Plastering, Sanding and Washing
Laundry/Powder Room Renovation - Changing The Plumbing

Laundry/Powder Room Renovation - Demolition Success
Laundry/Powder Room Renovation - Demolition Weekend Plans 
Laundry Renovation - The Final Design
Laundry Renovation - Wood Look Bench Top
Laundry Renovation - Flat Packs Vs Cabinet Maker 
Laundry Renovation - Flat Pack Assembly and Install
Tips for picking out laundry flat pack cabinets
DIY Built In Laundry Cupboard - New Shelving
Powder Room Renovation - It's All In The Flush
Powder Room Renovation - Basin and Vanity: Take Two
Powder Room Renovation - Basin and Vanity
Splash Back Choices - Be Brave Or Play It Safe
Laundry Renovation - Let's Go Mosaic Tile Shopping
Laundry Renovation - Picking The Tiles
Laundry/Powder Room - Floor Tiles Laid
Laundry Before - Our 1960s Laundry/Toilet
edesign Mood Board for the Laundry
Renovating - 5 tips for planning and designing

Sharing with link parties:
Curly Crafty Mom - The Creative Corner
Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesdays
The Plumbette - Home Improvement Thursday

For exclusive extras and daily updates ... follow Jarrah Jungle on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

[All images my own]


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An Update On Life Lately ...

Firstly, I must apologise for my absence on the blog front, besides some book review posts that I had already scheduled, I have a long list of blog posts I want to share from the wedding, honeymoon, renovating updates and home projects but I haven't yet found the time to write them all! 

The reason for my absence is I've had some health issues that have put me on bed rest the last few weeks but I'm happy to say that I'm feeling much better now and even got out of my PJs this week for the first time in a long time! 

Being stuck at home these last few weeks I had a lot of reading time on my hands - from my Mum's 5 year old dusty Women's Weekly magazines, a pile of books from the last 3 months of book club reads, plus ebooks I'd downloaded to review from NetGalley - I have been spoilt for choice on the reading front and have a lot of book reviews I'll be posting in the coming weeks. 

Have you read any good books lately?

Being unwell has made me try even harder to cook healthy wholesome meals for Mr P and I and I have gone back to writing menu plans every week to stick on the fridge. This helps keep us on track to make meals that include a few servings of fresh vegetables but I still find it hard fitting in the required 4-5 servings of vegetables every day.

I want to try my hand at making my own fruit and vegetable juice as well .... yes I'm jumping on the healthy juice bandwagon! 

What is your go to healthy vegetable dish? 

Are you juice fan?

A big project that has been taking up a lot of my time is my city apartment which was my bachelorette pad before I met Mr P and is now my rental property. After a bad experience with a Real Estate company not managing it properly I now look after the place myself which means it's up to me to find suitable tenants. After 3 months of it being empty and everyone that applied for it wanted it furnished, I finally succumbed and have decked out the apartment with furniture, decor and art. 

This has been a project which took about a month to complete and I'm happy to say that after just a few days of advertising and one home open I have found new tenants! I really enjoyed staging and styling the property and will be writing a blog post about that soon. 

Styled with Kmart, Target and Gumtree finds! 

At home the subdivision plans for our block are progressing - we had the tree loppers in to remove the large ghost gum tree in the backyard. It took 4 guys about 5 hours to cut it down and turn it into mulch.

We are now waiting for a bobcat and skip bin to come and the guys will clear the rest of the backyard of all the old building material and rubble, the stumps leftover from the granny flat, break down all the brick garden beds and retaining, and put it all in the skip bin and take it away.

Tree Removal .... Before, During and After!

We have finalised a design for our front courtyard and kerb area and want to lay reticulation and then pave and lay grass. Once that's done we can landscape the rest of it and create some kerb appeal. 

I really wanted the courtyard landscaping to be finished before Christmas but I just don't think it's going to happen now as we have had to focus on other things so it looks like this will be a project for the new year.

The courtyard is desperate for some kerb appeal!

We had new downlights installed in the laundry and power points which has been brilliant because for the past year I've had to run an extension cord into the kitchen to use the washing machine!

As soon as I've found a mirror for the powder room I'll do a before/after post of the laundry/powder room renovation .... Yes I know I have been promising this forever but it's coming just as soon as I find the perfect mirror.

Why is it so hard to find a mirror that fits the spot AND looks good AND within budget?!

The last project to do inside the house is to replace all the internal doors with new ones, paint them, and install new handles.

The doors are a bit of a labour of love so we do a door every few months and have a few more still to do but I'm happy to say we are getting there and have nearly finished this project. 

I'll be sharing a post on how to hang and paint doors very soon!

I've been a married woman for two whole months now and Mr P and I are still on cloud nine from our wedding and even though we have lived together for years it feels really different now to be married. It is such a wonderful feeling and I find myself walking around with a big smile on my face whenever I think about it!

I have some DIY bride craft projects on how I made my own wedding bouquets, DIY photobooth, plus a wedding recap just as soon as I receive the photos from the photographer!

Lexi really wanted to be the flowergirl/dog!

So that's what's been going on in my life and around the Jarrah Jungle lately.

It's a really busy time now as we head towards the end of the year, with Christmas shopping to do, catching up with friends and family, parties to go to and plan, it's all happening!

How have you been my friends? Tell me what's been happening in your world lately?

For exclusive extras and daily updates ... follow Jarrah Jungle on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter


[All images my own other than image 1 and 2 via Pinterest]


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Laundry + Powder Room - Lighting Inspiration

Our laundry and powder room renovation is not quite finished yet but it's been 6 months since my last project post so I thought I'd share a bit of an update ..... better late than never right!

Lexi still takes her job as site manager very seriously and has been watching our progress very closely .... albeit it's been a little too slow for her liking!

The last project we did in the laundry was install new shelves in the laundry cupboard which has been fantastic I can fit so much in there now it's really great overflow storage for appliances and kitchen items that won't fit in the kitchen cupboards.

We have hung 3 new doors and installed new handles to the laundry cupboard, powder room and laundry room but still need to paint them. We are in the process of hanging and painting new doors throughout the house so I'll share the new doors update in a separate blog post as soon as we've finished them.

So back to the to do list for the laundry - all we need is a light fitting and power points for the washing machine so I don't need to run an extension cord into the kitchen every time I do a load of washing! Some art for the wall and a floor rug will add the finishing touches.

In the powder room - I need to find a mirror to hang above the basin, some art and a light fitting.

Then I can do a proper before and after reveal of the very last room renovated in the Jarrah Jungle home!

We have booked in the electrician to come out in two weeks so I need to hurry up and pick the lights for him to install but to be honest I'm a little stumped on what type of lighting to get for the laundry.

I'm conscious that the laundry light can't be too big or hang low or it will get knocked around. Maybe a flush mount or ceiling downlights like we installed in the kitchen might be the safer option.

Here are some lights I love .....

I can probably be a bit more daring in the powder room/toilet and have a pendant light.

Although this room is really tiny so it can't be too large either. Wall lights either side of the mirror could be a good option for this room.

I'm going light shopping this weekend so wish me luck in finding something that's both practical and pretty!

What type of lights do you have in your laundry and powder room/toilet?

Sharing with link parties:
The Dedicated House - Make It Pretty Monday
Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesdays
Curly Crafty Mom - The Creative Corner

To see our laundry renovation progress to date check out these posts:

Laundry Renovation - Wallpapering A Wall and A Door

Laundry Progress - Plastering, Sanding and Washing
Laundry/Powder Room Renovation - Changing The Plumbing

Laundry/Powder Room Renovation - Demolition Success
Laundry/Powder Room Renovation - Demolition Weekend Plans
Laundry Renovation - The Final Design
Laundry Renovation - Wood Look Bench Top

Laundry Renovation - Turning A Wood Panel Into A Bench Top
Laundry Renovation - Flat Packs Vs Cabinet Maker
Laundry Renovation - Flat Pack Assembly and Install

Laundry Renovation - DIY laundry cupboard shelves
Tips for picking out laundry flat pack cabinets
Powder Room Renovation - It's All In The Flush
Powder Room Renovation - Basin and Vanity: Take Two
Powder Room Renovation - Basin and Vanity
Splash Back Choices - Be Brave Or Play It Safe
Laundry Renovation - Let's Go Mosaic Tile Shopping
Laundry Renovation - Picking The Tiles
Laundry/Powder Room - Floor Tiles Laid
Laundry Before - Our 1960s Laundry/Toilet
edesign Mood Board for the Laundry
Renovating - 5 tips for planning and designing

For exclusive extras and daily updates ... follow Jarrah Jungle on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter


[Images 1, 2, 3 my own - All other images via Pinterest 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

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