If Your Couch Could Talk ..... What Would It Say?

Note: This post is sponsored by Super A-Mart

 

 

Today I'm talking couches ..... that one piece of furniture that most of us gravitate towards when we're home to relax, unwind, talk, watch TV, eat, drink, even sleep on!

 

The couch could tell one heck of a story don't you think!

 

Just imagine if your couch could talk .... What would it say?

Super A-Mart have come up with this clever infographic which has me thinking back to the couches I've had in my lifetime, surprisingly I have really fond memories of all of them.

 

My 1st couch went into the first home I rented as an independent 20-something leaving my parents farm behind for a life in the suburbs. I couldn't afford new furniture and gladly accepted hand me downs or second hand items like my first couch which I bought from an ad in the newspaper and I was so naive I didn't even ask the size of it .... turns out it was a huge modular couch that needed 2 vehicles to pick it up!

 

This couch was an ugly pale salmon colour and every mark and stain stood out and the velvet material attracted every form of hair and fluff. It was so retro it even had a built in coffee table and radio oh yes it was fancy! It wouldn't all fit in the house it was so big so part of it lived under the patio. BUT man was that couch comfortable and large enough to fit many bodies on for movie nights and sleep overs.

 

My first couch would say to me ....

You made sacrifices and went without and now it's time to move onwards and upwards
and let me go because I'm too big to fit into your next home! 

My 2nd couch went into my very first home I mortgaged, a modern inner city apartment with a small open plan living and dining area. I went for a practical couch/sofa bed thinking a small space would need extra bedding for friends staying over. The first week I moved in I went out and bought a new blue futon couch/bed with a metal frame. As a couch it was the most uncomfortable thing you've ever sat on but as a bed it was firm and did the job. There were many, many, many friends who crashed on that couch over the years!

This couch witnessed my bachelorette days with many parties, new found friendships, years of working, travelling and house sitters, did I say partying?! I had many nights of soul discovering sitting uncomfortably on that couch writing down my hopes, dreams and goals for the future. It was there through the highs and lows of life, when I was finding my way and discovering who I was.

My second couch would say to me .....

You never stopped chasing your dreams and along we way we had some unforgetable fun times!
I guess it's time for us to part ways now as you move into your first home with Mr P 

 

 

My 3rd couch is what I have now a beautiful, stylish, comfortable, chocolate leather modular couch and a matching 3 seater. Mr P and I bought these couches together when we moved into our first home Jarrah Jungle almost 5 years ago now. The couch has softened and relaxed over the years, it's still so comfortable, easy to wipe clean and covered in my ever growing collection of cushions and throw rugs.

This couch has been the saviour and place to wind down after long hours working and renovating. Where chats and wine, dinner for two, snuggling, foxtel watching, reading, relaxing, sleeping, all happens here. This couch is my rock, it's the heart of the home, it's where it all happens!

My third couch would say to me .....

You deserve to have beautiful things, so look after me and I'll be here for
many more years to keep you comforted, recharged and relaxed ....
just wipe the renovating dust off me occasionally ok?! 

I had so much fun reminiscing about my old couches and when I stopped and thought about it I was surprised that I remembered them all so clearly!

 

So now it's your turn to tell me If Your Couch Could Talk .... What Would It Say About You?

 

Disclosure: I have partnered with Super A-Mart for this sponsored post.

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[Infographic and all images via Super A-Mart]

 

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Book Review and Preview: The Creative Shrub Garden By Andy McIndoe

This is a book review and preview of the book The Creative Shrub Garden: Eye-catching Combinations for Year-Round Interest by Andy McIndoe that is due to be published on 29 July 2014.

This book is written by Andy McIndoe, the Manging Director of Hillier Nurseries and Garden Centres in Hampshire, England. Andy has been part of the Chelsea Flower Show for more than two decades and has bought home a record of 68 gold medals at the show.

 

 

This is a gardening book about creating eye catching combinations in the garden and to make the often taken for granted shrub into the star of the garden.

Home gardeners should know the key elements to garden design - perennials bloom year after year, annuals add bursts of colour and bulbs guarantee flowers. Hardy shrubs can play a role in your garden too and this book puts the shrub front and centre in garden design. It shows how combining shrubs with other plants can create layers and interest in the garden.

 

There are ideas for literally hundreds of different shrub combinations that work in many different garden designs - from coastal, cottage, Mediterranean, tropical, to urban and more.

 

The only thing I found hard about this book was because I didn't have a hard copy of the book, and because of the images I couldn't download it to my Kindle eReader so I had to read it off the computer which I found difficult. A hard copy version of this book would be a great reference guide to use when I'm gardening at home.

I recommend this book to garden lovers who want to use tried and tested gardening advice and want to have a creative shrub garden.

I give this book 3 stars

Jarrah Jungle's Star Rating:
1 Bad - I'd rather eat brussel sprouts topped with anchovies than read this again
2 Not Good - I'd rather watch re-runs of Neighbours than read this again
3 Ok - I'm sitting on the fence - its not great but not terrible either
4 Good - I'd pass up a pack of tim tams for this read
5 Great - I'd pass up a date with Johnny Depp for this read

The Creative Shrub Garden can be purchased from Amazon here

Sharing my book review on Good Reads here

Disclosure: NetGalley partner with bloggers such as me to help promote their product. As part of this promotion I was given this eBook published by Timber Press to review. I have not received any payment or compensation for this review. I have not been told what to say about this product, I am free to form my own opinion and share them in my own words. All opinions are my own.

 

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


[Image via Amazon]

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Laundry/Powder Room Renovation - Tile-O-Rama

After the demolition and plumbing work in the laundry and powder room it was time to put the room back together and to do this the new floor tiles need to be laid.

We try to do most of the work ourselves on these renovations but decided to call in the professionals for the tiling because we want a quality professional finish and we just don't have the time to practice tiling ourselves. So we handed the tiling job over to the tiler who did our bathroom tiling and after bartering on a price we settled on $1200 which isn't too bad for the number of days they had to come back and do the work.

 

What we thought would be a 4 day job has turned into a 2 week turnaround because Winter's cold, wet, weather means that everything has taken longer to dry and set. This also means we lost a weekend of being able to renovate and get everything ready for the plumber this weekend - so we have been DIYing in the evenings this week to get it all done.

It just goes to show no matter how organised you are, always allow for changes in the schedule because nothing ever goes perfectly to plan when renovating!

On Tuesday last week - Two tilers came to screed the floor. They filled the laundry and toilet floor full of sand, stones and concrete and then screed it flat. They were in and out in under 4 hours.

Because we dug all the floor up to do the plumbing, the concrete was laid quite thickly and instead of them coming back the next day to do the waterproofing as planned, they had to leave it another few days to dry completely.

 

 

 

In the meantime as this is the only way into the backyard to Lexi and the toilet in the Granny Flat the tiler laid some tiles down as stepping stones for us to walk on.

So there I am having to carry my fur baby Lexi all 20kgs of her inside and outside while skipping on the stepping stones. It's this kind of thing that has you laughing afterwards but at the time it's like .... you've got to be f**king kidding me!?

 

 

On Thursday last week - The tiler came back to water proof the entire room. Being a wet area this protects the floor if there are any spills and water gets under the tiles. We then had to leave it to dry for another few days.

Because this is like a sticky paint, we couldn't walk on the floor for 24 hours. This meant the only way into the backyard was to bungee jump out the french doors balancing on leaning slabs and landing in soft muddy sand, usually in the pouring rain with gale force winds just to make it even more exciting!

Not to forget our fur baby Lexi had to be lifted up over our heads and in through the french doors, which meant sometimes she had to stay outside making sad doggy cries until Mr P came home to lift her in because I wasn't strong or tall enough to do it oh yes fun and games for the whole family!

On Monday this week - We were ready to get some tiles on the floor, and the tiler laid all the floor tiles in about 4 hours.

For our floor tiles - we picked out large 30 x 60 tiles in a modern grey. They're the same brand name and very similar to our bathroom tiles ..... except half the price!

We bought the tiles months ago but I had to go and buy another box of the floor tiles last week as the tiler said we didn't allow enough and he was right because there's just 3 tiles left over after he'd finished laying them all!

On Thursday this week - The tiler came back to grout the floor. Now the floor is completely done it can be walked on and is looking like a proper floor again! The grout is still wet in these photos and I'm hoping that it lightens up as it sets because I'm not completely happy with the dark colour right now :(

 

 

Phew so that was just getting the floor in! You don't know how good it feels to not have to stand on dirt and rubble inside the house, we've had some messy, sandy, damp and chilly weeks lately!

The next step is for us to get the the flat pack cabinets, bench top, toilet and vanity and sink in, which is the plan for this weekend.

Then the tiler will come back and finish laying the white kick tiles - this is so he can tile around the toilet and it also means our cabinets will sit flush against the wall without the kick tile being in the way.

He'll also lay the mosaic and tile splash back in the laundry and powder room and finish all the grouting and then it'll be done!

It is looking really good so far and those yellow and cream mosaic floor tiles are just a distant memory!

You can see all my Laundry/Powder Room renovation progress posts here:
Laundry/Powder Room Renovation - 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 - Tips For Picking Out Flat Pack Cabinets

Laundry Renovation - Flat Packs Vs Cabinet Maker

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 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 and Instagram

 
[All images my own]

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Laundry Renovation - Plastering, Sanding, Washing

We are now at the stage of the Laundry renovation when we're in too deep to back out and there's still so much work to do in front of us, that makes it both stressful and so bloody exciting!

This week we've had the tilers back and forth laying and grouting the floor tiles so we've had to be really careful on the new tiles. We've been working late into the evening every night this week to get the room ready for the weekend when the plumber is coming back to hook up all the plumbing, install the toilet and sinks etc.

Do you remember all the mess we made in this room

when we removed the old plumbing and pipes and cut in for all new plumbing?

 

Well now we need to fix it all up!

Cover the walls with plaster, sand everything down smooth, wash it clean
and get it ready for painting! 



The Jarrah Jungle DIY duo ready for action!



Already I can see the progress we've made which is pretty exciting

 

Here are some before, during and now photos of the renovation so far

This is how the laundry walls were before with all the water services coming out from the ceiling and down the walls, plus we made a bit of a mess when the laundry trough and tiling was all removed.

The walls here don't need to be totally perfect because they will mostly be covered with the laundry cabinets and splash back tiling, but it still needed to be plastered over.

 

Before

Demolition and new plumbing
 

Walls plastered and sanded

As for the toilet this needed all new pipes and plumbing which meant more holes in the walls and we removed the side support bar on the wall, toilet roll holder, etc so we can put new fittings in.

 

Before

 

Demolition and Plumbing



Plastered ready for sanding
 

Sanded smooth

To convert the toilet into a powder room with a vanity and sink, meant cutting lines for the plumbing into the brick walls as well. So that all needed to be patched up, plastered and sanded.

 

Before

 

Demolition and plumbing

Freshly plastered it's grey when it's dry and goes white it's ready to be sanded

 

Here we are in action this week - plastering, white setting, sanding and then washing the walls and ceiling ready for painting. While Mr P features to be working in most of these photos, please note that I cooked our dinner, cleared the dishes and kitchen each night after all this work so that makes up for my lack of plastering skills!

 

Plastering with a concrete mix first

Then with white set plaster

 

Plastering is a lot like The Karate Kid .... Wax on Wax off!

Once the walls were plastered and dry it was my turn to get sanding

Washing the walls and ceiling with sugar soap and water

 

We are hoping to get an undercoat of paint on the walls before the cabinets, toilet and vanity are installed as this will make it much easier to paint.

This weekend we are installing the flat pack cabinets, bench top, toilet, vanity and sink and the plumber is coming to do all the plumbing work ..... it's all happening!

It's so exciting seeing the room transform with so many changes in just a few weeks, compared to the many years we have wanted to renovate this room!
 

You can see all my Laundry/Powder Room renovation progress posts here:
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

Tips For Picking Out Laundry Flat Pack Cabinets

Laundry Renovation - Flat Packs Vs Cabinet Maker

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 Before - Our 1960s Laundry/Toilet

edesign Mood Board for the Laundry

Renovating - 5 tips for planning and designing

Linking up with:

The Dedicated House - Before And After Wednesdays

Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesdays

Home Coming - The DIYers

 

 

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


[All images my own]

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Tips For Picking Out Laundry Flat Pack Cabinets

Since my flat packs Vs cabinet maker post for our laundry renovation, we have done our research on the laundry flat pack cabinets and priced up and compared what was available at Ikea, Bunnings and Masters. 

 

In the end we decided to go with Masters because they have a 10 year warranty, the finishes were modern and looked like they were well made and best of all we had a discount voucher which saved us $350 off the total amount. 



Laundry flat pack layouts in store

 

First we checked out Masters online to get an idea of what they had on offer. Then we went to the store and created a shopping list by choosing what we liked on the displays - the colour and style of the door fronts, colour of the kick board, door handles and the size of the cabinets that fit.

We resisted the urge to buy everything there and then and went home and mulled over the design and all our options, priced it all up, triple checked it would fit, then went back and purchased everything.

I know that may sound tedious but they don't call me the Organising Queen for nothing! It all went smoothly because we knew what we were getting and we weren't standing in the aisles stressing out like shoppers around us where because they were overwhelmed with all the choices!

 

Planning and drawing with strong coffee and/or wine is a must!

 

Here are my tips on entering the world of DIY flat pack cabinets:

 

1. Go to the shops prepared - Take your room measurements, notepad, pen and a tape measure. You may look a little nerdy (or like an Organised Queen - or King!) but at least you'll be able to work out there and then what will fit and what won't.

I find taking photos is a good way to remember what it looked like and also a photo of the price tag which should have the model and measurements too. It saves having to write it all down which might make you look like a bigger nerd!


An organised mess!

 

2. What size cabinets - Most of the sizes are fairly standard so we worked out which cabinets would fit the space so that we could then have a play around with the layout. 

 

Ask yourself - do you want to fit in more smaller cupboards or fewer large cupboards. Do you want cupboards, drawers, or other features like drying racks. For us this depended on:

Cost - Is it cheaper to do it one way or another?

Aesthetics - What looks better?

Practical - What works for us?

 

Also check with the cabinets what's included as they vary by brands - hinges, shelves, how to hang, etc so there's no surprises about what you need to have the complete cabinets installed at home.

 

Playing around with layout and different sized cabinets

 

3. Special products or features - Keep your eyes open for special features that you can include in the cabinetry, as this may affect the type of cabinets or drawers you get.

Good storage and keeping everything organised is on top of my list for our laundry. So when I spotted this small pull out caddy that fits into a base cabinet I was sold straight away - it's perfect for holding all the cleaning bottles. I'm in love with my pull out caddy under the sink in the kitchen it's one of my favourite features of our kitchen renovation, they are such a great invention!
 

Our pull out caddy that will go into a drawer cabinet

 

4. Side panels and Kick board - Don't forget you need side panels between each of the cabinets as well and these come in various sizes.

 

You also need a kick board for the base cabinets, which come in just a few colours and if you are brave you can get a contrasting colour (like we did in our kitchen renovation). We were tempted to go with silver but in the end decided on white as it's just a small area and we didn't think it would add much to the design.

 

Our flat packs hand picked off the shelves

 

5. Pick the style and colour of door fronts - The basic flat pack range of doors has a mat finish which can be hard to clean and looks a little plain.

We went for a gloss finish Profile - Whitehaven which is heaps easier to clean and looks stylish and modern. These are slightly higher in price but I think will make our flat packs look more like custom made cabinets.

 

Our door fronts - a glossy bright white

 

6. Pick out the handles - There are so  many different styles of handles to choose from .... so many they all start to look the same after a while!

 

Consider the sizes, the finish (shiny or mat) and how they feel in your hand.  You want them to look good and be comfortable too.

 

Handles galore



7. Stop and think about it! - There's no need to pile everything on the trolley and rush home with it all there and then unless you're on a renovating show on TV!

Because let's face it, that's how mistakes are made and sometimes costly if you can't return items. Once you're confident in the design and decisions made then you can take your goodies home ...... and start assembling!

 

Trolley loaded - lets go!

 

I'm really happy with what we picked out, it feels good to be organised and have everything ready to go and the money we're saving by doing it ourselves is keeping us under budget.

 

We will be assembling and installing all the cabinets in the next few days so that the rest of the plumbing can be done and the tiler can finish laying the splash back tile.

Wish me luck on entering the land of flat pack assembling!

 

 

You can see all my Laundry/Powder Room renovation progress posts here:
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

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 Before - Our 1960s Laundry/Toilet

edesign Mood Board for the Laundry

Renovating - 5 tips for planning and designing

Linking up with:

The Dedicated House - Make It Pretty Monday

Home Coming - The DIYers

Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesdays

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


[All images my own]

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Beating The Travel Bug .... At Home

I have been feeling the travel bug nibble at me these last few months .....

I always need to have a holiday planned each year, it gets me through the working week and the home renovations and it keeps me sane to have something to look forward too and keep saving my pennies for.

Travel is my reward for getting out of bed for work instead of turning off the snooze and hiding under the covers all day.

When we are renovating at home on the weekend instead of tasting wines at a vineyard like I'd love to be doing ...... I just think of a holiday that we have planned and it makes it a lot more bearable!

Except that this year, we don't have any holidays planned .... well not yet anyway!

After our cruise ship holiday to New Zealand last year with my family, we decided this year we would holiday at home to save some money and to build up our annual leave time off work.

The main reason is we have a big overseas trip planned next year to the USA for a friends Birthday in Las Vegas! I am so damn excited about going to America - New York and Los Angeles are right at the top of my travel list for my must see places!

But until the big USA trip, this year I still need some travel adventures to look forward to, but on a smaller scale that doesn't take too much time off work or cost too much money.

So once the laundry renovation is finished we are putting the paint brushes down and having a breather before starting the next project - the courtyard!

We plan to sneak off for another weekend rendezvous and stay at a nice hotel close to home where we can drink a bottle of wine in fluffy bath robes in a fancy hotel room and I can have a bubble bath .... oh how I miss having a bath at home!

For a bit of a longer break, if the budget and time off work allows, we would like to take off for a few nights and take our furbaby Lexi with us for our first family holiday!

So I'm on the look out for somewhere that's dog friendly and fun for couples in Western Australia - maybe a coastal town so we can go fishing, have some beach adventures, for a chilled out relaxing holiday.

The only holiday thing I've officially booked is in September - I'm heading up north for a long weekend with some of my Book Club girls for the Kalgoorlie Cup. I'm really excited about this country road trip and will write more about this on the blog soon!

Our last road trip together was down south about 2 years ago and so much as changed since then in our little Book Club ..... we've had 2 engagements, 2 weddings and 2 babies!

So that's how I'm coping with the travel bug this year ..... a weekend away with Mr P, a few days off to explore our beautiful WA with our family of 3, and a road trip with girlfriends.

You can read more about my travels on my Travel Tips + Musings page here

For some great deals on travel Australia wide check out Travel Factory here

Do you have any travel plans this year?

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


[Images via my Pinterest 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

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