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Monday 27 March 2017

Vintage European, Greytown

My sister and I took our Mum for a girls' weekend to Wellington and Greytown last weekend. It's a place we all know well (long-time readers will know that my sister and I go there every June!).

Greytown is about a one-hour drive north of Wellington, in the beautiful Wairarapa. Worth a visit for its cafes, galleries, boutique stores and nearby vineyards.

This time we discovered a gem called Vintage European. Sarah imports English, Scandinavian and other European housewares, fabrics and furniture that you won't find easily in this part of the world. A beautifully-laid-out store, I spent ages in there chatting (and purchasing!).

 







Tuesday 21 March 2017

Master Bedroom Wardrobe Fitout and Doors

Very late at posting this as the work was completed in late December! But I also wanted to wait until the floors were done so I could post a final 'after' shot.

Our wonderful cabinetmaker Dean from DL Cabinetmaking (who did our kitchen) made the beautiful doors and fitted out the insides. This wardrobe is Paul's (I have an entire room dedicated as my dressing room!). With the other wardrobe removed last year, we wanted to make the remaining one as functional and beautiful as possible. We decided to have a single shelf and a galvanised steel pole put in, and cubbyholes similar to our previous home. We also got Dean to break up the total height by creating two smaller cupboards at the top. It's a 2.8m cavity so visually, this makes it less overwhelming in what is not a huge bedroom.

As with the rest of the house, we fitted exquisite Halliday Baillie knobs on the doors (separate post coming soon!). We had these in our previous home.

We were surprised at how cost-effective it was to have bespoke doors made. Places like Boston Wardrobes and The Wardrobe Company offer a fixed selection of doors and charge extra for painting. We got a far superior result - and to our specifications - for about the same price as off-the-rack. So, don't be afraid to explore all options when fitting out your house.

Before
Huge, heavy and ugly sliding doors which are not even in keeping with a villa. The insides were fitted out with nasty multi-level plastic poles and shelves as well as mobile drawer units more in keeping for an office.



 
During
We still had the carpet down at this stage.


After
Now, isn't that better?