Kitchen Creations

Impressive performance from the local kitchen suppliers … two complete kitchens delivered, assembled and installed yesterday from scratch in six hours by two very hardworking fitters.

Base carcasses in place for the smaller apartment.

Mirror installation in place for the larger apartment.

Dishwasher and sink as fitted in the smaller apartment.

The oven and extract hood remain to be connected and fitted by the electrician.

Likewise with the larger apartment … dishwasher and hob in place.

Freestanding fridge-freezer will be where the oven is … waiting to be fitted by the electrician.  

Window Dressing

As soon as the decorators finish … cool white throughout … the carpenter arrives to fit custom made windows, each perfectly dimensioned to the wide variety of structural openings that exist in the building.

Why does a view always look so much better through a beautiful window?

Full height double glazing to french doors maximises, where possible, light in and views out

All window frames are in finest quality douglas fir with a clear varnish to match the golden honey yellow of the external venetian shutters and doors.

Solid shutter doors, bolts and mortice locks provide security and ensure privacy for the main entrance doors to each of the apartments …

… while all glass panes are latest regulation double glazing with enhanced acoustic and thermal properties to conserve energy and limit the intrusion, if required, of the sometimes deafening cicada chorus on hot summer nights!

Sealing up the Ceiling

Unfortunately the ground floor ceilings had been stripped of original timber beams and any traditional character many years ago … all replaced with cast concrete beams and extruded baked clay infill panels … extremely utilitarian. 

Limited headroom and budget prevents re-introducing ceiling timbers so the only practical option is to plasterboard all ceilings tight to the existing soffit structures, ensuring lighting and power circuit conduits are all in place before sealing up the ceilings.

Immediately the various rooms look very different and far more finished than before … final plaster skimming and decorating will follow shortly.

Heating pipes and extract ducting are hidden behind a dropped bulkhead above the future corner kitchen area.

In just one week all ceiling areas have been closed off and prepared for final finishes and decorations … just hope the electricians can find the conduit once the ceilings have been taped, skimmed and painted!

Getting Floored

About 300 square meters of tiles are delivered … get ready for laying!

Floor areas in the two ground level apartments are to be finished with large format (30 x 45 cms) rustic hand-finished, natural clay colour, ceramic tiles.

Once the main datum lines are set the tile laying begins …

Tiles are laid in a contemporary linear bond with grid lines centered on the brick archway and, where possible, with primary entrances and passageways.

We love the subtle variety of colours in the natural clay finish …

… which matches beautifully the original brickwork of the main archway.

Tiled steps lead from the main apartment down to the second living area …

… where the shape and proportions of this smaller apartment are best complimented by the main grid running in the opposite direction.

All these areas look so much bigger now the floors are laid …

… including bedrooms such as this double room in the smaller apartment.

The same tiling extends throughout including to the bathrooms …

… where matching tiles of a more elegant linear format (45 x 15 and 30 x 15) are used on the lower half of the bathroom walls.

Walk-in showers are accentuated by large scale natural stone colour mosaics …

… with made-to-measure glass enclosures to be fitted later.

It’s all beginning to look and feel much more finished … at last!

Wonder Waxing

After sandblasting all the roof timbers needed treating and waxing. With the help of a willing nephew (Jonny Lummis) this was completed over several hardworking days.

Initially wary of heights, Jonny soon gained confidence and tackled this painstaking task with a big smile … and considerable rather questionable humour.

It’s surprising just how many individual three-sided ceiling joists there are between the main roof beams! Each one had to be dusted, termite treated, left to dry for 24 hours … then waxed!  

Ideally … with no brush marks left on the tile surface!

The toughest challenge proved to be reaching the very apex of the main roof … a good five meters or more above floor level. The only way, with a 2.5 meter scaffold tower, was with a brush taped to the end of a long curtain rail.

Just a few strokes left to complete the job … Jonny is looking particularly pleased that the end in finally in sight. A well deserved glass (… or two!) of chilled white wine awaits.

Thanks Jonny … the results are great and the roof timbers now look wonderful.

A Libation from the Past

When reopening an old doorway between two rooms we discovered a old bottle of Prosecco - A fizzy white wine, the Italian version of Champagne - which had been left between the two walls by the previous builders.

Despite the falling rubble from our demolition work the bottle and its contents have survived intact.

However, the time spent encased between the walls have damaged the paper label so that we cannot see any date … which is a shame. Unlikely to be a great or important vintage we have decided to keep this ‘libation’ from the past intact and resisted the temptation to uncork and drink the contents. 

Open and Shut Case-ments

When we bought ‘Casa sul Monte’ the house had a random selection of old shutters, grilles and doors on its various entrances and windows that were poorly maintained and painted quite a unique and rather unpleasant shade of dark mustard yellow!

'Beppe' Bartolini, a local carpenter and brilliant traditional craftsman, was commissioned to manufacture a full set of new, custom made doors, windows and shutters for all openings.

Using beautiful honey coloured Douglas Fir timber with a natural transparent sealant he has manufactured a full set of fittings for the house that have all now been installed.

The results are wonderful … the softly grained timber shutters blending perfectly with the local stone. These ‘before and after’ images of these casements speak for themselves!