Before, After and More

BEFORE: A storage area for unwanted beds

AFTER:  Now a usable living space

BEFORE: Schizophrenic walls - schizophrenic in a bad way, not cute or charming

AFTER: Cleaned up and rehabilitated but maybe still schizoid at heart

BEFORE: Not too inviting

AFTER:  Stairway to promising spaces

BEFORE:  Yucky toilet

AFTER: Clean and new

BEFORE:  Measly light and boarded up windows

AFTER:  Windows come back to life and light

Bonus curtains courtesy of my Mom and Nanette

The cloth for this curtain was just exact for the size that needs to be covered that what shouldn't be shown. . . .

. . . . is shown, but it's kind of a sly wink, an inside joke, a teehee that maybe only some might appreciate and most would . . . .

. . . . not notice at all.

Bonus curtain:  I didn't take a BEFORE picture of this small room and now I can't show you the ugly thing that is hidden under this pink curtain.  But believe me it's ugly, the type which makes you want to find a way to cover it up if it's not removed.  Next time I should take more BEFORE pictures.

Whimsy and the Team

To close the net in the "sampayan" area just outside the master bedroom (it's the only place where it can be put), I put a touch of whimsy and instead of using a black thread to tie the two parts of the net together, I used a contrasting, attention-grabbing, bright red ribbon to give it a touch of "wala lang."

Here's another example of what I call "wala lang."  The occupant wanted everything to be all white on the first floor but we had to use blue for the baseboard.  I was itching to insert a bit of blue in the kitchen so we just painted one vertical panel so it looks more fun.

This is the team that made the project possible and took it to the finish line.  Johnray, the one on the left is the son of Nanette who cooks in our house and who is a great connector-networker.  She always puts my mom and I in touch with people who are looking for jobs either from her family, neighborhood or circle of friends.  She has helped a lot of people this way.  The one in the middle is their neighbor and the one on the right is the husband of Nanette's friend whom Nanette also referred to work in our house.  The one in the middle, Winwin was the one who found the carpenter, mason and electrician to do the other work for the house but their part was done last week.  So many, many thanks to the team!



Subdued Blue

BEFORE

AFTER

The fruits of three and a half weeks of labor are finally showing through with starkly contrasting before and after pictures.  I'll post more tomorrow.  This is just a preview.

The future occupant of the home visited the place for the first time since it's been under renovation and she was pleasantly surprised by the transformation.  She loved most of all these curtains.   They were lovingly sewn by the cook in our house, Nanette whose son has been one of the workers of this project. 

I didn't like the shade of ready made sky blue which in the daytime is a bit on the glaring side. So I had them add a tinge of black to douse the intensity . . . . 

. . . . and this is the result - a more subdued blue on the ground floor.

Ready for the Next One

Okay, here we are just three days before the finish line!  After painting the walls and revarnishing the floor, we'll have everything finished by Monday.  The rooms need to be aired out for a couple of days and then the new occupants will be ready to move in.  This means we can also start on the next project. 

The next project requires a lot more changes and work so as recommended by my architecture classmate, I went to Soler to check out alternative suppliers to be able to compare costs with the ones in Home Depot and Wilcon.   

A bit of oasis, a breath of fresh air, a surprising incongruence came in the form of a Buddhist cafe right in the middle of the busy street in Binondo.  I walked in admiring the minimalist design, product lines, inspirational stickers and Chinese books. 

At the beginning of my walk, I was able to distinguish fixtures that could possibly be used in the future.  However, as I went to more and more stores, everything started to look the same.  My notebook was filled with prices anyway so it was time to go. 

Sky Blue

This is the area right outside the master bedroom window.  It's the only place where the laundry can be hung to dry.  The new occupant of the house requested that it be screened to prevent clothes from flying off and landing in the swimming pool should strong winds come.  Not wanting to spend again for the screen, I found old aluminum screen doors and derived a pattern.  Originally, I wanted the rest of the area to be left unscreened because I like seeing the clear blue sky framed by the wood without any intervening layer.  But am I the one who's going to live here?   

I received a text from the occupant requesting the entire area to be screened.  If I get the wire type mosquito screen, there would be added labor cost to install them properly.  So drawing from the trusted junk storehouse at home, I found old fishing nets that could easily be nailed onto the frames. 

Preparation for painting work has been going on for one week now and we're a couple of days behind schedule.  Delays are to be expected and normal and I believe we'll still meet the target but will only be off by three days.  The lesson learned here is to give a deadline a day or two before the real deadline.  This is good experience and practice for me to get a feel of how long it takes to finish each type of work so I can make a better estimated schedule next time.   

Originally, I wanted to use a light olive green to complement the color in the curtain, however the occupant requested for a blue room so we gave her a blue room.  It turned out to be cheaper because if I stuck with a special color, it would take time to mix it and get it right.  Whereas, there's a convenient, ready-made sky blue.



Patchwork Tiles

To save on material cost, I got some leftover tiles and put it together like a random patchwork and this is how it turned out.  Hmmmm.  Will I do this again?  Only if the budget is this super low.  It was harder to install because there were discrepancies in the sizes. 

It doesn't look as clean and neat as I wish but the consolation is that it's still a lot cleaner and neater only because it's newer than the original.

The bathroom installer would list down everyday the materials he would need and off I'd go to the hardware to buy it.  Often, there'd be missing pieces like this plumbing part where he omitted the connection to the sink so I had to make another extra trip to buy the item.  But this is part and parcel of my tuition fee, learning as I go along, learning by mistakes -- lots of mistakes that will hopefully diminish as I go on. 

Junk Scrounge

Today, I realized I made several mistakes in choosing from piles of reusable junk.  First, the sink I chose was a wall-mounted one instead of counter-mounted when I already made provisions for a marble counter.  Second, when choosing the bathroom fixtures, I just lazily delegated somebody else to do it for me so it turned out there were missing parts.  I had to go back to get the right sink and other missing pieces.    The lessons: 1) Don't be lazy to go through junk; 2) Know what you're getting and the complete components.   It's okay to make these mistakes now since these are the early days in the game but later on, hopefully they will be minimized. 

When you go to the big stores of construction materials and see the price of these bathroom fixtures, it makes you want to run and get them elsewhere because of the steep price for such little objects.  For a low-budget renovation, the cost of brand new fixtures would just eat up too much of the pie.    If I didn't have my Mom's storehouse of discarded treasures, where would I go?  I'd have to discover alternative sources.