To Plunge or Percolate...

Can we really be bothered to renovate?  Or should we buy that other old house in the next street that actually, really is next to the train tracks??  It's bigger.  It's just as falling-down as ours is.  Well, not that I've been inside and not that I know for sure if ours is sliding down the hill (I'm just assuming, since all balls roll into the same corner behind the TV).

How do you make the decision to move or renovate?  How do you take that plunge?  What's the catalyst?  How many times do you talk yourself into love with another person's home before it really does become yours (and all the problems they didn't tell you about)?

I love our home.  I love it's old leaking roof, it's rotten weatherboards, it's wonky ceilings, it's jammed windows and 100 years of DIY dodginess.  I love that I can't put anything new into it's rooms without it shrieking loud and clear against knocked-about walls and cornices.  I love how it forgives all my decorating faux pas and rejoices in my successes.  It loves me back too - fits us all in, stands still whilst we paint it, breathes in while we hammer stuff into it's armpits, turns a blind eye when we don't bother with a second coat...

But there's only so much love a 2 bedroom weatherboard with a postage stamp garden and small back deck can give a family of four.  We squeeze over 50 people in here every Christmas and though it never complains, it's a big effort all round!  Those 2 boys can't always share a room, can they?  Pretty soon they'll look like the guy in the Dr Seuss book whose feet hang out one end, or head out the other. 

Maybe I'll just percolate the idea some more.....

Or did I dream it.....?

It's been a long while and lots has happened, and nothing really - that's life, isn't it?  This bench seat, for a start, is a project so long completed it's almost time to re-recover (note to self, water/stain resistant fabric required for outdoor furniture). 

The colour was the driving force behind the decision to use that fabric (and the fact that it was already the perfect size so no excuse to procrastinate further) so I could be forgiven for thinking it would last in its pristine state.  It still looks great though and has brought to life our "outdoor room" in a way nothing else has.  Having a comfy seat at the outdoor table is so much more inviting than the hard outdoor chairs and we've all been spending more time out on the deck as a result.

The other addition is this chandelier (featured here with Moore & Moore Wallpaper). 

Whilst my outdoor space is nowhere near as divine as this setting, I just love the difference candlelight makes to an evening of entertaining - we all like a little ambience, don't we?  Save for the pathetic Sydney summer we're (not) enjoying - too cold and/or rainy to sit outside much, day or night.  So sadly the chandelier hasn't had a chance to come into it's own.  Although a friend (who spent an evening with us, juggling plastic cups to protect our precious flames from wind) found this idea...

Here, and I thought that could work. I'm now on the lookout for jam jars - though a warm, still summer evening would be preferable...