I’m pleased to say we found ourselves a little place to buy. Finding anything at all in the current market is a bit of miracle. Most places are listed with an ‘under offer’ notice already attached. Investors are buying anything reasonably priced for their self managed superfunds, or to minimise their taxes with the use of negative gearing. I feel for anyone trying to buy their first home. I don’t think I’ve ever seen times as tough for buyers as these in real estate.

Not only have we manage to secure a place but the place we found ticks not one, but two of either/or wants. We wanted to be either within walking distance of the beach, or walking distance to the shops. We found a triplex that meets both criteria. It’s small, and only has one bathroom, but the main bedroom is a good size, it has a reasonable sized guest room, a third bedroom that we will probably use as a study, and a small open plan living area. We’ll be able to make it work – as I’ve said before, ‘wherever I lay my hat, that’s my home’. We’ll make this place our next and hopefully our final home. We’re getting to old for all this moving caper.

Here’s a bit of sneak look:

The bathroom is an okay size with ensuite access, but most of the space is taken up with a bath, a bath we’ll most likely not use. In time I’d like to remove the bath, add a bigger double vanity and possibly a toilet (there’s only one toilet in the villa, it’s off the laundry). Until we get to that though, I found some inspiration for how to make use of the bath in a way that will provide more storage. Ours won’t be the same but you’ll get the idea from the photos below.

It’s close to town, so it’ll be less than a 15 minute walk to supermarkets, pubs, restaurants, and cafes. The beach is 500 metres away. I had hoped to find a place that was light and bright, but sadly I don’t think this place is going to fit that bill as well as I’d have liked. It has white gauzy curtains at the windows though, windows that face to the east, so maybe, just maybe, if those curtains are pulled back it may let in some early morning sun. I hope so. In the current market though, one has to take what one can get and make the most of it.

We’ve been really busy since finding the house. We don’t move until 8 May, so it’s quite a long wait, but as we don’t want to be moving surplus furniture into the villa we’ve been busy listing and selling what we know won’t work. It’s been a crazy time. A garage sale over Easter saw off most of what remained after two weeks of listing all the bigger items on Facebook Buy and Sell. We’d been contemplating selling off our up-cycled dining suite, but had decided we’d wait and see. It’s an 1800 long table, and we figure a 1500 long table would fit the space better. However someone attending the garage sale came inside to look at a chair we had for sale, spied the dining suite and wanted to make us an offer. We agreed on a price and said good-bye to our suite.

The very next day we found ourselves another one to up-cycle. It’s a 50 year old Tasmanian Blackwood suite, with a 1500 long extension table and six comfortable, low backed, red velvet chairs. Yes – red velvet! Take a look – I wonder if you’ll be able to see the potential we can see in it.

The wood is very good, and the size perfect for our new dining space. But mmm – those chairs! Well believe it not, it was those chairs that attracted me the most. We had some similar styled chairs last century with the low back that hugged and supported our lumber region better than any chair before or since has. I loved them, they were just soooo comfortable in a way that higher backed chairs never are. The chairs will be painted white (sacrilege I hear my brother saying, who thinks good wood should never be painted). The turned legs and base of the table will also be painted in the same white semi-gloss. The table top, along with its extension piece will be sanded back and refinished showcasing its natural grain. And that red velvet – well that’s going too. We’ve found a nice navy and white furnishing fabric and are in the midst of re-upolstering the seats. I can’t wait to show the before and after photos when the project is complete.

With most of the selling of our surplus now complete, we were feeling like we were in limbo, so although the dining suite isn’t a huge project, it will help to fill the time over the next couple of weeks as we hit a lull – the calm before the next moving house storm! It’s been a tough couple of months, and it’s not over yet. Hectic as hell for weeks at a time, then a lull, then hectic as hell again. We don’t have family nearby that can help and support us, but fortunately we have a wonderful group of friends who help to prop us up when the going gets tough. I don’t think I could have coped with all this without the wonderful moral support that comes from such a good group of friends. You all know who you are. You mean the world to us! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!