A rotten door

Among the different points that were identified during the besiktning (inspection) of the house, we had the balcony door on the first floor.
The door was clearly rotten and thanks to its state, the room that we decided to be the guestroom was quite cold and drafty.

The balcony door

Detail

We had decided to prioritize this, so that the state wouldn't degenerate under another winter season and we had already plans to have guests both in the beginning of November and in December.

Unfortunately, we never managed to get the process started before the first guest arrived and we patched the door with some towels (!!!).

We had already contacted Hellbergs snickeri though for fixing the issue: they gave us a great impression, very professional and precise and we decided to go for them in order to fix this door.

When they first came and give a look at our door they pointed out that it had already been (badly) patched probably during the 70s (if not earlier).

The patch

Basically, the original door was having the usual decoration (spegel) (in the first picture it is possible to see how it is in the inner part), however, when such a thing is placed outdoor the rain accumulates on the door and it is very common that the bottom part starts to rotten.

For avoiding this they possibly put such lovely patch, which helped in a very relative way.

They promised to fix the door and we were very happy it could be saved, but not only, they also added a fancy detail that would make sure that the door would not encounter the same issue and the detail was going to be in line with the typical style from the early 1900.

It consisted of a panel och droppnäsor (a panel with some sort of "gargoyle" which is however far from the fantastic animals usually put to divide the rain flow).

The result

The result became terrific, considering also that just one hand of paint has been given to the door (it is something we are going probably to fix in 20 years...). The door looks like new, but it has a "old look" style and hopefully, it will survive hundred years more...

A bathroom extreme makeover, final chapter

For us, it has been almost like a long saga, started the end of last spring and almost finished at the end of this winter (yes, almost because we are not yet 100%, of course ;D).
What is now missing is to buy things to decorate and not the bathroom, from the shower curtain, to a carpet etc. but otherwise, the biggest job has been finally completed.
And for us, this is an immense satisfaction, because the bathroom became exactly as we had in mind and because, despite all the obstacles we have accomplished our goal, and we have also learnt a lot.

But were where we...

The tiling is almost completed

After starting with the wrong foot, the tiling went slow but very accurate. We think the work has been done beautifully (except for two micro mistakes, one wrong decorative tile placement and a ruined tile placed on the floor).

The wall around the bathtube

An handpainted decorative tile

We are obviously very proud of the beautiful victorian tiles that we chose and the pattern made both on the floor and on the walls.
But a bathroom is not just about tiles, it is about lamps, sink, taps and accessories...
And for each element we searched a lot, trying to aim at a good compromise between cost and quality, but also it had to look in an old style.

Yes, we have a bidet!!!

The toilet and the bidet are both from Burlington. Indeed, the British can do things in old style and very well. Both items are hanging on the wall, despite the appearance.

The sink and its commode

Over the sink there is a mirror ;-)

98% of the mirror

Mirror, sink and commode are from Qvesarum and we are only disappointed that the marble surface has been delivered to us slightly "patched". Pity though that we have been so stressed and unexperienced to pay attention to this and we think now it is too late to complain...

The shower set

Detail of the shower set

We are still very amazed at the beauty of our bath-shower set. It's done in English style, but it is made in Italy by Huber. 

The tap

Both the taps of the bidet and the sink are made by Bugnatese. We could have gone for something more traditional, with one control for warm water and one for cold, but we choose comfort (of having the water at the right temperature without big troubles) to beauty, in this case. 

Bathroom lamp Topelius, with lamp shield Drop

Ekelund lamp with lamp shield Divine

All three lamps come from Karlskrona lampfabrik.

Double hook for towels

Ring for the towel, together with sockets, switches and  floor-heating thermostat

We do take care of details: even of the buttons for flushing the toilet!

Finally, there are a lot of small items that do take a lot of time.
We kept the same style that we have been using in the rest of the house (but this time in white) for the sockets, switches and the floor-heating thermostat. We have chosen once again the cheap and plastic line from Renova.
For all the accessories for hanging towels and put toilet paper (etc.) we have instead decided, after discarding the more expensive "byggnadsvård" selections, to go for Smedbo. In reality, the idea was to reuse what was present in the bathroom that we had dismantled, which were exactly several pieces from the line Villa from Smedbo. Unfortunately, at least for now, it was not possible to reuse them since the connective part  for the 20 years old components were not possible to be found. However, we liked the line and thought it could work once again in that bathroom and considering that it looked great after 20 years, it surely was a timeless piece!
Also choosing the buttons for flushing was not easy. Ok, the choice was limited also because the majority we could see were big, modern and giving us a very plastified sensation. The only item that did match our taste was what we bought and comes from Geberit.

And now, it is over! And maybe, next time I will take a panorama picture to give a better overview of the whole bathroom :)

A postcard from 1918

One of my occupations, lately, is checking if it is possible to find/buy postcards of Villa Bellevue from the past. It is not always easy (last attempt, the auction went up to the sky!) but sometimes, I actually manage to find something that has a pixel of the house shown somewhere.

The postcard from 1918. Nothing in front of the house

Villa Bellevue

There are few differences respect to how the house is today.
1) The balcony is "shorter" than today. But we have a map from 1953 and it seems there it has already the same dimension as today.
2) There are windows on the tower. And we know that 1958 there were no windows there.
3) The house name is written on two sides of the facade. And we know that in 1958 it was just on the front side.
4) We can see the original windows. Unfortunately, the ones on the front of the house have been all changed.
5) There is a white fence, with a gate. The gate is in our garden, probably rottening away. The rest of the fence has been changed with a net and a lot of bushes.
6) There is a pole for a flag. But that is something we don't want to have :)