Before, during and after
Long, long neglected, the downstairs of our Istrian house originally had three rooms: entrance, kitchen and living room. Our plan was to turn it into an open plan kitchen-diner with a loo under the stairs and a snug library tucked behind. This major undertaking involved gutting the whole floor, stripping it back to the bare stone and starting all over again.
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- … a snug little library on the side.
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- … this gorgeous (well I think it’s gorgeous) kitchen-diner … with
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- … all the furniture’s assembled … creating
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- At last the kitchen’s in, and …
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- … installing the kitchen, another.
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- Putting up lights is one of the finishing touches …
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- Now the floor’s in place, I’ve somewhere to stack all my flat-pack furniture – the little job of assembling it is still to come!
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- They were taken up and stacked outside, now the flagstones go back down.
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- With the intenal walls gone, extra support is needed – a beam & two pillars. They’ve been scorched for a rustic look, as have the ceiling beams.
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- With the surface prepared, the kitchen tiles can start going up.
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- But it isn’t all plain sailing. A mix-up in communication means Miro has to chip away at his beautifully plastered wall, to prepare it for the tiling he’d forgotten. He works on it late into the night.
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- It’s not all hard work – Miro takes time out to chat with the tiler, laying the kitchen floor. He’s reusing the old lining tiles from the roof (tavele).
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- … the walls are painted. In time, the old fireplace will become a bookcase.
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- Things start looking a lot better when the new doors & windows arrive… and…
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- … they’ve taken away the rest of my stairs!
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- At last a bottom step… but …
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- Toni & Amir build me a bar to separate the kitchen from the dining area and get it too tall – then it’s too small & then it’s just right.
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- He’s even found time to open up the tiny window for me. To keep out the bitter cold it’s currently glazed with polystyrene.
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- Floor finished, Miro starts replastering, giving the walls a bumpy, rustic look.
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- … and smoothing it into place. They’re all bundled up because it’s currently – 7°C outside!
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- … they start pouring the concrete floor …
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- The pipes and ducting for the water & electricity are installed and a concrete mesh laid on top … Then…
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- At last, after all the stripping out, things start going in. So far it’s only the loo walls, but it’s a start.
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- This tiny window opening is uncovered and I talk Miro into restoring it – but first it needs reopening.
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- Loose, unstable and dangerous, the rickety bottom steps are removed.
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- In fact, everything is stripped bare.
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- The old fire-hood is stripped away along with all the plaster.
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- With the internal walls gone, there’s a lot of space downstairs.
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- After the flagstones are lifted & the old floor removed, it’s time to start chipping off the filthy plaster.
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- First thing to go is the sagging suspended ceiling, exposing the beams beneath.
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- The only thing left in the kitchen is the hood of the old fireplace.
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- … you’re looking back into the entrance hall.
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- …and you’re in the living room … Turn round and …
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- … and you are looking up the stairs… Turn around …
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- … and you are looking past an inside window into the kitchen… Look left…
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- Welcome to the house before we got started. You’re in the entrance hall, looking at the front door… Turn round…
Also see:
The restoration tale continues with the house Upstairs, Outside and The barn
Compare the difference with some before & after shots.
For more ‘before’ photos see Outside and the house Downstairs and Upstairs
Or follow our restoration tale.
