Betty’s Beach house

I hope you’re up for a personalised tour around my new home! I’ve been settling in here two months, I took these pics today. Some things have been done from my massive job list, but still lots of work to do! The house was built in 1980 and though in good solid condition, general maintenance has been neglected. Most of it is cosmetic and more time consuming rather than expensive and difficult. Most of it.
Lets start out the front …

I’ve moved from one secluded dirt road up the mountain, to another at the beach! I only have one neighbour over a fence and as you will see, this place is very quiet and private, meeting my top priority for finding a new home!

The real estate listing did it absolutely no favours and when I first viewed it privately with low expectations, I was immediately pleasantly surprised. I photographed it here honestly, as it is, rubbish day, ordinary weather. I used the Laowa 7.5mm lens on my OM1 which gives a roughly 90 degree view without much distortion. You can see over the side fence below that I have lots of space next door! It can’t be subdivided and is unlikely to ever be built on as it’s part of a 60 acre block!

So, I’ve already weeded the front “lawn”and driveway and cut the grass, that’s why it’s patchy, there were LOTS of weeds, but it already looks tidier – it’s a work in progress. It also needs lots of paint, but heading into winter, cosmetics outside is not my priority.

I have three small raised garden beds along the drive, I dug them and threw in some seeds, but the weeds are insane! I should introduce Betty here … she was the previous owner who passed away. She kept birds, the place was full of aviary’s and the garden I think is full of bird seed – weeds!

We walk through the gate above into the small back yard below, with covered BBQ area and a blank canvas with plenty of scope for landscape garden improvement, but it’s a great usable area as it is, now I have the “lawn” under some sort of control. I have plenty of ideas for this space, but that will be later. I put up a clothesline under the roof which has worked out great!

Below shows what’s over the back fence. It’s like a golf course, a 10 acre lot, house site miles away! I plan to take some of the back iron fence down and replace it with a lower wooden paling fence to open that vista up, it’s insane that my little yard feels so closed in. It also gets visited by HEAPS of birds and wildlife, photo opportunity’s a plenty, right outside my back door!

Looking back at the house from the yard corner, I want to put in a greenhouse and wood storage shed behind the blue shed, and probably an outdoor bath/spa somewhere, as I don’t have a bath inside. The roof needs a bit of work too, but it’s not urgent so probably a next summer job. Even just fresh paint elsewhere would tidy the place up. I want heaps of plants in the yard … eventually, probably curvy garden beds and paths, with natives and fruit trees – low maintenance, low water, as I’m now on tanks.

The back side of the house next to my elderly lady neighbour. She has a shed and a container between me and her house, so it’s actually very private. I’m not sure yet what to do with this space – aside from continuing to grow potatoes, I need to be careful as the septic is under there … somewhere. Unfortunately I have very little information about the house. Some of the grey water is piped off separately to the front of the house which I need to figure out. My plan is to put in a holding tank and a pump for this so I can use it on the garden.

OK, I have a shed! Storage was another top priority for me with my Salamanca market leather business and my workshop tools that I managed to keep (Thanks Evan!!!). I first put all my stock on the shelves to the left below, but soon realised that it was less than ideal. Though dry, there’s no insulation, lots of gaps, and a wire mesh door. Not pleasant for me replacing stock in winter. Spare stock has been moved to Betty’s room and only my protected market stock is stored in the shed.

I built the big shelves in the back corner (behind surfboards) out of pallet timber, which got a lot of my stuff off the floor.

Originally the bedrooms were my top priority, but my focus is regularly changing based on MY needs. I need to build stuff, so the shed needs to be functional and I need to be able to find tools and stuff. I have a few projects on the go below, which will become clearer shortly. I soon realised I also need to look after me and my health first. Going gun-ho on the house is not sustainable without some ME time and living comfortably, especially now I’m also back at work. There’s heaps of stuff in here that will eventually end up inside, I don’t even know what’s in some boxes as I didn’t pack them all 😀

NOW, let’s head inside. We’ll start off in the lounge-room, which is also currently my bedroom! It made sense, as I’m painting and carpeting the three bedrooms, it’s silly to keep moving stuff. It’s also getting colder, so I only have one area of the house to heat over winter and I can take my time. Originally I considered building a tiny home or containter home, so this place is MUCH larger than I need or had anticipated.

These inside photos kind of flow like a walk through – I hope. I picked up the fungi cushion covers from the resource recovery shop for $2 each – how could I not!! I made the disco pig for my 40th birthday, it was the first thing I hung up.

Heading over to the sliding door to my BBQ area, in the dining room I’ve set up my computer, which will eventually end up where my bed now is, and sewing machine on the dining table. There were three tables in the shed when I bought it, covered in dust and cobwebs. This is one if them cleaned up! Another can be seen outside through the window. Thanks Betty! I installed the lattice outside too as there was a Jasmine plant with nowhere to climb.

Am I boring you yet? Looking back into my lounge/bedroom, I threw together a coffee table made out of a ’70s sufboard I had and some milk crates. Though I haven’t used my five boards in probably 30 years, kind of lucky I held onto them! They will get wet eventually. The little blackwood coffee table was a grade 10 design project.

Into the kitchen, modest but functional and meets my needs. I replaced most of the taps around the house with ceramic ones instead of washer ones, so they won’t drip or need replacing. I also replaced all light globes with LED ones. I spent five hours cleaning the kitchen literally top to bottom. It came up so well I won’t need to paint it for some time. I do plan on changing the beige to probably a darkish sea blue. All the floor coverings in the house need replacing. I have a plan, though it may take some time so that it is more affordable if I can find used hardwood floorboards!

The laundry. It wasn’t a priority, but making beer is, because it will save me money and I love the hobby! Lucky I kept my brew cupboard that holds three fermenters, I knew exactly where it would go when I first walked in! It’s a big laundry just for washing clothes .. I’ve already bottled two brews and another two are bubbling away. Before I could bottle, I needed to make the bench over the washing machine, and because my bottles had been stored in Evan’s shed, they needed to be sterilised, so I needed to build a rack so they could drain (at right). This will become an enclosed cupboard to hold 216 empty and full bottles, 18 cartons with a rotation of at least 3 months (the longer the better) – the project underway in the shed!

The door to the left leads outside. Through the door to the right of the bottle rack, we come to the front entrance and passage way. I have already taken out the carpet as it was pretty rank and currently have exposed the chipboard flooring. It’s given my a much better idea of what I’m dealing with and the place feels so much cleaner and healthier! I’m glad it’s getting some air before it gets covered over again. I was going to make a coat/hat rack, but found this one at the hardware store. I will probably modify it down the track.

First room down the passage and off to the right, this is the smallest room with no built-ins. It opens onto the verandah that gets afternoon sun and I plan to replace the window with a double glazed sliding door, as well as my future room. It comfortably fits a queen size bed and will become a guest bedroom. I’ve painted all the bedroom ceilings and cleaned this and Betty’s room ready for painting, but still have my room to scrub.

Below was Betty’s room. Though it’s the largest, but not by much, I just don’t feel right using this as my bedroom. The window also faces south to the road and it doesn’t get much sun. I’ve built some extra shelves in the wardrobe for my leather-goods. I will also likely use this as a photography studio/sewing/hobby room (hell, I have plenty of those!!) and spare guest room. It actually came up pretty good after a hard scrub with sugar soap, but I am thinking of a colour change 😉

Next is my future bedroom when finished – if I can convince myself to leave the lounge-room. I already have my clothes in the wardrobe. It opens onto the west facing verandah. I will likely have carpet only in the bedrooms, and everywhere else I would like used hardwood flooring.

If we walk straight ahead from the image of my room, we end up in the bathroom. Again, it’s modest but more than suits my needs! I would have liked a bath but it’s a mute point being on tank water. As I wrote earlier, an outdoor one down the track will suffice. The cupboards here and in the kitchen are painted, so can be easily changed, again to a contrasting darkish blue. The little Monstera in the corner followed me home from the hardware store, my first indoor plant and I haven’t killed it yet! There will be more 😀

There’s also a separate toilet, I’m sure you know what they look like, and that almost completes the tour, except for the highlight, just 300m away.

That’s the moon, this is a night shot! It was freezing and windy, and no Aurora, but still a pinch me “I can’t believe I live here” beautiful moment. Looking along the beach towards my old home.

I’m not sure if Betty passed away in the house, some questions are best left unanswered. I say “Good morning Betty” and talk to her a bit – better than talking to myself, or I might go MAD! Some would say it’s too late for that, lol. I also say “Good night Betty” when the lights go out. Is that weird? I think it’s respectful. I love it here. After two months in the house, it’s starting to feel more like Tone’s Beach house. My home.

Wow! That was a long post. If you’re still here, thanks for visiting. Maybe one day you can visit from across the world for real 😀

Lastly, I don’t want to turn this blog into a house renovation page, though that would be way too easy. I will keep it focused on my photography as opportunity arises, and hopefully it will inspire me to take breaks and use my camera more as I continue to discover this beautiful new location. Until next time, live life!