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This was Swanage beach last weekend – the weather was glorious – summer is here at last!

We finally signed up with the agent last week after several frantic weekends getting ready and buying the last items on our list. I had a lot of fun trawling the antique shops in Swanage and was delighted to find our new/old garden furniture locally.

Our listing on the agency website, along with some great promotional pics, can be found here.

Since signing with the agent, we’ve had a lot of interest in the property – mainly from friends who have seen and shared our facebook posts. The deal we have with the agent is that we can have only 4 weeks of private bookings between 1st May and 30th September, so unfortunately only agency prices apply during these dates.

Between 1st October and 30th April we are able to book the cottage independently and through the bookings and enquiries feature on this website. I hope to have a page outlining our private hire prices shortly. Feel free to make enquiries in the meantime.

 

 

The weeks are passing quickly and it sometimes feels like work on the house is progressing slowly… but we are definitely getting there!

The new wetroom, with underfloor heating (I’m very excited about that!), is just about finished. Lee Mowbray has done an excellent job  – unfortunately the bad weather and snow had its effect of delaying the work and deliveries,  but all vital elements are in and it’s looking good! Tiled in Purbeck stone effect, with mosaic edging, it will be a very smart addition to the house.

James Harding is arriving next week to fit the new kitchen and, meanwhile, Andy Quirey has done another excellent job on our kitchen windows, and Jerry Burden has re-pointed the front of the house, replaced the door cill and fixed the leadwork on our roof. It’s been great working with these guys and we’re very happy with the quality of all the work.

Following up from our last post, we have curtains and blinds in at last! The bedrooms are now feeling warm and welcoming, ready for guests to come in and relax. We should be up and ready for the summer season very soon!

 

Well, it’s official, we now have bed space for 9 people –  (2 King size beds and 5 bunks) plus two travel cots 🙂

We are getting there with curtains and furniture as well, although fitting curtain rails to our non-standard sized windows is proving to be a headache, so we’ve enlisted help next Friday from the professionals at Purbeck Furnishings- watch this space.

This weekend I have been very happily engaged in the wanton destruction of our shower room, ready for a new look – Lee Mowbray comes in later this week to begin work on the wetroom, which should be finished during half term. We are also hoping to increase the number of electrical points in each room to avoid crises over phone/laptop charging.

Tomorrow we are going to Lime Frog (Kitchen and Bathroom designers in Swanage) to finalise the look of the planned new kitchen. Our very own James Harding has agreed to fit the kitchen in March so we are hoping that all the main renovations will be finished in time for Easter. Ish….

Update: We love the new blinds and curtains, which add a much needed splash of colour to the rooms. I’ve also found myself enjoying up-cycling wooden cabinets that we’ve found in The Old Forge curiosity shop. It’s amazing what a bit of sanding and a couple of coats of oil can do!

And, in addition to the bed-spaces for 9 people, we listened to what our teenage friends had to say and have added a spare mattress under the bunk beds for those holiday sleepovers 🙂

We’ve currently got Andy onsite working to restore the original Victorian sash windows.  When we arrived the other day to help out he answered the door with this funny and insightful remark: “Welcome to the Tardis”.

From the outside this house looks tiny.  I suppose the illusion is enhanced by the fact that the Victorian half of the house has no front door and appears to be part of the neighbouring property.  Only when you step through the old wooden front door do you realise that the tiny cottage dating back to 1400 with its seemingly endless steep staircases and tight corridors is bigger on the inside than it looks from without.