Day 13: The quartzite is in!
The vein-matching is A+ despite the stonemason having to change my cutting plan
It's very striking & I'm a bit shaky about it tbh
Every time I see it I'm all 'woah!'
I've delayed the backsplash: I needed to live with it for a bit before making that decision
#HouseDomme

Kitchen reno day 10 (forgot to post)
Cabinets finished :)
Today is day 13 & the stone is being installed Right Now
#HouseDomme

To clear the record, it was the light itself and NOT my very excellent wiring :P
#HouseDomme

a man with a mustache is saying " so who broke it ? i 'm not mad i just want to know " ALT: a man with a mustache is saying " so who broke it ? i 'm not mad i just want to know "

My bathroom light has been intermittently flickering
Me: Oh no, is this an electrical problem?
Also me: Oh wait, I rewired that light/fan/heat switch myself way back when, so yeah, no doubt I did this 😬
#HouseDomme

Kitchen reno day 4
I love that my cabinet maker leaves the space clean & tidy before he leaves <3
Tomorrow: Stonemason measuring & templating
A little break on cabinet work now, a week until the stone is ready
#HouseDomme

Kitchen reno day 3
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Kitchen reno day 2
Yeah, this is a daily thing I'm doing now
YOU'RE WELCOME! :)
#HouseDomme

Photo of a stripped kitchen, blank walls with electrical cables sticking out, part of the drywall removed, concrete floor visible where the cabinets previously were, cardboard protection on the wooden floor

Kitchen reno day 1
My greatest fear was them finding some Big Issue with the house at this stage (rotten studs, termites, cracked floor, dangerous electrics etc)
But nope, full steam ahead :)
🤞
#HouseDomme

Kitchen reno starts on Monday 7am
I've packed up most of my kitchen, moved furniture, put down floor protection, set up a 'living without a kitchen' area, documented powerpoint plan, installed a batten & bracket to hang my dryer*
I'm (nearly) ready
Also exhausted
#HouseDomme

a woman is standing in front of a lamp and a sign that says " oh come on " ALT: a woman is standing in front of a lamp and a sign that says " oh come on "

Novice DIY problems
Instructions: Use 6mm diameter screws
Screw labels: M4, M6, M12, 14G, 12G, 3/16"
FFS
Tired & cranky now
#HouseDomme

Photo of a recent installation of the same stone as the one I chose. It's an island benchtop with a waterfall edge. The stone is mostly white with many very narrow straight grey veins that run at an angle up the waterfall edge and across the bench. One of the grey veins is wide enough to stand out as a feature

Kitchen reno starts in a week: Excitiing!
Had to choose a new stone after learning that my countertop looks darker than I expect despite all my huge windows
Chose this bright linear white: Totally different aesthetic than I planned, but hopefully it'll be awesome 🤞
#HouseDomme

Left & right photos of a small laundry from the same angle looking towards an open back door Left shows stacked washer/dryer with open metal shelving on the left of it with a lot of messy 'stuff' on it Right shows white cabinets and oak benchtop, a niche under the benchtop for the washer, dryer above it on the counter, with Eesha at the door looking adorable

I just DIYed my laundry in a day for $350
Why didn't I do it earlier?
Because I wanted to do a *proper* reno (cabinets, tiles, splashback, counter, lights etc) & was doing endless rounds of research for some 'perfect design'
I exhaust myself
Before & after w bonus Eesha <3
#HouseDomme

a woman wearing headphones and a shirt that says " i love frogs " says " i fixed it " ALT: a woman wearing headphones and a shirt that says " i love frogs " says " i fixed it "

You'll be happy, nay, thrilled, to know that I fixed it with about a day and a half of research and a $5 part from the hardware store :)
#HouseDomme

a man in a red shirt measures a window with a tape measure ALT: a man in a red shirt measures a window with a tape measure

Fixing my slow-filling toilet cistern
And by 'fixing', I mean researching to find a common solution, then
- Watch videos on how to do it
- Try & do Step 1: Can't
- Watch MORE videos until I find one that doesn't do Step 1 like all the others
- Yay, success!
- Repeat for Every Other Step
#HouseDomme

Photo of a stone slab: 2/3 is cream coloured with random greyish veins and pale pink edges that edge that section. The rest is white crystalline stone with dark grey and gold veins. Overall it has a lot of variation in the two distinct sections

I know y'all will be very excited to see the kitchen benchtop slab I chose:
-Polished Patagonia Creame quartzite
I'm obsessed w the distinct stone & crystal in patagonia
That pinkish hue is lovely & there are glittery 'gems' along that edge
Photos don't do it justice
It's stunning <3
#HouseDomme

a man wearing sunglasses and a black and white paisley shirt with schitts creek written on the bottom ALT: a man wearing sunglasses and a black and white paisley shirt with schitts creek written on the bottom

Anyway, I took some of my bondage rope out of my toy bag* so I could use it to tie down furniture when I went and picked it up
*a lockable suitcase under my bed
Least fun use of a BDSM toy stash EVER!
#HouseDomme

I finally, FINALLY, bought, built, and put up a permanent screen on my deck: It's the only side I have neighbours
It's timber-look aluminium because I'm a lazy cow and will never, NEVAAAAR, maintain real wood
I forgot some screws because REASONS. I'm sure they're not important :P
#HouseDomme

Photo of two surfaces: the one on the right has a clear yellow stain

Fully immersed in kitchen reno decisions & redecisions (is SO a word!)
The cabinet finishes I finally chose add $4000 to the cost
WTAF?!
I did a tumeric test on the standard & high-end finishes
Guess which is which :D
Just saved myself a bunch of money
Go me :)
#HouseDomme

Close up of greyish engineered mineral stone with white and gold veining

Image of cristallo quartzite, a bright white crystalline base with irregular flowing shapes and small random gold veins

I have to make a decision on my kitchen benchtop stone
Me before really looking around: Eh, that low spec engineered mineral stone is fine
Me now: WHY YES, THAT RIDICULOUSLY EXORBITANT PRICE FOR NATURAL QUARTZITE SEEMS PERFECTLY REASONABLE!
#HouseDomme

I'm shortlisting potential kitchen benchtop stone before I go to a showroom
I want bright white with flowing veins, hints of gold
The website product pics: Ooh, so pretty!!
The sample: WTAF is this hideous thing?!
Every. Single. Time
LOL
#HouseDomme

Sanded & primed interior of the door & all the trim: Looks fine for shit DIY :)
Also primed the inside of the back door & trim which had also been subject to Eskie's wrath
#HouseDomme

Photo of Eege of door & trim with obvious damage & rough-as-guts white timber filler all over it

Ah, fuck it. I just filled it
If I can sand, refill, resand & get a subpar 'Yeah it's shit but nobody will notice' result, it will save lot of bother :P
Crap DIY FTW!
#HouseDomme

Image showing the edge of a door and trim chewed up and scratched

I was optimistically going to just fill & paint it, but decided it's too far gone
My very-much-loved little Eskie 💔 had Trauma & Separation Anxiety & he had a really good go at it :/
#HouseDomme

I have to drive some 3 hours to look at cabinet colour options for my kitchen reno
I got tiny samples & THEY ALL LOOK THE FUCKING SAME
I need to see bigger pieces to get a sense of them
Cabinet maker is doing the final measure tomorrow, so I need to Make Decisions
#HouseDomme

ron swanson from parks and recreation is talking about punch you in the face so bad right . ALT: ron swanson from parks and recreation is talking about punch you in the face so bad right .

Speaking of fucking right off, I've had ongoing trouble w my wooden floors :/
I sent an email to the company w a solution in July
*crickets*
Last week I raised a formal complaint abt them w the govt consumer body
2d later:
*ring ring* Hi it's shit-company calling about your floors
#HouseDomme

a woman is taking a selfie with her cell phone on a pink and purple background . ALT: a woman is taking a selfie with her cell phone on a pink and purple background .

Looking for some second hand furniture & am floored that there are people out there who paid upwards of $1000 for a bar stool
There's a fuck-ugly one that was $2800 new
For One. ONE bar stool
LOL
#HouseDomme

Photo of Eesha, a small white & tan very cute doggo, looking up at the camera. Around & behind her is the remnants of many many chewed up things

Got my new shower screen installed
Installer: Woah, your dog's been busy in here!
Me: I'm not sure I know what you mean :P
(it's been raining: she gets a ton of stuff to destroy when she's trapped inside :))
#HouseDomme

Ok electrical peeps: Why do light switches with face plates that hide the screws still come with screw caps?
Obviously it's not for aesthetics or cleanliness
So whyyyyyyy??!!
Am I missing something?
#HouseDomme

BTW, the Common terminal (the live one) is VERY clear on all switches, so there's nothing dangerous here
This will be the third time I'll be uninstalling and installing these same switches :P
Not mad about it tho': Going price for replacing a switch is about $150 + small job tax :)
#HouseDomme

a woman wearing glasses is smiling and asking what like it 's hard ALT: a woman wearing glasses is smiling and asking what like it 's hard

So I meticulously wired like-for-like in terms of positioning, but my switch's config isn't the same, so I wired up terminal 2 (2-way) instead of 1
The terminals are labelled but completely unreadable, so I didn't notice a mismatch
And THIS, folks, is why you pay licensed tradies :P
#HouseDomme