After many, many weekend trips (in the second half of 2005) to Adelaide and a great deal of time searching newspapers and the internet, we finally settled on this delightful unit, with its courtyard, double rear carport (accessed by a lane) and 2 metre high fence. The neighbours (only 4 single storey units in the block) are quiet and the unit is set off the main road so there is negligible traffic noise.
After many more phone calls and visits we reached settlement date on Feb 1st 2006, started renovating almost immediatley and realised this was going to be a very comfortable place for us to stay and for Jessie and Kerran to live whilst studying in Adelaide.
Cleaning the place, after it had been tenanted for a number of years, proved to be a bigger job than anticipated. Overall, the structure is sound, but the whole place needed considerable TLC to bring it up to scratch.
The small garden needed re-vamping, so we bought a nifty little hand mower, which is a "hit" and set about trying to dig through the almost impenetrable clay! Our idea is to have a pink and white theme out the front with a herb garden at the back, beneath the clothesline - the weeds seem to grow well, so with considerable fertiliser, removing some of the clay and adding plenty of lime we hope the plants we've added will thrive next summer.
Jessie and Kerran have each purchased electrical goods and furniture and we have now replaced the dodgy kitchen entirely. In March, we installed cream-coloured security screen doors, so that in summer the breeze can flow through.
The bathroom, toilet and laundry will have to wait until later in the year, but we are pleased with the results so far. Curtains are in the pipeline, but for the moment the existing interior blinds will suffice. Jessie and Kerran are gradually adding their personal touches.
Only a few minutes by bus/car from the CBD, the unit is close to a fabulous shopping centre and it only takes Jessie and Kerran approx 30 minutes to walk in to the city each day.
No comments:
Post a Comment