Tag: periodhome

Categories
Bathrooms Reclaimed

Viva Vitrolite

We haven’t quite got the keys to the kingdom (we think we should get them in the next few days), but we’re already acquiring some of the bits and bobs we know we’ll need.

The way I roll, is to spend as long as is needed finding everything for each room before starting work on that room. We’re bargain hunters, antique shop, reclamation yard and online marketplace junkies. It’s fabulous fun spending as long as it takes hunting for the perfect pieces.

More on that as we get cracking with the house.

But, to start with, let’s talk vitrolite.

Growing up, I loved visiting my Great Auntie Joan’s house. Her home was was an early 19th century end terrace, built by her father as the family home. The bathroom was tiled in jade green and black vitrolite. And it was glorious.

Vitrolite is (in my opinion) simply the loveliest thing you can put on a bathroom wall. I’ve always remembered Auntie Joan’s bathroom fondly, and have long thought how wonderful it would be to tile a bathroom of our own with that wonderful glass.

Yes, Station Farm is Victorian.
Yes. Vitrolite is Art Deco.
No, it’s not the right period.

But, the angle I bring to a renovation, is that what you put in, shouldn’t have to be all in keeping with the period of the property. That said, I can’t stand renovations which destroy all period character, filling the home full of glistening modern elements.

For me, it’s about hunting down pieces the same age as the house or younger. Making each room feel appropriate to an era through which the house has existed. Thankfully, Andy agrees. Or, possibly, thinks it’s easier to just let me get on with it…..!

So, for years I’ve been banging on about a vitrolite bathroom. We finally (almost) have a house where it’ll fit perfectly. The hardest part is actually finding some vitrolite.

It’s a brittle glass, incredibly difficult to remove for reclamation without damaging it. That means it tends to achieve fairly high prices, especially the sought after jade green. The quantities I’ve stumbled across over the past couple of years have been financially out of reach.

Imagine my delight when I stumbled across an auction listing for a vitrolite splashback and tiles, enough for a small bathroom. It’s yellow, and perfect for one of the spaces in Station Farm.

That’s the downstairs bathroom walls sorted, then.

Page image courtesy Flickr

Categories
About Us History

Home at last. Almost.

There was a pretty white house I walked past every day on my way to and from primary school. As I got older, I’d see the house from the station platform on my way to and from high school. That station platform’s the place I met a boy who’d become my husband about a million years later.

That house is one I recall from childhood and by a stroke of luck, at the exact point in time we were on the lookout for our forever home, the previous owners of 30 years, decided to sell.

After months of disappointment while scouring property sites, there she was. Station Farm Cottage. A pretty white house we both knew and both found intriguing. And now, that pretty white house is almost ours.

Contracts exchanged, completion coming soon. We get the keys in the coming days and our adventure begins.

Built in 1884 (we believe), she began her life as a farmhouse. Her land was sold to developers when she was around 90 years old. Not long afterwards, she found herself surrounded by new build homes.

She’s now in need of a bit (a lot) of TLC, and we can’t wait to get started.

Categories
About Us Uncategorized

Hello there

I’m Katy, one of the custodians of the cottage. The other one’s Andy, my other half. Station Farm’s our happy place. It’s our sanctuary. Home to our menagerie, our random collections of stuff, and and our crazy hobbies.

We met within full view of the cottage. We were over the road on the train station platform, about a squillion years ago, on our way home from high school. We were chums, then went our separate ways. Twenty odd years later, we reconnected from opposite sides of the planet.

We were engaged in Jordan, hitched in Vegas. We lived in Australia before we settled in the UK and bought the house which had watched us meet all those years ago.

So, what’s the point of this blog? Why did we decide to create our own little home on the web?

  • We’ve a long renovation ahead of us. This seems like a lovely way to document all that we do.
  • We’re forever excited when we find bits and pieces from junkyards, antique shops and online marketplaces. This seems like a good place to gloat about the good stuff we get – or ask for help finding the good stuff we need!
  • By sharing our renovation journey, we might find other folk with sensitive period home renovation in mind.

We don’t expect our renovation to be over in anything less than many years. We’re not modernising, and we’re not filling the place full of tat from chain stores.

Where original features were removed, we’ll replace them. Where previous renovations have added asbestos artex, rooms not up to building code, and interesting fireplaces, we’ll peel back the layers and put back the period.

It’s not an overnight job, and especially not on a budget.

It’s a big adventure, feel free to tag along.

Station Farm Cottage
Est. 1884
Re-Est. 2020