Forever House #15

Saturday 1st June 2013

As the June Queen's Birthday long weekend approaches, and Jeff and I have some time to chat about a plan for the five days out at the farm, I am reminded of all that has lead to this point where the many ends have to be tied up, the options, ideas and thoughts have to be culled and turned into decisions made. I thought when the kids and I moved out to the farm in May 2004, that I would complete the Forever House over the eight months we planned to be there. I had made an agreement with their father that Spence would be back on the coast by the end of the following January to start at Alstonville High School. 

Mick (right) helping Andy survey for the poles

A friend I made when I first settled in on Currawinya, Mick, kindly intimated that I may be slightly wishful in my thinking regarding the time frame. I came back with some response like - yeah you just watch me! The proof is in the pudding, Mick was absolutely 1500% right.

But, in hindsight, nine years later, the satisfaction of completion, and the importance of completion is so much more intense, meaningful, hard-earned, so much more of an achievement than it would have been if it had been finished in that short time. The house will have more soul, input from various others, more and richer stories due to the time taken to collect its parts. It feels like a huge crescendo. And I plan to follow the crescendo, once the house is habitable, with whatever the musical term is for "continued activity and rhythm with a peaceful yet joyous accent". If there is such a term or maybe that is a Donnaism.

bottles tied with wool ready to soak with nail varnish remover

During the three weeks between my most recent visit to the farm and the June long weekend, I have been getting on with what I can to progress the Forever House. I cut almost all the remaining bottles required to complete the round design between the two bedrooms. I found a picture of cut off bottle necks being used as candle holders - here are two of mine being used for the purpose - not bad when windy.

Tea light candle holders - good in a breeze

And I had a mosaic lesson from friends Rosa and Ken. They have been making mosaics on large concrete pavers with their kids over time and now have about forty at a guess - a pathway to their front door. When I make my mosaics for the Forever House they will lay among normal floor tiles and therefore need  their top surface to be level with the surface of the rest of the floor. Therefore I am attempting to emulate those tiles you buy on a backing mesh; I will silicon the mosaic pieces onto fly screen mesh first and then glue them down and grout them along with the other tiles. There will be some inconsistency in the levels because I am using all manner of things in the mosaics such as stones and cups and plates and whatever else I can find that might work. But part of the reason I am putting lots of mosaics in is to add a textured surface to the main traffic areas in the house. Tiles can get a bit slippery when wet.

Portugal tile

Here's what I did at Rosa and Ken's. I used small pavers as the bases. The first one is using tiles I collected off the ground last year on a three day walk I did in Portugal - my "Portugal tile". The other includes flat stones from Yellow Creek at Currawinya, the rim of a lovely plate, and the terracotta coloured tiles I am using at the Forever House.

 

Stones, plate and terracotta tile

At this stage the mosaic pieces are stuck on to the pavers with glue which Rosa and Ken make up from powder. The glue has to dry for twenty four hours before grouting. So that will happen next weekend when I am at home. When these tiles are finished I will put them into a pathway I made at home.

Other research over the intervening three weeks took my sister Danielle and I to the Lismore Regional Gallery to see 'Not Quite Square - The story of Northern Rivers Architecture" - an exhibition of alternate housing - part of the 40th Anniversary of the Aquarius Festival. Interesting, though we had to waltz through too quickly. I did however take a couple of pics that may or may not influence the finished Forever House. Lighting on a wire and a fireplace surround (neither of which were part of the alternate exhibition  - just lovely features of the Regional Gallery building.

Lights on wire at the Lismore Regional Gallery

I have plenty of ideas about lighting - the final choices will depend on what proves to be best regarding price, power usage, aesthetic and bargain opportunities at the time the lights are needed. My friend Susan has a chest full of coloured glass fittings that I have my eye on...

 

Beautiful Fire surround at Gallery building to inspire me

And the fireplace - well the hearth is one thing - I have a lovely timber mantel piece that I want to put somewhere - and over the top of a fireplace would be the ideal spot. But the fire situation is causing me some grief. I bought a wood fuel oven from the Tender Centre in Lismore a really long time ago. I'm thinking mid 2004. I'm pretty sure I got it for $116. It features in many pics - the Forever House has grown up around it (see photo above with Mick, Andy and the poles). It's not a beautiful piece like some wood fuel stoves can be - but I hope it is functional and it is important that it has a final place in the house. Initially it was to go in the kitchen as the stove, heater, and water heater. However at some point, and I think Jeff may have influenced my thinking, we decided to go with instantaneous gas water. For a while I thought I could place the stove in the loungeroom as the fireplace, and cook in it when it was alight. Then my friend Suzi offered me a large black potbelly which I gratefully accepted - and it is now earmarked for the hearth in the loungeroom/dining room which puts the fuel stove back in its more obvious spot in the corner of the kitchen. However the potbelly is not a combustion stove, it uses a whole lot more wood than a fuel stove, so what I am thinking is that the fuel stove will heat the house most of the time and the pot belly will only be lit when extra warmth or ambience is required.
And, I have taken a picture of a window where I work - I think it is delightful and I am going to use it as the design for the wheel that is in the wall between the main bedroom and the kitchen.