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Sue

@biarandbeyond

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Breathing new life into an 1800s Spanish townhouse in the beautiful town of Biar.
Secondhand styling @mamma_see_mamma_do
Vintage @atsourcevintage

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Looking forward to being back here tomorrow although there won’t be much time for sightseeing.
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There for two full days but lots to fit in. A reclamation yard visit, another meeting with the builder, plumber, electrician. Visiting the carpenter to finalise the doors and windows we need making. Oh and possibly some wood burning stove sourcing 🔥
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#flyingvisit #viveespana #spanishinteriors #spanishhouse by @biarandbeyond

This is our newest bathroom taking shape ……
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This was a bedroom soon to become a much needed new bathroom for the house. The room is big enough to also house a utility cupboard with washing machine etc rather than have a separate utility room which we don’t really have as an option.
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What you’re looking at will be a toilet to the left and the utility space on the right. Because the ceilings are so high the builders are cleverly designing this to house the boiler on top.
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Renovating a house in one go is quite the challenge but we are trying to think of everything along the way so the house works as efficiently as possible. Excited to see the progress when we visit this week.
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#spanishtownhhouse #housereno #miscasa #utilitycupboard by @biarandbeyond

Excitingly, the next time we visit the house in November we may have a basement floor.
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These tiles had arrived when we were last there. Handmade terracotta I sourced from a factory in Malaga called @ceramicascatalino.
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The mud is taken from their own quarry, artisans then mould into the shapes by hand and then the tiles go through a completely natural drying process. Only sustainable fuels are used in the cooking process.
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And these were more competitively priced than a lot of the ceramic lookey likey terracotta out on the market. So I was very happy with my choice - more so because we are really trying to use traditional Spanish products and processes in this renovation so I was so pleased to have found this company 🙏🏽🙏🏽. One day I will visit to see the process for myself.
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#mudfloors #andalucian #terracottatiles #housereform by @biarandbeyond

My alternative before and afters.
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Because in every case the after is worse than before.
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But I’m trusting the process ☺️☺️
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#micasa #spanishtownhouse #housereno #renovationproject #beforeandafters by @biarandbeyond

I have come to realise that doing a renovation in another country, speaking very little of the language, is no mean feat.
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Thank god therefore for our amazing project manager Maria who agreed to help us after we bought the house from her estate agency and who also has the command of the English language which is rare in our town.
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It was hugely important to us to buy a house away from the traditional tourist areas, to be in a predominantly Spanish community where we can involve ourselves in said community, and we happened upon this little musical town searching for just that.
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Our fleeting 3 day visit this time involved a 4 hour meeting with all the trades - builder electrician and plumber. They are amazingly accommodating, accepting and patient with us, especially as we are clients who they don’t see very often. We have encountered nothing but friendliness and good humour.
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It was our aim also to only use local Spanish businesses. We are trying to reuse materials as and where possible, using local carpentry, reclaimed tiles from a company in Cadiz, handmade terracotta from a family business in Malaga.
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Old houses like these aren’t particularly sought after by locals due, I guess, to the fact that they need a lot of work, so it seems only right that we preserve the history of the house and respect its origins.
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Work is continuing apace with much of it so far being dedicated to updating the services including a lot of sewage and drainage pipework and also the basement where we have had floors levelled, walls starting to be plastered and the pladur company in (which in English means dry walling). Shame to have had to leave so quickly whilst the house is busy but next time we’re back we are going to see so much change.
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It has been slightly stressful but only in my inability to make fast decisions. Noones fault but my own 🤣 by @biarandbeyond

‘Renovating a house in a different country is a piece of cake’ ………….
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Said no one, ever 😳🤣 by @biarandbeyond

A little update of my last trip to Spain a couple of weeks ago.
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We were there for six days and stayed in three different places. Our house one night, to the beach in Villa Joyosa for two nights and then back to Biar to @ca_lamala which is a beautifully renovated townhouse in the next street to us, for the last two nights. Really good to see one of the old houses fully reformed and I left there with a few ideas. Aida was the perfect host and it’s yet another lovely contact I’ve made in the town.
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So this time we had a bit of beach time, runs to the tip, swimming in our local pool, lovely time spent in Altea, tile hunting for me which proved a little fruitless. There is some progress on the house but not much due to the European holidays but all should start with gusto going into September so@hopefully I’ll have lots to show you soon.
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Until next time amigos. by @biarandbeyond

This is my head at the moment 🤯🤯
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Reclaimed tiles for days. Trying to find the right thing for our kitchen at the right price. I knew the prices of vintage tiles taken from old houses is higher than that of reproduced ones but wow, the price differences between different sellers are wild.
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Currently scouring Spanish secondhand sites and I’ve found what I think I want but getting answers from sellers seems to be a journey in itself.
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Luckily the kitchen is a way off from getting to the tiling stage as we’ve got to have some pipework done so I have a little bit of time but not a lot. So decisions need to be made. And soon 😱😱 by @biarandbeyond

This is the last view we had of our house when we left the last time.
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This is the back living area. The windows are going to become doors out to the terrace and the door that is at present used to go outside (hidden behind the beam) will become a window.
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The wood burner will be moved to the opposite end of the room away from the doors. We are aiming to make some nooks by putting shallow shelving between the beam and the outside wall to remove the kind of corridor effect that having the beam makes (the beam holds the house up so can’t do anything about removing that). This will allow for a cosy reading area near the new window and the other side of the bookshelves, maybe a vinyl listening space or something. We’ll see when we get to that stage. The house will direct us ❤️ by @biarandbeyond

Inspired ……
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My Pinterest boards are heaving at the moment. I love that app but it can give you TOO much choice which isn’t always a good thing and keeps me up way into the small hours.
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Once I get my mind set on a look, it’s very hard for me to deviate from that idea. And my idea is that I want to try and stick with a heritage townhouse aesthetic rather than a modern one. But with that comes a lot of sourcing for ideas and a lot of decision making (don’t get me started on tile choices 😩) which is something that doesn’t come easily for me.
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For the bathrooms I wanted to find old cabinets and make them into vanity units. We looked at loads in Spain, in person and on Marketplace, Wallapop etc but they just weren’t right, or too far away, too shallow etc etc. Buying them already done is way out of our budget (not sure why they are so expensive) and where’s the fun in that anyway? It would be an easier process getting them done in the UK but then it’s transporting them over to Spain which comes with a cost and time constraint.
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So, the other option is to get the builder to build some block work vanities and this is the one I kept coming back to on my boards. Perfect size for the bigger bathroom as it has very tall ceilings and there’s quite a bit of space to use up in there. Then thinking a brass bar across the front with a curtain skirt which will be even more in keeping with the look I’m going for. Hoping the builder can realise my vision with this one.
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Now just to find some inspo for the smaller bathroom. I may be some time 🤣
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📸 @pinterestuk
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#bathroomreno #baño #renovationinspo #bathroomrenovation by @biarandbeyond

Part 2 of last weeks visit…….
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Builders have done a lot of the knocking down before they headed off for extended August summer break, European style. Which is fine as it gives us time to take a minute, source the materials (mostly tiles) we’re looking for and hopefully be able to order them all for delivery once the builders return. by @biarandbeyond

Taken me a few days to upload some updates since we got back from Spain.
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Work has well and truly started and we needed to pop over for a few days to do some shifting of furniture, sourcing materials etc and just to cast an eye over the general proceedings before things get very messy.
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The pergola coming down is a big moment (and was still being worked on when we left as I think it was built NEVER to be taken down). It was an area that provoked a lot of debate between some saying take it down to others who said work with it. But it was going to cost more to pretty it up than to take it down so in my eyes it was a no brainer. It will be replaced with something more easy on the eye and fitting with an 1800s townhouse. We are using all local tradespeople which was very important to us, and our estate agent is our project manager/much valued translator.
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Nice to be back in Biar joining in with the local community at the many events that are held within the town, including the Folk Festival last Saturday with lots of regional dance and singing troupes taking part.
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Lovely to be back ❤️ by @biarandbeyond