Improvements after the demolitions! (Casa Mirador)

Finally, after a long stint of illness I feel capable to return to blogging!  Once again, apologies for my long absence!

Due to Barry having to drive backwards and forwards to the hospital, there has been little progress at Casa Mirador for sometime. However, prior to my hospitalization, I did manage to take a few photos of developments and thought it was about time I logged them.

My last post was about demolishing parts of the casa. Well, with demolitions done, we can now proceed to make changes and improvements!

Remember the room which was originally the Lounge? With a door/window into the conservatory and a large opening into the kitchen area one side, plus an archway to bedrooms/bathroom the other? An area now designated for the kitchen/diner. A  window has been installed and we are currently knocking out for where the exterior door to a rear courtyard will be positioned. (see pics below)

The original lounge with fireplace.  The fireplace has been removed and a window installed in the wall to the right hand side......

You can clearly see where the lounge fireplace was fitted and here's a picture of our friend Aiden knocking out for the fitting of the exterior door to be positioned.

The window has been fitted into the now kitchen/diner and the arch (though to the original kitchen) is to be bricked up very shortly.

Already, you can see how much extra light is coming into this area, just with the addition of an average size window.  Of course some light will be lost once the large arch has been bricked up, but once the wall between the new kitchen/diner and the old conservatory has been removed, the light will be regained.

Additionally, new windows have been fitted to bathrooms and bedrooms too.  Next step is to remove the huge arch metal windows and double doors in the conservatory; to be replaced with new windows and patio doors to the terrace.  Plus, bricking up of the large arch from original kitchen to new kitchen and fitting of a front door where there was previously no door at all.

Apologies to you all!

Hi all,

Just a quickie post to let you all know I have not posted recently due to being hospitalized again!

I was taken ill on 29th November and have undergone 2 operations and a stay in hospital ever since, with the exception of a brief visit home for christmas and new year!

It seems the radiotherapy caused a lot of damage to the intestine which had ceased to function properly and caused leakage into the stomach resulting in peritonitis!

Anyway, feeling a lot better now and with the aid of laptop in hospital hope to be back to usual blogging soon.

Thanking you for your patience in the meantime.

Restaurant El Jardin, Malaga

El Jardin is said to be, Malaga’s secret. The best, most authentic Tango and Flamenco show in the Costa Del Sol, every Friday and Saturday starting from 11pm. Also good food and a very friendly service.

see video of tango/flamenco night here courtesy of TV Spain.com

El Jardin was recommended by some friends. As it is just a stones throw away from the hospital where I was unlucky enough to have my operation in January this year, we decided to pop in and check it out.

Unfortunately, on this occasion, we did not have time to stay and sample the food due to an appointment at the hospital, but we will make better plans for a future visit. We did however, have time to pop in for a quick coffee (cafe con leche) and take in the atmosphere of the restaurant.

Coffee is served with a bite size sweet snack and the service was very prompt. Brought to us by a waiter in smart dress with a fabulous smile, despite the fact we only ordered coffees!

It was surprisingly busy too considering it was almost 4pm. The majority of the other patrons had clearly been enjoying a leisurely lunch (lucky them).

As I am unable to provide a complete review at this time (watch this space) see here what others says

I will most definitely be returning shortly as I hear the food is fabulous!

Demolishing parts of the Casa! (Casa Mirador)

Following on from my last post we bought another casa I thought I would update with the mess we've made so far LOL. Well, it has to get worse before it gets better.

Oh and I forgot to mention last time that we have a new member of the family too. Her name is Leyla, she's the most beautiful and affectionate cat ever. She came with house too! How she became part of the house is another story for another time. But for now, let me introduce you to Leyla...

Barry has been busy removing the kitchen and bathroom, plus the tiles too.  A messy job, but someone's got to do it.

We've also removed the broken terrace table and umbrellas, the terrace looks more spacious now and that's before we extend it!

I also forgot to show you last time, the sea view we have.  Not that I'm over bothered about a sea view, but it is a good selling point for the future.  The only problem is the telephone cables running right across it.  We'll have to think what to do about these.

Actually, it's not such a great pic, you can't see the sea LOL.  But trust me it's there, it's the white looking part just through and above the telephone cables!

What's next?...

We've ordered new windows and doors, bought new fittings for the existing internal doors and a couple of lamps for the lounge too.

The electrician has been to provide his quote for the electrical works that Barry can't do himself.  Hope he's not too dear!!!!!

We have also found the double sided fireplace (woodburner) to go into the new fireplace wall which will sit between the lounge and kitchen/diner, providing heat throughout.  Yes, it get damn cold here in the winter .

Also, we found the sofa style and fabric for the lounge.  Now that I thought would take forever, but we both agreed immediately on the design.  Barry was happy to leave the fabric choice to me being the interior designer!

Kitchen next I think.  I know exactly what I want, but it's finding the right combination of door/drawer fronts.  This may take a little while.  Watch this space.....

We bought another casa (Casa Mirador)

After selling our old finca in September, we have now purchased another property.  This time we have gone for a 30+ year old villa.  After previously renovating two finca's, (farmhouses) we decided to opt for something more modern this time.

"Casa Mirador" as it is now

The previous owners. Who just happen to be my in-laws, pretty much left the house as it was.  They owned it for some 16 years and will no longer be owning a property here.  They are both in their 70's now and with our village being high in the mountains and therefore very hilly my MIL struggles to get around as well as she used to.

However, they are not ready to completely give up on Spain just yet and have a rented a little house, just down the road for 1 year to gradually ease themselves away and return their possessions to England, where they actually reside approx 6 months of the year anyway.

The property is currently 2 bed, 1 bath and be re-arranging the internal layout, we will be converting it into a 3 bed, 2 bath property.  All this without even extending!  Just as well as no planning permission whatsoever is currently being given for extensions in Spain!  Not good news for property developers.

There is a lot of work ahead and luckily my cousins own a villa here too, which we are currently staying in whilst we prepare our new home.

First up, the swimming pool.  Well, not exactly a swimming pool.  More a dip pool.  We are planning on altering this to look more like a jacuzzi.  Personally, this suits me better.  We've now had two properties were we have installed large swimming pools and they can be real hard work to maintain.  Plus, I don't even get in very often!  An expensive ornament eh?

Current dip pool

Not entirely sure what to do with this yet, except that we will be making it level with the terrace and removing the large white edging stones to be replace with tiles to match the finished terrace.

Inside the house there will be major changes. Here's a few pictures of the current layout.

Current kitchen - to be 3rd bedroom

Current lounge with fireplace, this side will be dining area and the other side the kitchen

Part of current lounge looking out to conservatory, this wall will go

Current bathroom to be totally renovated

Mail bed (same as bed 2), new storage areas and floors here

Currently known as the 'the battery room'  will be a fully fitted shower room

Battery room with access to water deposit, to be shower room

Currently the conservatory, this will become the lounge

Currently entrance from conservatory into main house.  This wall will be replaced by a central double sided fireplace

As you can see, we have major works to do here.  But the result will be a bright and modern home, hopefully very soon.

As we progress with the project I'll post more details and pictures along the way.  If of course you are at all interested in seeing the developments LOL, please stop by regularly for updates.

I promised you won't be disappointed with the end result.

The 88 Most Expensive Properties in Spain

In a recent article written by Luxurious.es Spain's 88 most expensive properties have been featured.

Luxurious says.....

Can you imagine a mansion decorated with gold and Swarovski crystals? Or a designer villa by the sea with the boat moored just behind the garden? All that and much more can be found in the latest special report from Idealista.com titled “Spain’s most expensive homes“.

Buying/Selling Property in Spain! - Part 4 (A quick guide to selling)

So, you have decided to sell your spanish property.  It's not just a simple case of inviting agents in to acquire the necessary details in order to market your property.

There have been many changes to the law in Spain when it comes to the property market and this not only affects buyers, but sellers too.

In the first instance, contact agents of your choice and they will explain in detail all the necessary documents required.  They are bound by law to hold certain documents on file for every property they are marketing.  This includes yours too.

See the following details provided by Sunset Properties, here which informs you of all paperwork required for sale purposes.

Here's a brief outline of selling your property in spain

If you chose to sell your proprty via property agents. Negotiate the sales fee/commission and ideally have them all agree to the same figure!

Beware of some agents asking you to sign a document that refers to paying a commission for marketing your property whether it sells or not!

Not yet read Part 1 read it here Part 2 here

and Part 3 here