As the Convent gets her well-deserved make-over, I’m finding that sometimes it’s those small touches that can make such a difference.

The tradies who have been working with me since the start have been incredibly helpful and patient. This weekend whilst in the midst of the big stuff – outside painting and just prior to the flooring – a few small touches have had a big impact. Firstly was the handle of the front door. I knew it was a nice old handle but was lost after years of being painted. Some stripping and polishing revealed a beautifully detailed heavy silver handle and matching lock.

The old concrete urns out the front which feature in all of the old photos of the Convent deserved a bit of freshening up. It’s amazing what a difference some paint can do! The Gazanias are now filling out nicely and are a perfect complement.

The front windows, as mentioned before, have had the old fibro from the bottom half removed and replaced with glass. Removal of the old flyscreen and some serious elbowgrease in cleaning the windows has made a huge difference. The views are more spectacular than ever. So different from the city when the neighbours across the street are calling out instructions and comments. No, I’m not doing your windows as well!

External doors I’ve never opened are seeing daylight and areas that have probably not been cleaned for decades are lapping up the attention.