New photos 11th March 2015

New chairs

New chairs

Thumbs up!

Thumbs up!

Treasure & Shells

Treasure & Shells

Outside with new chairs

Outside with new chairs

Comfy

Comfy

Through the door

Through the door

Old style vintage picture

Old style vintage picture

Faith & Love

Faith & Love

Daughter chilling

Daughter chilling

Heart mirror

Heart mirror

Panoramic inside

Panoramic inside

Panoramic inside

Panoramic inside

The one who did all the hard work….

I must just do a HUGE shout out to the person who has been my knight in shining amour with Dolls make-over. I don’t want you to be under any misapprehension that I did all the hard graft, oh no! ALL the heavy-elbow-grease-required work has been done by my wonderful contractor Chris. I have mentioned him in previous posts, but I want to him to know how much I (and the Boss AKA Mum) really really REALLY appreciate him, and his work. I/we would recommend him and his work in a heartbeat.

His prices. This is no word of a lie, he is EXTREMELY reasonable. Chris was the second contractor I met to give me a quotation for the exhaustive work that Doll needed. I was slightly apprehensive as the first contractor had quoted me a figure of OVER £4,000, there and then without even pricing anything.  I had a HUGE amount of trepidation and anxiety as I thought my mum, AKA the Boss, would string me up for buying a miniature money pit. However, Chris immediately put my mind at rest.

A beach hut owner himself, he could empathise with me, the beach hut and the work involved. He was also incredibly honest. One entire side wall was damp and required replacing, I knew this but didn’t point it out, I wanted to see if he would be honest and blunt with me or give me a load of flannel. We went through the list of things I wanted quoted for, a new work surface, a new complete front drop-down panel, the whole hut repainted inside and out and I wanted a bench seat made. Chris being Chris told me that everything I’d listed was do-able, but he wouldn’t be able to give me an overall figure until he worked out all the material costs. He said that in his opinion if the total figure of all the work went over £2,000 then he would tell me to get rid of the existing hut and buy a brand new one, which can be bought for a minimum of £2,100.

As it happens, the total cost of all the works came to a lot under £2,000 (phew!) and I will just say that not only has the work Chris has carried out been absolutely bloody marvellous, he is also a bit of a top notch carpenter! He made me a beautiful bench seat. He has been easy to work with, honest, friendly, trustworthy and put up with all my kids!

He has also recently been back and replaced the floor and laid my lino, and what a job! Simply lovely. There is nothing, NOTHING I have to complain about him. He really is that good! So much so, that in between working for me, he has carried out work for my in-laws. He made from scratch and erected a side canopy made of timber. They love it and it is stunning!

NOT ONLY that he has also been my go-to person for advise and tips with sorting out the beach hut for rental.

He doesn’t know I am writing this post. He hasn’t asked me to write this post. I feel compelled to write it, as I feel that he is such a top man who does such fantastic work, I simply must shout about it. I could of course keep him a secret from you all, but that would be mean to you and to him.

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This is the ONLY recommendation I will post on here. Promise.

If you are local to me, and you need a quote for anything, then Chris is your man. He doesn’t just do beach huts, he can do pretty much anything.

His contact details are:

Chris Carter

email: sheddie@sky.com

mobile: 07837 277502

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So Chris I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU for all your wonderful top quality work, honest and straightforward advise and just being a lovely bloke! You are a complete star!

 

Rental Information

The Doll’s House is available for rental all year round.  You can find details on www.beach-huts.com using reference 112274

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Vintage Style, newly refurbished beach hut – Doll’s House, 34b Southcliff, Walton the Naze, Essex, CO14 8EL 

Located on the 2nd row directly behind the ice cream kiosk, it benefits greatly from being situated in a secluded almost private patio/path area. A real HIDEAWAY! Lovely views of the pier.

Child and pet friendly. Extremely close to the water tap and beach with its beautiful outlook. Close, but far enough away from the Pier and toilets.

Facilities include, but not limited to: Gas hob, kitchen equipment, crockery, cutlery, water containers, windbreaker, first aid kit.

For further details and to check availability please email on sdacolley@hotmail.co.uk and quote 34B Southcliff

RATES:

Daily rate (Monday to Friday)  £35

Weekend (Saturday & Sunday) £60

Peak Weekly (5x days Monday to Friday) £110

Off-peak (5x days Monday to Friday) £100

Deposit required of £10 to secure booking. This will be deducted from the final rental bill

 

PHOTOS:

us and beach hut

Before and after

Before and after

View from inside

View from inside

She’s had a facelift…..

 

It’s been a while since my last post, but it has been a busy time for our Doll’s House. She has been given a make-over, and it’s very nearly finished,  and she is looking GORGEOUS!!

us and beach hut

We really did have a very long list of things which needed doing, and the more we looked, the more things we found. We needed to replace the entire side wall, it was completely rotten, which was a blow and dampened our mood a little. However, we hit the jackpot when we found our contractor Chris. It was lovely to come across someone who didn’t patronise, was honest and told it how it was. An experienced beach-hut owner himself, he understood what was needed and what could be achieved, without paying over the odds. He even turned around and said that if the final cost was to exceed a certain amount he would recommend just removing and replacing the entire hut. Obviously we didn’t want this, as we fell in love with the hut and character it has, so we were delighted when the final quotation figure came in at a very reasonable price.

We had the entire left hand side wall replaced, the whole hut prepared and repainted inside and out, the old cooker and lino removed, a bench seat made to measure, a new drop-down hatch and front panels made and installed, new work surface, cupboard doors removed and, new hinges put on, as well as all the supports and other bits and pieces that go with it all.

While all the paint was left to completely dry out, my Mum set about making all the furnishings for the Doll’s House. She made a lovely and very comfy cushion for the bench seat, a curtain to cover the cupboard front, cushions for the seat.

And while Mum has been creative, I have been….shopping!! Rugs, pictures, gas hob, cups, mugs, are some of the bits and pieces that have been obtained. We still have some things to get, but we are in no hurry for the moment.

The only thing left to do is to paint the floor, which we intend to do after the winter season has been and gone.

Below are pictures which were taken last week. Don’t you think that she is looking simply fabulous! Obviously without “our Chris” she wouldn’t be looking so good. He really did do a fantastic job, and now we have his number, we won’t be losing it anytime soon! To Chris, a BIG Thank you.

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Looking gorgeous!

Looking gorgeous!

 

 

 

I’m a sucker for a bargain

Oh dear it’s begun. We haven’t got the keys yet and we’re already buying bits for the beach hut. Eager? Maybe. Excited? Very!

So today I took the kids around the charity shops in Frinton. We love doing this, for us it’s a regular occurrence. There is always a treasure to be had. Today, however, I was on the look out for specific items. This was not a “pop-in-and-see-what-we-can-find” type of day. Today we were looking for beach hut buys. For example: Fabrics, ornaments, kitchen utensils, etc. Obviously, with the kids in tow we had the obligatory ransacking of the toys in each and every shop.

So what did I purchase? Well I wasn’t as successful as I had hoped I would have been, however I came home with:

  • 2x good quality cushions for the bench we will have installed
  • 1x dustpan and brush (so exciting, but very necessary)
  • 1x pack of childs foam floor tiles (well you never know!)

But I did come across one thing that made me smile from ear to ear – I could not resist. It is not an essential item, but I love it.

My hamper bargainHunter picnic hamperMy lovely Hamper

 

 

It is a Hunter picnic hamper for 2, complete with all the essentials. All in beautiful, clean, never been used condition. And the fact that it was £14.95, made it so much better!

Now I know it is completely unnecessary, but I don’t care. That being said I rang The Boss (aka Mum), and having given her the description and told her how much it cost, she was completely up for adding it to our collection for the almost ours beach hut. (Come on Estate Agents!!!!)

Now whether or not it will be used, or whether it will sit on the side looking gorgeous is irrelevant. I am over the moon and thoroughly delighted.

I am one happy bunny.

S

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