SHOWING OFF THE KITCHEN

The view from the kitchen sink.

After a year of running the kitchen from our utility room, complete with camping two-burner stove, our new, improved version was ready to function. 

For anyone who is passionate about food, designing their own kitchen is a dream come true.  True, I had to consider the logistics of catering for large numbers of guests but in that regard it just meant a bigger area for plating up, which was fine by me.   If you were to mentally divide the circular living room into three wedges, the kitchen would form one wedge, leaving plenty of room for dining and relaxing. 

Ed's design feature in the countertop.

The  big double sink - perfect for burying dirty dishes for a while.

The vegetable sink.

Below the hob are two built in ovens.

This side of the island is the bar, complete with niches for stools.

We still had to install the cooker hood ventilation system, but that would have to wait until the mezzanine floor had been installed.

UPDATES

Our perimeter wall is finally finished - over a kilometre long and built almost single-handedly over a 2-year period by Cyprian.

We used posts and barbed wire for the sloped part of our land, reinforced with thorn branches to keep animals out.

Ed installs blue glass in the pool wall.

Volunteers Fabio and Vikki continue working on the mosaic in the jacuzzi.

The large, heavy solid wood door to the principal bedroom arrives.....

...and is carefully installed in the arched opening.

And our outbuildings are finally ready to use - Ed's workshop, a bedroom and bathroom, a laundry room and storage room.

THE BATHTUB PART 1

Way back in the early days of the building of the Roundhouse we made a pedestal in the principle bedroom that would eventually support a hand-made bathtub. With the bathrooms well on their way to being completed we turned our attention to the design of the bathtub.

We decided on a half an egg shape, simple and elegant, black in colour and made of our favourite material - concrete.

A mould was made from exactly the same ingredients used to make an adobe brick - mud, straw and water.

The mold was then covered in plaster before being given a coat of resin to create a smooth surface.

A wire cage was made to reinforce the bathtub.

A black cement mix was layered onto the the mould.

The shiny resin surface being covered.

The outside of the shell was trowelled smooth and left to dry.

BATHROOMS

We had lived for many months with no fixed handwashing facilities in our bathrooms and raw concrete on the walls in the shower areas. So it was time to tackle upgrading the rooms starting with the corner units to support the above-counter washbasins.

We followed the same principal used for the countertops in the kitchen.

After struggling to find tiling that fitted in with our design we decided to use concrete - a smooth black finish on the upper section and white cement given a corrugated effect with the aid of metal roofing material.

Frames were made to hold the metal in place then braced to hold the structure firmly against the wall.

In the picture below you can see the completed counter top in the background with the washbasin installed.

The white cement was then mixed and poured in behind the structure and left to dry.  We were really pleased with the final effect with the contrasts of colour and texture.   We planned to install a wooden insert between the upper and lower section to add warmth to the overall design.

FAMILY VISIT FROM AUSTRALIA

In September we were delighted to have my brother Phillip and his wife Sue to stay. They had won a 5 week tour of South America in a raffle and decided to spend some time with us in Bolivia before embarking on their busy schedule in Peru and Argentina.

They were so happy to be visiting Sky Hacienda in person after following our blog for the past 2 years.

Sue takes charge of the coca leaves our workers chew during their breaks.

I took them to Potosi, the highest city in the world at 4,300 metres.

Sue and June in front of the Casa de la Moneda (Money Museum)

We also visited the Sunday market in Tarabuco.

Admiring the view from the pool terrace

Sue and Phil in Sucre

Phil and Sue were anxious to help out during their stay and, having planted thousands of trees on their property in South Australia, we were glad to have their expertise.

By the time they left they had planted nearly half of the 100 pine trees we had bought earlier and gave us the incentive to finish planting the remainder.

One of the four bottle brush trees they gave us as a farewell gift - native plants of Australia.

...and the tomato seedlings they transplanted are now flourishing in the vegetable patch.

GARDENING

Spring has arrived and my walks with the dogs lead me through the thorn trees that are now covered in fluffy egg-yolk yellow blossom with a faint whiff of marzipan - like mimosa.

Our new walk gives us a different perspective on the Roundhouse and its garden, looking rather smart with a fresh coat of lime wash.

We have finished building the terraced garden in front of the bedrooms and, basing our design on the principles of xeriscaping, we plant local specimens that need little water. 

Most of our plants are cuttings from the cactus and succulents that grow on the land.  We use gravel to prevent the wind drying out the soil.  Later, in the rainy season, we will plant small areas of grass.

Stones add a sculptural aspect to our planting.

We buy a hundred young pine trees from the local agricultural college to be planted outside of the garden wall.  With only one metre between them they will grow to form a wind belt against the prevailing wind........

.......and install some more mature pines inside the garden.

FINISHING THE LIVING ROOM FLOOR

 With the countertops buffed, treated with double boiled linseed oil and two coats of wax, we were able to complete the last segments of the living room floor.

 The rich black concrete was carefully levelled out.

 

And as can be seen from this photo shot from the mezzanine, the concrete dried to a steel grey colour.

 A great view of the kitchen area.  Notice June admiring the new countertops at the top of the photo.

There were still the sinks to install and taps to plumb in, but with the floor completed we were at last able to plan our move into this part of the house, ten months after we had first started living in the Roundhouse.  And a very timely completion too as my brother and his wife were soon to arrive from Australia for a visit.