Build Diary 59 – Fixing walls, a roof and my “new” sofas!

Story time – How I got my first Bali home’s furniture and contents

When I first came to Bali (with husband, 3 year old and 6 month old in tow), we wanted to lease a large 3 bedroom villa in Canggu. We had a pretty long list of what we wanted e.g. pool + garden, bathtub, oven, enclosed living area.

We rented a a small bungalow for a month to use as a base while we house hunted. We looked high and low, and saw a lot of places that were not even remotely close to what we wanted (more on that another time!), and eventually found a great villa in the then-quiet area of Padang Linjong, Canggu.

It had been built and furnished by an Australian family who had been living in Bali for a long time and had spared no expense (high end white goods, top of the line mattresses, linen, crockery, pots and pans, everything) to create their dream life. It was to be their forever home. 

But as their kids reached high school, they decided Bali wasn’t for them. So they rented out their fully furnished home, and luckily we saw it first. It was a great house for us to transition into our Bali life. 

After a year of renting, the family decided they weren’t coming back to Bali. Even though they had an automatic option to extend their lease, they weren’t going to extend.  They asked us if they wanted to buy all the furniture, and everything that was in the villa. 

They itemised it all and it asked for a very high amount (over $30k Aud from memory) , that we simply couldn’t afford. A few weeks later, they came back to us after realising that they didn’t want to fly back to Bali and do a massive garage sale. They significantly lowered their price.

The landowner had heard that they weren’t coming back or going to extend their lease, and he offered us a great price for the villa, but we had to pay 3 years up front. So we did, and therefore didn’t have much spare cash. We offered what we had (about a quarter of what they originally wanted) and they agreed. 

Hey presto, we suddenly owned all the contents of our home!

New-ish sofas

Part of all the household contents we bought included 2 relatively new sofas, a 2 seater and a 3 seater. Super comfy, we love them. Years passed and the sofas were still super comfy, but our many cats had clearly liked the look of the sofas and turned them into their fancy scratching poles. 

After moving into our new local house, we brought our well-loved and still comfy sofas with us. Sadly, they were definitely showing their age.

Sure, I’d love to buy some new sofas, but there’s lot of things I want to do in my new home (wardrobes, kitchen reno, pool, the list goes on) , so a girl gotta prioritise! 

So how to make an old sofa into a new sofa? Sofa covers! I had seen a lovely fabric while wondering through a shop a few months back, and I had the number of a recommended maker so I put 2 and 2 together. The maker came over, measured up the sofas, I bought the fabric and 2 weeks later they were delivered. They look and feel great, and I love a bargain upgrade!

Fixing my wall

When I needed to find a local house to move into, there were not a lot of options that met the criteria I had, e.g. an area I liked, the building had good bones and could be renovated, large garden, a long-term lease that is paid yearly.

We visited a lot of places, and most of them didn’t even come close to what I was looking for, but you gotta look through the haystack if you want to find the needle! We eventually found a house we liked and are currently turning it into our home. It’s a process, but we’re getting there. 

One of the unusual features about this house is that the inside of the perimeter walls in the front and back had been shaped into cascading mini caves (each about a metre high), and many of the caves had religious symbols and statues in them, not to mention the enormous cement fish tanks in the front and back.

The owner gave us permission to renovate in whatever way we wanted, so initially we broke off the caves from the wall, and removed the fish tanks. The wall became much flatter and there was more space in the driveway and garden

However, now it’s time to fix the walls, so our trusty handyman Jen is on the case. First, he is chiselling off the leftover concrete on the walls. Next, he will render them. It’s a long, dusty process, but we’re getting there!

Rain rain go away

Well, after a few short intense showers, it seems like the rainy season is soon to be upon us. And, as usual, we need to check the roof is water proof. Before every rainy season, we carefully check and prepare the roofs to make sure they are ready to copy with the rainy season. We’d already started with the flat roof recently, but we hadn’t done the tiled roof yet.

A brief but very strong downpour and I noticed that the ceiling outside the balcony was a little damaged. So I sent our handyman up to check it out. The likely culprit was a broken roof tile, and it turned out that was the case.

Our tiled roof sits on metal beams with a layer of plastic between them. When the tile breaks, the rain seeps in and runs down the plastic, where it damages the ceiling. We replaced the tile, repositioned the plastic and fixed the ceiling. Crisis averted!

Renovating a local house

The 2 most common ways to get your new Bali home are to buy a brand new home or to rent land longterm and build your own home on that land. But post-Covid, 2 new methods have become increasingly common: buying off-plan or renovating a local house. 

Renovating a local house is pretty close to my heart as I’m doing that right now! Not easy to do when you’re living  in the house at the same time. Not to mention our busy lives, but we’re getting there. 

Down the lane from our home, the local residents just moved out. A friendly elderly couple, they just retired and are moving back to their village. I’d stopped for a few chats and but hadn’t been inside their house. After they left, the front door was open so I stuck my head in and wow, they really stripped it bare! They even took the roof! 

The house has great bones but a full reno would be hard work as it’s very basic. A more common renovation is to take an old villa and do it up (update the bathrooms, kitchen and a lick of paint), but even this type can be challenging as building and renovating in Bali is quite different from many other more developed places. 

Get your Guide! 

If this is your idea of fun project or a way to create your dream home, then you should definitely get a copy of our How to Buy and Build in Bali Guide. After building from scratch, as well as renovating multiple times here in Bali (and still doing it now!), I’ve seen it all.

I lay out, step by step, everything you need to know so you can build your dream home on time and on budget. I also include my list of trusted suppliers and building professionals so you know your dream will be in safe hands! 

There are so many things that can go wrong when you build, especially in Bali, where there are few protections for the consumer.  This really is the place where the buyer must be aware! My detailed and up-to-date Guide means you’ll know what to expect and how to navigate all the different scenarios. So whether your building from scratch, renovating, buying off-plan or buying a completed villa, this guide is designed for you! 

Get your copy HERE!

Sheila