Week 29...

So much more tiling this week and I am now totally head over heels in love with our kitchen splash back.

Grouting not quite finished but the cabinetry is looking the goods.

And as you can see the rangehood has been fitted too.

And finally after so many times of going back and forwards we decided on and ordered a dining table.

Bordeaux Dining Table 300 x 100cm

The table is made from reclaimed Elm that is over 100 years old, which has been bleached, repaired, polished and then waxed to give it a lovely rustic finish which perfectly suits our beachy style.

To go with the table we've ordered 10 of these Ashley Dining Chairs.

We're still on the hunt for bar stools which is proving harder than I had thought. We need three to sit at the island bench, they don't need to perfectly match the dining chairs but they will be in close proximity so they will need to have some similarities. But most of all I want them to be comfortable.

Just waiting on some fabric samples to see if any of these will work.

Week 28...

Ok so I've been super slack again (sorry) but I guess this whole growing a human thing has been distracting me.

However, despite my lack of recent posts progress has been happening on site.

The floors have all been finished now including the most gorgeous carpet in the lounge room.

Foss carpet from from Carpet World

We splurged a little on the carpet in this room knowing that we will actually spend time sitting/laying on it (and we have already). I love the fact that it has the beachy look of sisal but is OHHH SO SOFT!!

We also moved the pool table into place this week so the electrician could make sure that the light was exactly centered. Loving the filament globes.

Manchester light form Schots Home Emporium

And tiles. They finally started the tiles!!!!!

Carrara Bianco Herringbone Mosaic Tiles from Beaumont Tiles

Week 27...

Flooring and Concrete.

Inside Barry has been busy putting down all the floor coverings while outside the concreters have been hard at work pouring the slabs for the alfresco area, porch, carport and front veranda.

We decided to go for tinted concrete and chose a dark charcoal similar to the roof colour. Although at the moment while we are surrounded by so much dirt and therefore dust it is showing up every footprint, I am hoping that once we get some turf down this should be significantly improved.

Flooring: Karndean, Van Gough series in Bunished Beech Light: Felix Pendant Light in Nickel & Clear from Schots

The dark floor in the kitchen, dining, halls etc had worked out so well. In such a large open space with so much white the darker colour has offered a welcome contrast while matching the Hamptons style perfectly. We did apparently break all the rules when deciding which way to run the planks. Instead of running them lengthways down the halls we decided to do the opposite making the planks run lengthways as you walk in the front door and I'm glad we did despite the rules. They're there to be broken anyway, aren't they?

Week 26...

This week we got LIGHTS!!!!

I'm in love with these 40cm Toledo Pendants from Schots Home Emporium 

Originally when I was designing the kitchen I had envisioned 3 pendants over the island bench, you know that whole rule about 3 or 5, but I am so glad we decided that 2 large lights was better than trying to squash in 3 smaller ones. I have a real hate for white light to me these warm yellow globes make all the difference. It turns the feel from stark and clinical to homely and inviting.

My pride and joy, the pantry, is coming along nicely too. Not only do we have a series of downlights, our amazing electrician has also added strip lighting along the bottom of all the overhead shelves and cupboards both in here and in the main part of the kitchen. And because I didn't want too much natural light (food storage and sunlight don't really go hand-in-hand) streaming in through a window I decided on a Solatube Skylight instead. This will provide enough light on a standard day to be able to duck in and grab whatever I need without having to turn lights on and off.

Weeks 24 & 25...

It's been a couple of big weeks, cabinetry has gone into the kitchen

pantry,

and bathrooms.

Ensuite

Main bathroom

The laundry is also looking almost finished, just needs tiles and appliances.

And my favourite part yet. Our Carrara Marble benchtops have been installed! I literally squealed with excitement when I walked in saw them for the first time, much to the amusement of the tradies. They are all that I have imagined and more.

The next couple of weeks will hopefully see the tiler, concreters, plumber and electrician all do their thing. Everything is sitting there ready to go, now we just need all the trades to fall into place one after another to get us in before Christmas.

Week 23...

I'd still like to believe that we'll be in by Christmas but that is just around the corner and my faith in what the builders are promising is slowly fading. However, progress is still happening and we are moving closer to the finish line every day.

The painters have been busy this week and we now have colour on the outside walls and the start of the colour inside.

Dulux Silkwort for the render, Surfmist (to match the facia) for the boards and white gloss for the pasts to match the window frames. 

Slightly of topic but how cute is our new neighbour?!?!

Just added an whole new level of beauty to the view over our back/side fence.

And not to mention this cuteness we've been working on for the past 30 weeks.

Last weeks 4D ultrasound. And part of the reason we are really feeling the  pressure to be in before Christmas. 

Now we are just waiting on the concreters and hopefully the cabinet makers next week. The cabinet maker had a slight delay when the quality of the 2 pack finish on the kitchen doors and drawers wasn't up to standard when they received them back last week so the whole install had to be delayed until they could get them refinished. Sigh... I guess delays are all apart of the building process but please cross your fingers that this is the end of it for us.

Its time to start thinking about the garden

With all the excitement of building the actual house its been hard to find time or energy to think about, and agree on what we are going to do with the other acre or so of land that isn't covered by the house itself.

We still can't decide what we are calling our 'front yard' and what is our 'back yard' but this is the area we will be looking over from our kitchen, dining and pool rooms and also from our bedroom.

I know I want to use a lot of Hydrangeas, some Wisteria and maybe a few David Austin and climbing roses.

I'm also loving the Hamptons style planter boxes.

We have already started planting some stuff. We have a row of Lilly Pillys along part of the boundary which will one day hopefully grow into a hedge. We have also planted a bunch of fruit trees; nectarines, peaches, apricots and citrus.   

INSPIRATION:

Love the white bench seat, the hedges and the built in planter boxes.

Love the idea of having mini hedges running along the edge of the verandah

Love the combination of Hydrangeas and mini hedges matched with a very pretty white gate.

And one day maybe we can even build a pergola like this but with a roof or a covering of some kind of climbing vine.

Week 22...

Render is done and we are now ready for paint!!!

Oh the difference 5 months makes!

Week 22

The inside is looking like the real thing now too. We have cornice, skirts and arcs, doors, WIRs are fitted out and the last of the outdoor beams have been boxed up.

Left: Double shower in en-suite, Top right: Master bedroom WIR, Bottom Right: Loving the Gyprock Concerto Cornice we used throughout the main living areas.

One of the kids bedrooms.

Living Room.

We chose our slab of marble this week too.
Well wasn't that a daunting task... so much pressure to pick the right one when its costing so much. In the end we picked this one for the even spread of veins and lack of yellowy-brown tones. 

From Corsi & Nicoli

Next step is paint, first outside, then in. Once the outside is painted the concreters will be back to do the front verandah deck, our bedroom patio and the alfresco area.

Week 21...

The last of the doors are going on including our custom made stacker door between the dining room and alfresco area, the render is almost finished, the plaster and cornice are are done and the arcs and skirts are also happening.

Jason's picking up most of our order from Schots while he's down that way for a meeting so its going to be like Christmas when he gets home with all the goodies. Cannot wait to see our light fittings.


I think I may have finally found a dinning table that we both like and is big enough (hopefully not too big). I have always wanted a missive dining table so I think this twelve-seater should do the trick nicely.

Tuscan 2500 dining package with gallery chairs from 1825 Interiors

Render looking the goods in the alfresco area.

Week 20...

Yet another trip out of town and another million decisions in a day.
This time it was to finalise flooring, tiles etc.

But best of all it was for two dear friends WEDDING DAY!!! Which meant a lovely weekend in Metung with friends.

We are matching the tiles in the main bathroom with the ones in our en-suite the only difference is that we are using an off-cut of marble for the vanity top in the main bathroom.

Tiles from Carpet World Bairnsdale

For the flooring we are using vinyl planks in the main living areas in a rich chocolatey brown, the sandy coloured textured carpet in the lounge and plainer one in the pool room with the grey carpet going in all the bedrooms and office/nursery.

Carpet and boards from Carpet World Bairnsdale

 
We came home from our weekend away to the plaster mostly hung and the render started which was sooo exciting. Really looking like a house now.

Lounge room.

Kids bedroom end of the house.

While in Metung we came across this stunning new house under construction perched on top of the hill with the most amazing views over the East Gippsland Lakes. Needless to say I had a serious case of house envy! Even the pelican sculptures in the front yard are beautiful.