The most recent love of my life... MY KITCHEN!

It's easy to spend time in such a beautiful and elegant space (even if I do say so myself). Cooking here and in my new oven is a dream.

I've been baking, roasting, grilling and frying up a storm. Here's a sneak peak at one of my latest creations. Chewy in the middle and crunchy on top with little hidden chocolate delights.

The best ever Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:

½ cup plain flour

¾ cup cocoa powder

1 ¼ cup caster. sugar

160g unsalted butter

2 eggs, cold

⅛ tsp. baking soda

1 tbsp. cornflour

¼ tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup. chocolate chips

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 160 degrees. Line a 20x20cm pan with parchment paper and set aside.

2.     In a microwave safe bowl, add the butter and sugar. Heat in the microwave on high for about 1 minute and 15 seconds. Remove, stir, and cool on the counter for 5 minutes, then stir in the vanilla extract and cocoa powder.

3.     In the bowl of a stand mixer add the warm (but not hot) butter/sugar mixture. With mixing speed on low add one egg at a time, mixing just until incorporated.

4.     In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt. With mixing speed on low, gradually add dry ingredients. Mix until no flour pockets remain. Remove bowl from stand and fold in the chocolate chips..

5.     Spread the brownie batter evenly into the prepared pan. Place in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the brownies are set. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 30-45 minutes before cutting. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

Lights - Teledo Pendants from Schots Home Emporium 
Countertops - Carrara Marble from Corsi & Nicolai
Oven - Belling 110cm Richmond Duel Fuel Range Freestanding Oven from Harvey Norman
Door & Drawer hardware - Cast plain semi-circle drawer pull and Round cupboard knob from Schots
Splashback Tiles - Carrara Bianco Herringbone Mosaic from Beaumont Tiles

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 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.

Week 18...

The builders are back to finish off the eves, boards etc. And there's no messing about; 3 of them hard at work in the rain on a Sunday.
The cabinet maker has been to measure the kitchen, pantry, laundry and bathrooms to make sure his measurements are exactly right.
And the external doors have gone on so we are finally at 'LOCK UP'!

I can't wait for the renders and painters to do their thing now.

Render will be Dulux Silkwort :

 and the boards will be Surfmist to match the fascia:

  

I finally ordered the pendant lights from Schots:

and all the door and drawer hardware for the kitchen, pantry, bathrooms and laundry:

Next step is plaster and render so by next week it sound be looking even more like a house.

The Hamptons Style

What actually is the 'Hamptons Style' you ask? Well here is my interpretation.

The Hamptons area, from where the style originated, is in the Long Island area of New York state. It is said to be the weekend get away for the affluent New Yorker's when they want a dose of the coast. A series of villages and hamlets filled with high-end restaurants, bars and designer boutiques by the sea. Sounds like heaven to me!

The Hamptons style is loosely based on elegant coastal calm in a classic and sophisticated way, or in other words 'beachside luxury'.

• Furniture should be above all comfortable and a right balance between contemporary and traditional. Linen and cotton in neutral colours such as oatmeal along with natural raw woods like Mango or Oak. Lots of soft furnishings such as over-stuffed cushions and natural material throws are a must. 'Old meets new' seems to be the key phrase associated with the Hamptons style when it comes to furniture.  

    

               
                                          

• Colours vary from natural hues and lots of white to calming blues and the entire range of the aqua (or teal, tiffany-blue, sea-green, turquoise, mint) spectrum, basically stay with beachy tones.
• Floors are wooden and can either be a very dark chocolate brown or pale and sometimes even bleached. 
• Window treatments and upholstery fabrics are usually natural linen or cotton and of a plainer detail, with small pops of colour and traditional patterns.
• Details like decorative trims, picture rails and wall paneling are often used to complement the high ceilings which are a must.    
• Lighting, specifically feature lighting is a stand out of the style. Clear glass teamed with either iron, pewter or chrome work well for pendant lighting particularly over island benches and dining tables. Lamps are common and add ambience and warmth and are usually adorned with natural fabric shades, such as cotton, linen or silk. Bases should be made from wood or ceramic and glass on occasion. 

• Rugs should be large and are used to add character and define areas. Jute and sisal add great texture and stay within the beachy tones. Wool is another option and can be used to bring in a pop of colour to the space. 
• Natural products should be used where ever possible. Stone, particularly marble, is common for bench tops and tiles while floors should be wood. 
• Accessories need to be tasteful and displayed in a neat, breezy, clutter free way. Nautical themed items such as coral, fishing floats and model sail boats are common but be careful not to cross the line into cheesy. Natural items like driftwood, cane baskets and jute rope are also great items to incorporate and can be displayed on built-in shelving, coffee tables, side tables, consoles and wall units. 
• Other items to include may be hurricane lamps, fresh flowers, shells, ceramic urns, indoor plants, round mirrors or glass fishing floats.      

Up to date

As it stands now we are currently in limbo waiting for the council to approve our planning permit. This has been the most horrible part yet. Finally being at the stage where we and the builders are both ready to start and now everything has been paused while we wait for the plans. FRUSTRATED TO SAY THE LEAST!
Roughly two weeks ago we were notified that we had approval with a minor change to where our driveway will be. YAY! I can handle that.
So I quickly sat down and whipped out an updated landscaping sketch and sent it through. Just to begin with the waiting thing again. Remember at the beginning when I told you about 'Mallacoota Time' well this seems to be a perfect example of that.
Any way it is what it is and it's out of my control so instead I thought I'd take this opportunity to share with you a few of my design ideas.
Let's start with my favorite part of the house.

THE KITCHEN

  

Love the bench tops, splash back and lighting

I'm loving the white marble bench tops, contrasting island bench, glass fishing float like pendant lights (all though I will have three) and marble herringbone splash back. We are planning on having dark bamboo flooring through out most of the house with carpet in the lounge room and bedrooms. I'm not sold on the pillars on the bench tho or the door and draw pulls.
I've had my eye of these light from Schots with filament globes since we visited their Geelong show room a couple of years ago and think they are the perfect choice for the 'Hamptons with beachy tones' style we are going for.

My husband and I are currently having a slight difference of opinions on the splash back. I love the look a small marble tiles laid in a herringbone pattern with white grout however like these ones from Beaumont Tiles he has other ideas. Actually not ideas as such rather a hate for small tiles. He says "they look old and s#*t", I keep telling him can't ride off all small tiles, there is a difference. But he is yet to be swayed so we'll see who wins this one.

I plan on winning him over with the beauty of these tiles or if that doesn't work pulling the if you have a say in my kitchen then I get a say in you shed card and hoping I get there that way. Wish me luck.

If you have a look back at our floor plan you will see that I have strategically positioned the kitchen so it can open out into the BBQ end of the outdoor area. I don't know about in your house but it is the same old story for me when it comes to having people over for a BBQ. I spend the whole time in the kitchen organizing the meat, cooking instruments, trays, salads, drinks, plates, cutlery, other various sides, desserts etc. while Jason and subsequently our guest stand around outside chatting and casually turning the snags in between beers while I'm missing the party alone in the kitchen. So this is my solution, a servery window that opens directly from the kitchen to the BBQ area complete with bar and stools so I can be part of the fun too.

My dads pretty handy at building stuff and has promised us a set of bar stools for under this window

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I'm just going to leave this here for your viewing pleasure ;)