Home at last!

It's been a while since my last post.  Firstly we went on holiday to the snow for a week.  NOT an ideal time, but when I booked in January, I hadn't counted on the weather being so bad, and assumed we would be finished the house.  We moved in on the 11th August and have been crazy busy since.  Not finished yet, but almost....  Our bedroom upstairs should be finished within the next week.  And then.... the pool.  Yey!

Front of house - we even got the front garden in!

The (rather large) living area. 

Its a little cavernous at the moment.  I have a few ideas for the other end of the room.  Still thinking ...........

I love my new kitchen *sigh* 

The splashbacks, ceiling fans, air con and intercom system are still to be installed, so still a bit to do here.  I really need to do something with those bar stools.  They are solid timber and a great shape.  I was considering painting the legs white and stripping back the dark stain on the seat to make it lighter.  Suggestions welcome.

The dining chairs have a story...

 I was dropping off some old stuff  (so annoying when you realised you have packed something that you really don't need) at the local charity shop, and spotted these chairs.  OMG!  Love at first site, and a silly, silly price.  They are Tasmanian oak and direct from the sixties.  I have plans to restore and reupholster them.  Still deciding on the fabric.   They came with the not-so-fabulous table at the back of the room.  I have plans for that too...

Nearly there!!

Posting in my ipad in the car.  Sorry about the quality.

 We move in next week!Kitchen/dining.  I decided to put the flooring on the face of the island bench.  Really please with how it looks.

Dining room.  We always knew it would be big, but...WOW!  I suggested to husband that we need a large piece of furniture for this end of the room.  Maybe a piano?  He was NOT impressed (none of us play the piano BTW)

All render is on.  Now we just need paint.

Rain, rain, go away...

Even though, of the last 80 days, we have had 54 wet days, our team has soldiered on and the roof is finally on!

Two weeks ago

Last week

Yesterday!

 All the exterior cladding is on, and most of the house has been sheeted inside.   Next stage, painting - can't wait!

corner view

Side street view

The  inside sheeting is almost done!

The outdoor area is taking shape

Our brickie, Ken, braves the rain and the mud,
determined to finish the fence.

The garden loves the rain!

Light my way

My ever-patient husband holds my "light" for me.

This week, my job has been to make final decisions on lighting.  We waited until this stage, so we could check scale and position.  We had a bit of fun doing it too.  I bought a couple of cheap paper lanterns in the sizes we thinking of, and hung them to see how they looked.

This is the light that will be going there.
Special thanks to Lauren from Lumen8 for your help and advice.

The David Trubridge Coral pendant

The next decision was the outdoor wall lighting.  This was pretty easy, as I needed something discreet and functional.  Here's what I chose.  The outdoor living area will be lit with LED down-lights.

Then it was time to finally choose the pendants over the island bench in the kitchen.  This was a mission!  I just kept coming back to the same (out of the budget range, my dear) ones.  But sometimes, you just have to go for it, so I have chosen Lightyears Carvaggio pendants in matt white. I love these lights! 

Taking shape

 First time walking through the new front entrance!  How exciting.  It is really taking shape now.  As the building evolves, we are making final decisions about all sorts of things.  For example, the exterior colours.  We have a palette picked out, and have painted some sample patches here and there, but won't make the final decision until we can really see the shape of the building.

Upper storey colour (looks much whiter than this when outside.)

Lower storey colour

Fence and retaining wall colour

Once the roof goes on, it will be crunch time!

The front door! (well, you know what I mean!)

The new garage and master bedroom over the top.

The entry and living area.

Living area with big doors in - can't wait to get rid of the pesky wall (the one on the left that keeps obstructing my "feel" for the room)

Outdoor area!

going up!

Second storey is on and the remaining "old" section is in the process of being rebuilt.  It seems to be going ahead quite quickly now, which means some more decisions from me.

The kitchen is the next major installation and I have chosen colours and door profiles and stone, but I am struggling to choose pendant lights for over the island bench.  Here are some elevations with the lights I like "stuck" on - BTW, everything is to scale.  I quite like the stainless look to complement the splash backs, but I also like the look of the white.  Any preferences?

Slow and steady

So, the reno moves on.  All kids bedrooms are finished and are about to be sealed up, away from the dust and mess that will be happening soon.  Next stage is the partial demolition of the existing garage, and the completion of the extension.  As you can see, it is built and the floor joists are in.   If we (finally) get some fine weather, we should soon see a second floor.  Still so grateful I don't have to live in the house while this is happening!!

Bedroom 2.  Eventually there will be a lovely garden out there so Katie doesn't have to look at a bare wall.

Great WIR

The new garage, with soon to be second floor.

Welcome to my kitchen, dining area!  

Concrete for outdoor living area - covered in plastic to keep out the rain!