We moved in!!

We are still around 3 weeks from being totally finished.  Our bedrooms are still a total mess and I still have to shuffle to the loo in the middle of the night so I don’t get bruised hips on the bed.  But, over the weekend (mostly Friday night because I was so excited) we moved our stuff into the back room.  We went from having a Kitchen like this…. to having the space to move around and actually sit as a family and have dinner in this….There is still a lot to finish, splash back, painting, range hood needs to be raised, need to get some stools. Get our books and dining chairs out of storage (bought the gorgeous bench seat at dining table on ebay).  

It really is all the little things that make a difference, turning on the gas stove without a hand clicker, or having a place for everything, having more than 60cm x 60cm to prepare a meal….and the rest.  I felt like the house exhaled on Saturday morning, everyone was calmer, especially the kids.  Finally having a bit of space to run around in while the weather is YUK!

The lounge is coming along well too.  So from this…..

The weird blue thing in the middle of the pic is the leg of the dining table, we were so worried about it being ruined (Mark Tuckey) that we refused to move it into storage or leave it around for builders to ‘just pop stuff on’ so it went in behind a couch on it’s side.  Needless to say the kids loved climbing on it, lucky they are still little!!  four months we lived like this….and we are still married and happy! Any wonder!

Now to this….. We reused the old fireplace which will get a spruce up.  We think maybe painting it Black? What do you think? Things that need to be finished here, painting, floorboards and lots and lots of books to fill large unit! Lucky for me I’m a bit of a hoarder and have kept every book I’ve ever read!

Next they finish the family bathroom and the boys bedrooms, then they finish the master bedroom.  This week I will book drive way guy, blinds/curtain guy and fly screen guy!

The finish line is in sight, but for now I am one very happy lady!!

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No stopping them now!

. Here are the latest photos of the build. This are going well. Colorbond roof was almost fully installed in back section yesterday and today I came home to see my gorgeous stacking doors installed. I increased the kick board at the bottom to twice the size. Mostly because I have two active boys and I’m sure skateboards, remote control cars and the like will go screaming through that room.
The size of the ceiling doesn’t seem as dauntingly high now the roof is on, I just love them. We are getting two fantastic pendants from Beacon on the weekend, one for the dining room the other for centre of the lounge area. We have also decided to paint the old fireplace piano black. It will definitely make it the focal point, not the tv.

Dig Dig Dig

Since my last post quite a lot has happened.  We lived in the bungalow for three weeks, not sorry to see the back of that little shack.  During that time Levi had croup (the poor little darling) which made the close quarters a blessing because I stayed awake listening to him breath, or try to breath.

So now, almost five weeks later the bungalow is totally gone, the shed is gone, the ensuite is finished and we are very happily back in the house, albeit just in the front four rooms.

Stumps go in next week before Easter and we should have some framing up by the second week of April! HOORAY.  I can’t wait to walk through the pegged out rooms and get a feel for size.  Anyone who knows me will be able to imagine me prancing through the imaginary rooms, testing them our, pretending to use the oven and washing my hands in the bathroom!

Here are a couple of shots of the demolition.  The ensuite is very dark with grey tiles, so this makes it hard to photograph.  So instead I thought I would show you where I found Levi on the day we moved back in, too little to really know where things go in a toilet!

He look quite proud of his effort. When i found him he was saying "wees wees"

Until next time! Ciao!

Blast Off!

As I sit in the bungalow listening to the sound of plaster being smashed off walls, I am quietly excited that it has all begun.
They arrived at 7am and started with the first hammer blow at 7.30am. No mucking about.
First job is to remove robes from master bedroom and fit two on either side of the window in Archie’s old room. Later we will put a bench seat between.
They have also started to demo the bathroom.
Kids were brilliant sleeping in the bungalow last night, I’m proud, and a little surprised by their resilience.

Start date in sight

Big week, we signed a contract with builder, paid 5% deposit, bought all the fittings and fixtures for the ensuite and moved the boys into the one room.
27th Feb is the date things will get underway, the plan is for us to move into the bungalow for three weeks while the builder renovated the ensuite and closes off the parts of the house we will not be able to use during the Build. Then once that is done we will move back into the house and live without a fully functioning kitchen or laundry for the four months until the extension is complete. I am it’s worried about living in the bungalow, two little boys and us in the same room…. Thank God the weather is nice and we can sit outside while the kids go to sleep.
More updates soon, now thing are moving I should have a lot more to talk about!
Oh by the way, have got onto Pintrest and am addicted to it, great way for me to illustrate to husband the look I am going for.

Sad but excited…

Today our beautiful Palm Trees where removed and stumped to make way for the build next year.  The soil tester requested they be removed three months before we begin to ensure the soil has time to dehydrate and settle.

So it was with a heavy heart that I pulled in the drive this afternoon to see the empty sky, before on a day like to day (hot) they would shed stippled light and move in the breeze to make me feel I was in Port Douglas or somewhere tropical.

So here are the photo, my first before and after shots. Much like make over shot the pretty shot (gorgeous make up and hair) has a beautiful blue sky and looks dreamy, and the sad pathetic shot (usually the girl not smiling with dirty limp hair) the sky is dim and it looks sad. I didn’t use filters to achieve this, maybe my camera felt my mood??

 

At least this little step means this dream of mine is really going to happen.

 

Before

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After

 

Black Kitchen

Great kitchen in Montrose, this might be my fav!

While walking through Parkdale and Mordialloc last night with a girl friend we got talking about kitchens and that we both love black kitchens at the moment.  These photos are good examples of stylish black kitchens, and in the back room with it’s 12′ ceiling height a little ‘darkness’ might be a good thing.  So to strike a balance! I will be designing the kitchen layout in the next week so the builders can accurately quote.

Pressed Tin

A few weeks ago I was thinking about how to make our master bedroom something more than just a place to rest my tired and getting older bones every night.  Some (The Numbers Man) might argue that we don’t need any glitz in our room “we just sleep there!!” I can hear him now.

So what about this idea, create a feature wall of pressed metal or pressed tin.  I’ll need to see if I can pick up some old ones that show signs of wear and tear, but I did see these images of a great wall in a living room.  I love that they are black and some are worn more than others.

Pier Post – Outdoor Shower

We live about a 10 minute walk from the beach, and so far in the 18 months we have lived here we have been swimming maybe three – four time.  I guess once the kids are a bit older they will force their “I don’t like to swim” mother into going more.  So with that in mind we think we should get an outdoor shower so the kids can wash off (and I can wash my feet) before coming in the house. We are in research phase of this and thought I would share my ideas. I do like the style that is all ready to go, on a shiny new post and can essentially go anywhere like this one.

But I would like to do something a little more rustic, my idea is to get an old pier pole like the one below, I got a price from a place in Richmond of 100per linear meter, and attach a shower and tap combination like the one shown.  If we have them over the path the water should run off into the garden or the storm water.

I know this isn’t an original idea, and I’m sure I have a photo of one in one of the many magazines I seem addicted to buying (I wonder what I could have bought with the money I spent on them?)

Until next time, SEEYA!

Fitting old features into modern house

This is my favourite blog to read, have a laugh and learn a little from…

http://byebyebrooklyn.wordpress.com/

What I think they do brilliantly is retaining old features while giving it a modern edge, it is always sympathic to the old house but it is looking beautiful.

There are many old features of this house I would love to keep and include in the extention, simple things like the picture rail, vents and brass door fittings.  But what about ceiling rose? Will it look stupid to have one in the middle of the room with nothing hanging from it?

Have a look at the features I love in this Californian Bungalow.

Fire Place we will use in the back room - New tiles and surround

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• Not sure what to do with this one, where to put it but we love it
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and this is the style of all the doors. We will continue the panel door look, but the master bedroom will not have glass, a girl needs her privacy!

 

This is currently hanging in the hall, but I'm thinking of putting it in the ensuite or even my walk in robe?