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.

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?

It’s the little things…

What do I long for, really it’s the little things.

I want ….

1. to have a laundry bigger than a postage stamp (currently 1.5 x 1.3m)
2. to be able to open the dishwasher and fridge at the same time (currently impossible)
3. to be able to open all kitchen cabinets (one next to oven only opens 20cm)
4. To have room in the kitchen for everything to go away (it’s an Amish heaven with everything hanging up)
5. to go into my son’s room to check on him before I go to sleep and not smell tonight’s dinner (curry).
6. To have more than one inside toilet (not ideal to say the least)
7. To have the dryer inside the house (Stored in the bungalow…oh I mean guest house)
8. To have friends over and not be stuck in the little kitchen away from everyone. (the cleaning part is the worst, everyone is having a good time by then and I need to leave to pack the dishwasher, and hope no one wants anything from the fridge!)
9. to let my kids run from inside to out side while still in eye sight
10. to be able to hide away my office mess (Organised chaos)
11. to have my parents and in-laws stay over inside the house, not in the bungalow. (then they can get up with the kids at 6.30am on the weekends)
12. to drive up a smooth driveway (it currently feels like we are going off roading).
13. have a shower without getting water all over the bathroom (slipping on the beautiful lino floor is a constant hazard).
14. have a bath that I fit into  (I’m not huge, it’s just a small bath)
15. to have somewhere safe to store the pusher that isn’t inside the front door.

I could go on, but I think you get the picture, and if not here is a picture….

Pantry Palava

Who would have thought a pantry could present so many choices of style and function! The dimensions of our pantry will be 2.5 x 1.4m, it will have a small but deep sink and shelving to the ceiling, which is 3.6m high.
I am around 165cm tall (around 5’5″), so getting to the top shelves of the pantry will be difficult, I thought about hanging some kind of trapeze or Tarzan rope but neither really sounds like a safe idea. So I thought maybe a library ladder? We are getting a huge book shelf in the living room, around 5m long to the ceiling again (3.6m) so I could use the ladder for both, just get the railing system on each. This was a great idea, until I got a quote and it will cost around $2.2K…..bummer!
So the next idea is to get an old timber step ladder, maybe 8 rungs high that is stored in the pantry, maybe even have a little nook made so it’s out of the way. Then I can use is when I please in either room. So far tracking on ebay they are going for around the $150 – $200. What a saving!

This is the one pantry I think hits the mark for me.  Love the open shelves and the ladder!! The only difference will be a narrow work bench will go around the room in ours.

This is it! I LOVE this and will do something very similar