Bar, Laundry and Wardrobes...

The bar area

This is now the bar! I feel it has all come together and now complete. The top cabinets just make it look so much better and once again, I was seeing things half completed. The bar is upstairs as originally it was going to be like a second kitchen. I suppose it is in a way as there is a small oven going in, a round sink and a bar fridge. The back splash will be glass in Antique White USA (same colour as our walls) I am having a green couch in this area with gold and purple cushions! Don't worry everybody, the colours work really well together or they did in the shop LOL
I am also going to buy a big red vase of some description to tie in the red in the lounge area.

RED....GREEN....PURPLE....YELLOW

These are all the colours that need to work in the same room. Lucky I have white walls. I must also find a piece of art work that will tie all the colours together....Well I hope it will work!

The Laundry

A bad picture, but this is our laundry, I actually really love this room. So open with a lot of cupboard space. Our green doors are on now but still waiting for the wood doors below to be installed. The washing machine and dryer are on the other side.

Wardrobes

Here are the wardrobes completed. They look really nice but now we are both concerned that the kids wont look after the doors but it is something we have to teach them. I already except the fact the doors are going to be knocked around but it is just part of family day life. The builder is putting in a lot of safety stoppers and the like to protect the doors. This doesn't worry me at all, this house is a family home and it is going to take knocks and scratches for many years to come.

Well that is all the pics for now. Still waiting for this kitchen to be finished, house cleaned and the plumbing to be completed before I can take some really nice pictures. Also, thankyou for all the thoughtful, nice and encouraging comments that people have made. I love reading them every day and if there is a particular part of the house you would like to see, let me know and I will try and take a picture for you. At the moment it is such a mess so that's why there has been no shots of entire rooms, just the clean bits!

Mrs B

Kitchen and Wardrobes

Here are the pictures of my half completed wardrobes. It is unbelievable how much cabinetry there is just for these 4 robes. The pictures are my kids robes, ours are put together but not in yet, really big job for the installer. Our builder was there with us and he couldn't get over how nice they looked in the house. It is going to take a while to get use to this as we have never had anything like this before.

The next few pictures are of my kitchen. Thank goodness John (my builder...I told him about my blog today but not the name and he reckons he will find it so lets see if he does LOL) quickly put my fears to rest about that draw, all it needs is to be adjusted and he told me just to wait until its all done!

This is my colour splash back, Mr B and John loved it! I don't know, so I have taken a picture with the colour I had selected, in real life has got that wow factor (good wow, bad wow) I don't know....What is everyones elses opinions. Sorry I didn't take a further back shot but there is cabinets and stuff everywhere...its like taking a picture of a messy house to show everyone! Also this is the top cabinet I was talking about but you cant see the gap below in the picture.

Now you can see the top panel is just a little too high.

The Bar! Well, I wasn't going to put this picture in as it is not completed but I wanted to show you the colour....no need to comment as I want to wait to see all the cabinets installed above it...white and silver. One thing about this house is that it is showing my personality hehe parts of it are very conservative but then there is this creative, outrageous, funky element that just hits you when you walk into some rooms. Enough rambling, must press the submit button before I change my mind!

Mrs B

Steel features

Steel features on the outside of my house

Victoria from Design Ties asked me for a picture of the steel fins that we have used on the outside of the house. Here is just a small sample of how it looks at the moment. Not all the house has its final render so I will wait to take a really good shot when the outside is completed. I absolutely love this design as it wraps right around the house and gives what could of been a boring wall, some interest and definition.

Guess what everybody, the wardrobes are being installed...this time I took pictures, in a much better mood today haha

Mrs B

Reflection time again...

Our inside door handles

Warning to all my readers, this is a long, completely sooky whinge....but this is a house build blog therefore us long suffering owners are entitled to a little whinge every now and then LOL


It happened again. I went to the house for a quick brief visit with the sole purpose of taking a picture for Victoria but when we got there, our kitchen guy had been...so how excited was I! The builder opened the house for us so I went in to look at my 'dream kitchen'.

I don't know how to say this but I was disappointed so much so that I didn't take any pictures at all. Once again, the kitchen is still only 3/4 finished with bits of panels missing here and there. that's OK, work in progress but what I noticed was that one of the cupboard panels had a large gap between the bottom and the draw underneath. Obviously, something did not measure right and it looked like they had down tools in order to come back with a solution. I suppose I am just sick and tired of everything in my house only being half finished all the time. Why cant my kitchen just be installed complete like a 'normal' house build. Also, our shower screens were installed, very nice I grudgingly admit but then I started to focus on the tiles in the powder room and how I don't like them. Mr B by this stage was used to my 'is this alright, or maybe I should have done this' type of conversation. Anyway, Mr B went upstairs to look at the red cupboards for our bar upstairs...all I could hear was ohhhhhhhhhhhh by that stage I did not want to go upstairs and see the rest of my choices.

The bar, what can I say...I don't know if I love it or hate my colour choice. It is certainly different. Mr B was fantastic, he said it looked so funky and original, it is after all our family home and we need colour in our lives as all the walls are white. I just don't know any more. Part of me said I should have just gone all white and beige... but I felt it was important to inject my own personality into my home. Should I have gone safe...I think that is what I am struggling with at the moment. Anyway, the glass screens in my ensuite and bathroom looked absolutely gorgeous so at least I am happy with those rooms.

Tomorrow is the big day I see all my robes and walk in pantry totally decked out. Already I am fretting over my choice in wood. Every now and then I have this little 'meltdown' and I just wish I could just pick neutral colours, it would have made everything so much easier.

On a different note, I was very sad to read today that The House that A-M built is going to close down and become private subscription only. A-M always leaves the most beautiful, positive comments on my blog and it is also the first blog I read every morning on my blog list....always a wonderful, inspiring picture or story to start my morning routine.

That's all for now, no pics of the house but tomorrow watch this space.....THE WARDROBES

Mrs B

House Pictures...

Balcony

The picture above shows the view we get from our balcony. The last panel on the right cuts out our view line of the park. I am not really sure why the council made us put up screening on that particular corner. Just a slight irritation as it doesn't look right but I will get use to it. At least it will protect us from the winds that come through around winter time.

Children's Bathroom

I love this picture! my kids bathroom with their new carrara marble top. The whole room just feels right, I can't wait to see the basins, shower and taps installed. The basins are a beautiful round shape that will sit on top.

Door Handles

These are the door handles I have chosen...you can hardly see them. I didn't want the handles to be a feature and wanted a very clean look. At the moment, some of them are sticking to the granite but they will all be adjusted. My concern originally was that they wouldn't be easy to use but they feel really nice to open.

Powder Room



Kitchen Detail

In one of my favourite blogs DesignTies, Victoria wrote apost about a project she had been commissioned to do by a client. The major design was a magnificent fireplace that desperately needed to be remodelled, in keeping with a contempoary interior. Victoria used the combination of wood and steel strips placed horizontally up the wall. Anyway, I mentioned that there are elements in my home that have used steel as a design element. The first one is shown in the picture above. I wanted a steel strip right around the kitchen island between the granite and the doors...even though the cabintery is not on, you can still see how its going to look. I also have andoised steel fins as a feature on the outside that wrap right around the house. Of course silly me I forgot to take a photo but I might duck around tonight to take one!

Mrs B

My shopping trip....

I have just come home after buying my beautiful chandelier. The photos is actually from the showroom and the sales assistant wasn't really keen on me taking the photos. I have noticed a ever increasing trend of shops having a no photo policy. The photos do not show how nice it is in real life, I am not the best photographer, point and click is my style! The crystals you wrap around yourself so you can create any design you want. My dream has come true....I have always wanted this light fitting and now it is going into my new home.

Isn't it funny how we can get all excited over finding that one special piece. It makes the wait and the search all so sweeter.

Mrs B

Tagged

First time I have been tagged! Lee from Glimpse of Style has asked me to show where I blog and a little bit about my space.

Well, here you go guys...what a very, very sad blogging space hehe! definitely not home beautiful material but rather a lovely 'before' shot of a room that desperately needs a make over.

(maybe I should invite Colin and Justin to make over my house! Even if it meant I could just stare at them as they are just soooo gorgeous....ok, must get back to reality!)

So, my blogging space is actually in a rental property that we have been in for about a year. To say that I just want to get out and move into my beautiful new home would be an understatement. Unlike Lee who has a lovely, creative space, my desk is purely for my laptop and other papers and junk with no order or even purpose. I do not like renting and it was only suppose to be for a few months therefore I never really settled down and made it into a real home. Well that is my excuse LOL

So there you go! I promise in a few months time I will revisit this post and update my new blog space!

Mrs B

Kitchen and wardrobe fitouts...the start

Back to blogging about my house! One exciting thing that has happened is the Bianco Romano stone is now safely on my kitchen bench, exactly how I imagined it to be. There was part of me that wanted to wait to show you my kitchen when it was all completed, pretty and clean but as I have said once before, this is not a 'home beautiful' magazine but a builders blog...the good, the bad and the ugly! I think its important to keep a record of how my house is built so if my kitchen looks half finished then that's the way it is LOL The problem with me, as you can tell from previous posts, is that I focus too much on the mess and aspects of my house that are only half completed. Anyway, beside that, I think my kitchen is coming along exactly how I imagined it to be. Stay tune for the glass coloured splash back! I am (well maybe) using a very deep red , colour. I still dont know if I made the right colour choice. Not too late to change it...what do people think????

A picture of the back bench...gees I love this granite (after the hassle and the expense I will allow myself the luxury of saying how nice it is LOL!) The hole is for the stove and underneath are for all the pot drawers.

This is a sneak preview for what has just been installed...my wardrobes fit out in some sort of oak colour. I had no idea what I selected as I had to pick 5 different colours in case it was out of stock. I still have not seen it yet as I had to work back late and Mr B took a few photos (he took 7 only tonight and he didn't think the cararra marble in the bathrooms were important enough to take pics off...we had 'quite' words about this misunderstanding hehe

This is part of my draw for my wardrobe, I couldnt get over how nice the wood looks like in the photo. I have no idea what it is that I selected but just another wonderful random moment in my housebuild...I never know what is going to be selected next for me!

Mrs B

Human Courage

It has been reported all around the world about our fires in Victoria and the terrible lost of lives. Even today when I woke up, the death toll is still climbing...just this incredible sadness you feel when you listen to the stories from people who were trapped in the fires to the bravest men and woman who are right now at the front, desperately trying to contain the fires. My heart also goes out to the police who are the ones that are first on the scene and whose job is to go through burnt out houses and cars. I don't want to report everything I have heard on the radio as it is very distressing to hear the stories of people who are missing entire families, I just hope they are found safe at one of the emergency centres. The picture above is one of our courageous fireman, the majority of them who are volunteers. They have normal jobs and houses in the areas affected but here they are fighting to save communities and lives when some of them don't even know if their own families are safe. Such a terrible tragedy and to think that the fires were lit by arsonist. Every body I know has friends or relatives that live in the these areas. I just hope the fires that are burning out of control as I type this post, take no more lives.

Mrs B

Have you ever seen something years ago....

This light has been in my mind ever since I saw it used in a TV show called Designer Guys. I loved it back then and have always wanted it in my own home. But, fashions come and go and I put this light into the category of maybe one day.....Well today I saw it in a beautiful homewares shop in Melbourne called Domayne. The light was used in a bedroom setting. I kept going back to the room, contemplating if the long shape would suit a bedroom as I had only seen it used over a dinning room table. So tonight I am going to ponder whether this is the light I have been searching for my bedroom.

Another decision I had to make on the weekend was lights above my bed. I choose lights like the ones in the picture, the light only shines up so doesn't compete against my bedroom table lights. It actually took me a while to work out what would be best for the space but I think I have made the right choice. So many decisions to make when building a house!

This picture is here just because I love the mood the lighting has created. Similar to what I selected for our high ceilings upstairs.

Mrs B

Bianco Romano

Our beautiful bianco romano slabs are now at the stone masons being cut for our kitchen as I type this post. We went down to the factory to make sure they use the correct slab for the feature island bench. I have a feeling they are not the slabs we picked out 5 months ago from the marble place and of course I didn't take pictures did I! Doesn't matter, both slabs are stunning and the slab in the photos here will be for the island bench. I told the stone mason to try and not have much of the black stripe that you can see up top. Not that it will really matter as he practically has to use the whole slab for the bench and it is not in a feature section. I am so glad we went for granite and surprised that granite has fallen out of favour at the moment with most new house builds. I love the inconsistency, the colour and texture of the stone.

Here is our Carrara Marble being made for all our other bench tops. Very exciting to see all our house bits around the place.

Our big marble slab on the machine waiting to be cut.

Here is the machine where all the action takes place. I have learnt a lot about stone finishes in the last few days. We are having a mitre cut where you have the joint on the 90 degree. If that didn't make sense I apologise hehe because all the guys were talking to Mr B about it and my eyes started to glaze over LOL I just said I don't want to see joins and I wanted the edges to have a soft feel about them.

Oh...I almost forgot, we have another random addition to our house....according to our stone mason, our bar bench top is going to be Carrara Marble??? When I got home, I looked in all my notes to the builder and no where did I see I had that down hehe oh well, will look beautiful and is just another random moment in my house build. I have a great sense of humour so looks like we are having marble in the bar!

Mrs B

A white bedroom?

LivingEtc

Everything about this bed I love. So dreamy and makes you just want to snuggle in and watch telly, read a book or just lie there thinking nice thoughts. What goes into making a bed like this...perhaps beautiful bedlinen, lots of plump pillows, good quality sheets, doonas and maybe some accessories like quilts and blankets folded at the end of the bed. As a person with no training in interior design, I am always fascinated at how beautiful 'other peoples houses' are in magazines. So, here are just a few examples of ideas I have for my bedroom. I know this blog is Decorating a Modern Home and my pictures are of a different style but this is what I want for my bedroom but with a contemporary twist.

LivingEtc

The picture above could very well be my bedroom but with carpet. I have a beautiful sleigh bed, same colour and have just bought a simple white doona cover with white sheets and pillow cases. After that, I am stuck for ideas. I have some bedside cabinets that don't go with the bed but they have a really nice shape. I am not sure what to do with them but thinking of painting them so they could work in my room. What colour......I have no idea so I am open to any suggestions.

I love this wallpaper...I would like it on the back wall where my bed is. I also have been searching everywhere for the perfect bedside lamps. Not sure just yet what style I am after but there are so many lamps out there to choose from. Definitely something to buy after the room is set up.

LivingEtc

I really like these cushions! very different but Wow, what a statement they would make in a simple white bedroom.

LivingEtc

This bed is just lovely! When I get sick of all white, just add a colourful doona cover to change the look of the whole room.

Mrs B