Finally we are in!

We are in!

Finally, after almost 18 months of a house build, we able to call our house a home. Moving has been unbelievably difficult, stressful and I wish someone could wave a magic wand and put all our worldly possessions in their rightful place. Rule number 1...find someone to look after any child under 5 whilst moving. Our little fella is not coping at all, and his behaviour has been extremely difficult to cope with.

Anyway, no need to hear about moving dramas as that is not important. The first night we moved in, it really felt like a dream. I could not believe that finally we are sleeping in our new home! Its still feels so surreal as if I am dreaming. Everything is so different to what I am use to, the rain shower we have in our bathrooms, the light sensors that turn on when you walk into our robes and ensuite and the space that our new kitchen offers...I really don't know how to fill up all the cupboards but I'm sure I will find new kitchen gadgets to do just that. It is so strange to have so much space...fairly unsettling at night as I cant see all the rooms from just one point of the house. We have always lived in small homes so it will take quite a bit getting use to.
There are still things to do like our hydronic heating, fireplaces, landscaping and all the bits and pieces that come with finishing of a new home. My builder and his supervisor have done a terrific job in maintaining a top standard through the build. My tiling in all the bathrooms are just perfect...I love the tiles I selected and gives the bathrooms a 'day spa' feel to them.

So, now the important part...pictures Yeahhhhh! You must remember, that none of the rooms are decorated and only have the bare amount of furniture in them but at least you can see where I am heading. I am so happy that finally, no longer is this a long, frustrating house build blog but is now about Decorating a Modern Home!!!!! so lets start the new chapter by showing what my house looks like...Day 3 of moving in. I can then start to share the journey of each room as I decorate it and make it feel like a home.

Theatre Room Day 3

So you can see I have plain dark leather couches, light ottoman, cushions that have a teal/blue pattern through them and a blue throw. these are the colours I will be working with in this room.

Dinning Area Day 3

We bought this table off our friend and easily sits 8 people even more comfortably. I love square tables especially for dinner parties. You can also see my beautiful crystal light fitting...at night it looks stunning. I saw this light fitting on a show called Design Guys years ago and have always wanted one since, now its in my new home. I know Kelly from Design Ties loves this light fitting as well and was going to have it in her dream kitchen!
Also, you may notice the window furnishings, they are called Redi Blinds ( I think thats what they are called) and are actually made of paper. They just stick on where you want them and are so easy to take off when your proper window furnishings arrive. Fantastic product and so cheap.

Kitchen Pictures

Well the kitchen has been completed finally...it is my pride and joy. What I like most about it is the beautiful granite Bianco Romano. It just literally sparkles and I am just forever looking at all the different patterns through it...sigh

I didn't go for the top of the range appliances but the ones we did select are just so nice and easy to use. Mr B is the cook in the family so he wanted an oven that turned on and off...we don't really do any fancy baking etc so something that was easy and uncomplicated to use was fine with us.

Island bench

We did buy a Miele dishwasher although as this did have the best reputation. Highly recommended! You don't realise how bad some other dishwashers are until you see your plates cleaned by a really good dishwasher. It is so quite I cant even hear it and when I open the door, the plates are actually sparkling...just like in the TV add LOL

A view to the alfresco area

Bathroom with hydronic heated towel rail.

One thing I am looking forward to is living in a house with hydronic heating. Overseas this is the norm but in Australia, it is not common to find this source of heating and is very expensive to install. I have lived in a house before with ducted heating and I was forever freezing and unsettled. I promised myself that if we ever built, I want to feel warm in every room not just in certain parts of the house.

Upstairs lounge room Day 3

Green large couch with a purple and gold theme through the ottoman and cushions. This is work in progress to pull this room together!

Our bedroom Day 3

I know there is just a bed but at least you didn't get to see just the mattress on the floor haha this is one of my biggest decorating challenges...how to make this space into a beautiful, romantic and gorgeous bedroom. This photo shows you what I have there at the moment (including my sons port-a-cot as he sleeps in our room) the little blue cushion is a hint of the type of colour I like. Already I love the white doona cover and white sheets so I am working around that theme.

Sons bedroom Day 3

All my kids have their lovely bed linen, I just have to add their bits and pieces.

So, I hope you enjoyed my before shots. As I add new things to the rooms I will update these photos...I just cant wait to get started!

Mrs B

Exterior...House Build

We are slowly getting there...Hooray! Renderers have been there for 2 days, doing the final coat, still not finished but bit by bit, the house is starting to look complete. The decking has been done back and front which I am very happy about. I also met the landscaper today and he seemed so enthusiastic, lovely and very inventive. I am having an all Australian native garden and he picked the colours of purple, silver and yellow (I think this is what he said) colours that compliment a modern exterior. In the front will be like a native rock garden...4 -5 big feature rocks spread out and all the beautiful natives growing between. He also picked a few native grasses as well which I have admired in other gardens in the area. He is also doing the back garden as well in the same theme. I was really impressed by his ideas so to say I cant wait would be an understatement.

Front of house with new walk way.

Here are some shots of my almost completed exterior. Still not all rendered the final colour, mainly the left side needs to be done. There also will be a beautiful green door to set of the front entrance, Still waiting for it to be delivered.

The box feature on top of the door will be the dark chocolate colour...still to be rendered

Kitchen with the new overheads


Ensuite with basin, tap and toilet.

Back shot of my house

Between the fence pillars will be a metal fence, all neighbours have this as we all have to be consistent. This is according to planning guidelines. Pillars will also be rendered the dark chocolate colour.

Decking at the back of house

It is such a fantastic size, already I am imagining all my barbecues with friends out here!

It sits nice and flush with the door...

Front steps

So not long now...starting to look good! Still so much work to go but lets remain positive!

Mrs B

Pictures...Lights, bathroom, kitchen and stairs

Here are some pictures that I took of my house. It is slowly coming together but so much work still to do. Lets see what happens this week.

Ensuite marble and basin

Ensuite...mirror still to be installed and taps of course.

Hallway with feature lighting

Feature lights...upstairs lounge room

Kitchen...still not finished!

View into kitchen and living area

Lounge room, you can see our chandelier hanging without the crystals...think we will wait until we move in.

Stairs and wall lights...this is the window I want to put a feature blind in. Make a real statement in the stair area.

Powder room with my white basin. We will be having a long vertical mirror here right up to the ceiling...something different.

I love my white marble, always wanted this look for as long as I can remember.

Laundry

The best till last...my feature wall niches at the entrance of the house. In real life they are just so beautiful.

Mrs B

Update on House Build

Its been a few days since I have updated my blog...I actually had nothing to write about as no one has been working on the house.....I had another one of my meltdowns again and ended up in bed with a migraine. Well its official, you know its only 20 days before we move in, big countdown as I have set the 31st of March as my handover date. I sent my builder an email 4 days ago asking for a definite date so we will see a what happens.

So what has been happening. Most of the lights have been installed which is very exciting as one of the features of our house is the mood lighting. We actually saw the lights on today as the electrician was doing his final check...still a few hours of work left but I am rapt. We have gone crazy over the amount of lights that we have but never will even a quarter be on at the same time. The wall lights that you see in the photo are LED's and are designed to stay on a great lengths of time and use very little power. My feature chandelier in the bedroom looks just perfect and of course the photos do not do it justice. I really must learn how to take good interior design shots when the time comes...If anybody has any tips for taking house shots I am all ears!

So, here are a few random light shots not very inspiring but for the next few weeks this will still be a house build blog.


The lights on the bottom part of the wall are the LED's. They actually are blue when lit up. These will mainly be on at night for the kids if they wake up.

My beautiful contemporary chandelier. It is just perfect for the room and hung at the right height. Of course all the crystals are safely tucked away until we move in. If you look closely, you will also see some small light fittings beside the window. We had no idea they were here until the builder asked us to pick the fitting for them. They are actually lights that shine upwards. I will not get any bedside lamps until I can see the whole room set up.

This photo is taken from the lounge room upstairs. Imagine our bed underneath the window with the chandelier over it.

This 'interesting picture' (not!) is actually how they do our floating glass mirror with the lights behind it.That long white thing is the light, we have one on both side. It is going to be tiled around the edges.

Kitchen cupboard detailing. Starting to look really nice now but still not 100% completed

Mrs B

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

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

Starting to get there......

My study with the 'random' green doors hehe We didn't ask for these doors to be painted green but they are...lucky we love them so they are staying.

Our half finished Kitchen. I took this photo to show you what I mean by the overheads. The window dictates the height of the cabinets and already it had been lowered from where originally it was placed. The bench on the left has another white box on the end so at the moment it looks lop sided. The picture doesn't really do it justice to how nice it all looks in the space...doesn't matter hehe this is a house build blog not a 'Home Beautiful' spread! Pantry is to the left as well as fridge.

Walnut cupboards in the Laundry...I think I like them but once again, I am seeing things half finished!

Our Walnut theatre system. The colour of the wood grain I wasn't sure about last night. I need to be patient and wait till the carpets are in and my furniture that I have bought for this room. A very productive day, thank goodness as it was over 40 degrees and we still had the guys at the house.

Thankyou to all our tradesmen.....every single one has been lovely and polite.

Mrs B