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

Dare I begin to plan the garden?

All pictures from...Secret gardens of Sydney

Tradesmen are working on our house again today. It really gives me hope that one day our house will be finished and we will be living in our 'dream home' YAY!!!! So.....dare I even think about our landscaping and all the wonderful ideas I have? In our contract, our lovely builder is doing basic landscaping, what this means I am not too sure but we will talk about it together and work out something. What I need is a small front garden, side courtyard and back garden that backs out onto the park (on show to people walking by) My garden will be all Australian Natives except maybe for one or two feature plantings. I love water features and feature sculptures or urns. At least with gardens you can let them evolve and often the climate and soil conditions dictates what grows best.

I love the way they have made the bowl a focal point and also the thick plantings on the side of the courtyard.

White pebbles and copper tone pots...really nice!

Another feature for a courtyard...something for me to think about!

I love the lighting at night and the orange walls.

The long planter box is exactly what I would like for my courtyard. Extra seating for when I have all my friends over!

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

Reflections...

Just some (honest) rambling thoughts on a hot day to share.....

Has anybody out there ever doubted theme selves during their house build? I am not exactly having a panic attack and really this should be such a happy day, but I am starting to doubt my selections that I made for my house. A wonderful surprise today...some of my cabinetry was in for the kitchens and bathrooms: the beautiful walnut cabinets as well as my feature overhead cabinets in the kitchen. I don't know if I like the particular walnut veneer I picked and worst still, the overheads cabinets are too high and I will not easily be able to reach all my stuff. I also have doubts about my tiles, balcony glass, garage door, lights placed wrongly.....all my fault and I don't know why I am being so picky! Maybe I should have just played it safe, but I think I am seeing things half finished therefore only focus what hasn't been done. I know I should be grateful that every day we have tradies working on our house but when you are already 4 months over the due date, it doesn't put you in a good frame of mind.
The kitchen already looks stunning and is taking shape exactly the way I envisioned. I am concerned however, that the cabinets are too high, but I suppose I will deal with this issue if needed. Question...Is it okay to have just a little step to use if needed to reach objects in the back corner of overheads? The problem started with the kitchen window as this dictated how high the overheads would be....I must get a photo so you can see what I mean. Anyway...I hope all my selections work together but gosh it is hard work when you try and be different when using splashes of colour...I can understand why homeowners go for safe colours and not bright green doors like what I did LOL
Mrs B