A window here, a garage there ...

 Windowless kitchen window viewed from deck.

A window here, a window there ... I wish there were windows everywhere!

 View from eastern side of deck through to the entrance way.

Okay, so that was a poor attempt at a rhyme but it is, oh, so true.

 

 Front entrance

However, glass did arrive on site on Friday and it has started to go in today and the window company assured us that by this Friday it will all be in. Crack open the bubbly but don't crack the glass!

Other news: the garage is going up.

 

And the Lilly pillys are going in along the boundary fence by the pool.

Tree House

I took my interior design friend, Rachel, to the house the other day and her first comment on being in the living space was that it was like being in a tree house.

I'd never thought of that before but I guess it kind of is - with it being high up, the views of the trees - and then when the timber flooring goes in it really will be.

Then the next day I was there, we had a visitor who clearly thought the same thing ...

They might be cheeky and loud and swoop to pinch your picnic food, but I love kookaburras!

I hope you all have a lovely Easter and I'll see you back here next week.

Jx

Much ado about the splashback

If you have been following this blog for a while, you will know I had my heart set on a clear glass splashback in the kitchen right from the start. It was established that, providing we changed the current view from its lofty position (ie rickety old fence and a motley collection of neighbourly plants), it could be a great feature and would work well. You can see its long rectangular frame here, behind which we plan to have a row of bamboo planted on the ground floor below that will provide a vibrant splash of greenery and a nicer view.

The architect then suggested the splashback also act as a sliding window (to match other sliding windows in the house) and to have no joins and no visible framing. We said "sure". The builder was visibly excited about this design feature and was determined we - ie he, the architect, engineer and glass contractor - could do it.

Except only last week, we found out the engineering logistics required to make this happen. With such a long, big piece of glass it obviously needed to function safely and also be able to slide into the wall cavity and not affect the toilet window at the other end of the same wall.

Listening to them discuss the ins and outs and potential difficulties, we began to wonder if it needed to open at all. I mean, half the living area completely opens up anyway, so it's not like we need the ventilation.

Cue email to architect, saying: let's save some time and money and ditch the fully openable splashback and concentrate on something else - like sorting out the feature niches I'd like in the dining space or how we're going to move the tree ferns for a second time!

Miniature Christmas Trees

I've solved the Christmas tree problem.

Our local gourmet deli and fruiterers has these on show on the footpath. Couldn't resist.

It can be decorated with mini baubles and placed as the centrepiece on a table or planted in a pot to grow larger or even in the garden. Which means we'll always have a Christmas tree up at the bach.

 All I gotta do is remember to water it!

The Pool

Image: The Contemporist

Hello online friends! What a hectic few days I've had (spending quality time with the hubby) and with no chance to get online and blog or peruse other people's beautiful blogs. But with the girls visiting their grandparents in NZ - on their own for the first time (!) - I am hoping to be able to get back into it.

And I'm very pleased to finally be able to say that the pool has now been formed and the concrete poured. I have to show you photos of course, even though it is highly uninspiring (unlike the image above).

As you can see it is kind of a cross between a lap pool and a normal pool - narrower and shallower at one end, getting wider and deeper at the other. Semi-established Lilly pilly native trees will line the eastern side, bordering our neighbours and timber decking will form the surround. While we were limited by space and the geography of the land and there isn't a huge amount of area around it, there is enough to put a couple of sun loungers at the narrower end.

But, hey, it's a pool! We've never owned a pool before so we can't wait to be able to jump in and cool off during the heat of a Sydney summer.

Tree Ferns

In an effort to keep the tree ferns that were growing from the rocky promontery in the back garden that we've basically cut in half to get more lawn (it is outside the picture to the left), we've transplanted them in the middle of what will be the back lawn where they can get both sun and shade and hopefully, continue living.

They look a bit sad at the moment, but cross fingers they will survive the upheaval. With Spring here and the sun shining, this has almost got me enthused about doing some gardening. Although, the closest I'll probably get is helping my girls plant the seedlings we bought a week ago. They definitely have more of a gardening gene than I do! But I do enjoy colourful spring flowers and fresh tomatoes, don't you?

Happy weekend everyone ...