We're In!

I can't believe it - we're in and we survived! It was a day of contrasts last Thursday: I think it was probably the more organised move of the nine we've done in the past 15 years but it was definitely the most chaotic at the moving in stage.

Think: painters still painting when removalists arrive, cleaners trying to clean when removalists arrive, curtains being hung when removalists arrive, electrician fixing lighting when removalists arrive! It was a menagerie of beavers beavering away and we turn up with a ton of boxes and furniture on the pretext of moving in.

Perhaps we were mad but then, again, I'm loving being back despite the amount of work still to be done and the things we've discovered that haven't been done when they should have. But we have flushing toilets, an amazing view and beds to sleep in so what more could you want?

Instead of taking photos of what is yet to be finished (ie study joinery, more painting, more blinds, shower screens, bathroom mirrors ... and that's just the inside!) I've taken a few snaps of the good bits (in fact I've taken quite a few so I'll post them over two blogs).

Entry hall table

Entry - view from the top of the stairs

Entry stairs with paintings, yet to be hung, by my dad of our old dog and our new one, Ruby

At the top of the stairs you get to the dining area

... and the living space

... and the kitchen (don't look at the missing dishwasher and cupboard doors)

More to come over the weekend, folks!

Shady Designs Pendants and more chaos!

I didn't think things could get even more chaotic than they already are. But how wrong I was!

On site late yesterday afternoon, running through everything that needs to happen I discover the girls' bedrooms have been beautifully painted. But in the wrong colour! Yes, indeedy, two lovely coats on the walls and joinery were done without anyone realising they were using Dulux Bone White (a creamy colour being used in our bedroom and the guest) instead of Dulux Antique White (which is quite white). How this could happen when I itemised every room detail on paper, ran through it with the head builders and then they even wrote the paint names on each wall, I don't know.

We've asked for more painters to come on board today so it can be re-done and all the other painting finished as well so the carpet can be laid tomorrow. Then there's an issue with the bathroom mirrors which were to be bevelled and nothing's been done. And the wallpaper in the upstairs loo which the wallpaper guy (who supposedly has 40 years experience) is having trouble hanging - something to do with it being a foil with a raised suede-like flower pattern and so this is holding up the installation of the loo itself (plus vanity and wall mirror).

I could go on but you get the picture, although it does help getting it off my chest!

Instead, how about I show you the two pendants we had made by the lovely people at Shady Designs in Sydney's Lilyfield whom I'd highly recommend? The pictures don't really do them justice and they look kind of silly sitting on the cane table outside but the light's better there.

This one is for the study and is in Ink & Spindle fabric: Birch Forest in Robin's Egg.

And this one is for over the dining table. The wallpaper is Osborne & Little, Farfalla by Nina Campbell. The fabric is more charcoal in person and is called Lamba.

Have a great day folks!

Four days to go!

I've been really slack with my blogging, I know, I'm sorry. And some of the tradies have been really slack on site, too! The painters have been sacked and replaced by a new team and the pool man has been fired for not turning up. The painting is only half done, there is no carpet, no wallpaper, no study joinery.

We move in on Thursday and this is what it looks like ...

The carpet is being laid on Wednesday and the stair balustrades are going in Thursday morning. Talk about tight! But at least the front door's in.

And we have an entrance.

We have kitchen benchtops, a gas hob and a new fence behind.



We have some lovely bathroom tiling.

Master bath

Girl's bathroom

We have a louvred privacy screen on the deck.

A partially formed barbecue area off the deck.

And a fence-less back yard which better be fenced when we move otherwise Ruby will be roaming!

And at least they're trying to look after the floors ...

No matter if the paint's still tacky I can't wait to move in!

P.S Tomorrow I'll show you two pendants I've just picked up which are yet to be hung ... Jx

The dog and the possum

 

What do you do when your dog catches a possum?

Ignoring it doesn't cut the mustard when she's wandering around with it in her mouth and looks so pleased with herself I think she's going to bring it inside.

In New Zealand (where I'm from for those who don't know), possums are pests. Farmers shoot them. In Australia (where I live), they are a protected species. You are not allowed to kill them.

But dogs are dogs and their instinct is so strong they can't help themselves. The poor little possum had been taunting Ruby for days, weeks even, scuttling along the fence and fossicking in the trees. Every day Ruby would run outside to try and find it so I suppose it was inevitable something bad was going to happen. I've no idea how it got down to Ruby's level (an accident I imagine - maybe it fell?) but Ruby being as quick and strong as she is took the opportunity to pounce.

I was not impressed. Especially not at 7 o'clock in the morning on the front lawn in my pyjamas trying to get Ruby to drop it. In fact, I felt sick.

I hoped it might survive.
I was wrong.

Rest in peace furry friend.

Update: Two and a half weeks to go!

Okay, so things have been getting a bit stressful over at my place. The builders have been working towards us moving in on September 10 and so we decided to book the removalists for the 12th. But despite them going all out, there has still been quite a bit to do and we weren't sure they would get done. On top of that, once the inside is complete, the architect has to do a final 'defects check' (crikey!) before the inside is given the all-clear. Soooo, we've asked our agent if the landlord would mind terribly if we moved our move forward to the 16th. Haven't heard yet, but am crossing fingers!

In any case, the good news is that the concrete for the parking bay in front of the garage has been poured - after finally getting the go-ahead from the engineer that doing screw piles instead of deep-set piles (which are time-consuming, expensive and come with the risk of hitting goodness knows what boulders or pipes below). And to ensure access is guaranteed for the removalists, we'll wait until after we're in for the guys to lay the stone flagging.

The stone masons are doing an amazing job with all the stone. Here they are out the back. It's a bit hard to see properly but they're rebuilding the old rockery (to the left) using a mix of the old boulders and new and adding bigger and better steps from what will be lawn up to the BBQ area and onto the deck.

After a few false starts and some tiling mishaps (oops!), the bathroom tiling is well underway. The photos don't do it justice at all - the lighting or something not really working but they give you an idea. Above is the master ensuite - the back wall where the shower and toilet will go is  in small pearly white mosaics, and below is the guest ensuite with the same kind of mosaics but in gun metal.

I think the grouting will make a lot of difference!

That's all for now, folks. Have a great week!

Virtual Renovating

Image via emmas blog (just because I liked it!)

I can't believe I never knew about these things until now: Renovating and decorating via free online websites that let you design houses and decorate rooms from the comfort of your ergonomic desk chair - or, in my case, my rather un-ergonomic dining chair.

And I can't believe I found out about one of them - Floor Planner - via my daughter. Yes, indeedy peoples, my 12-year-old is designing her very own virtual beach house for her Design and Technology class. Even my 10-year-old is doing it now and only last night showed me the top floor of her 'house' with its room full of arcade games - her idea of heaven clearly!

Then I read in the Sydney Morning Herald the other day about a whole raft of other such sites that I never knew about and quite frankly, could have used over the past year.

My Deco: where you can design a 3D room, add furniture, make moodboards and get ideas from other people's room designs.

Google Sketchup: which is a more architecturally inclined modelling program.

3Dream: uses video-game technology to allow you to draw up floor plans, add the joinery and then choose from real-life furniture, fabric swatches, lights and art.

They could be real time-wasters but I reckon if you're having a hard time envisaging a room or the plan of a house, they could be just what you need.

Has anyone used one of these before? I'd love to hear how it went!

Look, no scaffolding (and more)!

I can't believe what a difference scaffolding makes! Apart from being able to see the house better, without it the rooms are a million times lighter.

Nor can I believe what a difference a kitchen makes, and a wardrobe or two!

It's really beginning to look like a proper house now.

There's even door handles.

You can see a bit of the timber flooring.

And this is what it'll be like with its China Oil, semi-gloss coating.

The countdown is on!