The front door..

The front door of the house had me in knots... 

As the painters neared completing painting the entire house, I still hadn't really decided on the fate of the front door. I am usually not very adventurous but really loved the idea of a black door. The painters had already coated it white and despite the girls pleading with me not to do it, I gave the painters the go ahead for a black glossy front door... I bit my fingernails that day...

 But i am delighted with the finish...So shiny, glossy and gorgeous!

 

I initially thought I'd change the brass door handle but i think it will stay.. I quite like it against the black.. They just painted the outside of the door...I was too undecided about the inside - so it remains white...

The VERANDAH is half complete... It should be finished within the next couple of days..

I have been wandering around it aimlessly, gazing at it from every angle, resisting the temptation to share until it is complete...Stay tuned..

Thanks for coming past 

Melissa xx

there are no words....just love.

half painted, no verandah roofing, unstyled and still a construction site but oh so much love...

on the home stretch now....

more photos soon....

Thanks for coming past 

Melissa xx

floor progress..

 I snuck into the house on friday and snapped a couple of pics on my i phone as the floor sander/polisher was putting some undercoat kind of stuff on the floors. 

This is the girls lounge/rumpus room...

( the french doors are still a gorgeous yellow undercoat as the door furniture needs to be fitted before they can be glossed up in white)

 He was literally still rolling them as I snapped as you can see this is a half finished Amelia's room

We decided to go the all natural and low allergy option of tung oil rather than polyurethane. This will ensure we have a very low gloss, environmentally and allergy friendly,  easy to maintain floor. We really love the matt look timber floor and would have even left it natural if that was allowed... With the tung oil, if it scratches you can apparently sand back the scratch by hand and just touch up one spot or even one room and it easily blends back in with the rest of the floor without having to sand and re lacquer the entire house - sounds good to me.. Even though we are really not precious about timber floors - the more knocks and scrapes the better...character we say!

The floor sander will be in the house for the next few days finishing off...

I really should be packing.... but i just cant pry myself away from Pinterest at the moment...

Planning, dreaming & gathering inspiration for each room...

Melissa xx

busy days

Were getting there! 

The floor sander is busy sanding away today and the floors with be coated and finished by next week..

The kitchen tiling needs to be completed in the next week or so...

The electrician is hopefully finishing today..

 painters all finished...

The windows, doors, architraves and skirts are all glossed up in Wattyl White Delight

Window coverings ordered and being made ready for install just before we move..

Wardrobes and shelves all fitted out...

This is the store room/linen cupboard

Tiling complete and plumbing almost done...The bath and basin plugs just needs to be finished...

Still making a decision on the mirrors... Perhaps a standard large mirror or perhaps a feature mirror...?? Mmmmm, what would you do?

Verandah has started and if the weather behaves we could have deck in less than 2 weeks just in time for the plumber to put the hot water service on before we move in... Yes, moving in-fingers crossed within the next couple of weeks...

The boys will continue to work on the verandah, man cave will be clad next week and painters working outside but this little chicken is not that patient - so in we move for Christmas...

Oh and we have a new addition to our family. Meet Scout....An innocent trip to the pet shop, a car trip home that involved two little girls crying and begging, puppy eyes from the three girls of the house when we got home, and the daddy agreed... 

Back we went to the pet shop....

Sorry about the lack of posts - naughty computer just would not cooperate..

More photos to come...

Oh and Christmas is coming so I've heard....my heart just races at the thought of the next four weeks...but in a good way..... *sigh* Its here, moving day is nearly here...

Melissa xx

Kitchen tap love....

I stared at her today and sighed, like she was a new addition to the family...

Yes... you can see water in the sink, it works, water actually flows from this beauty...

I had chosen the Perrin & Rowe Ionian tap which looks like this:

  and ordered the butlers sink without a tap hole, as I was going to have the tap installed into the stone behind the sink.

Lesson number 306 in my owner builder advice.....measure, measure and measure.... Remember how I shared that the feature nosing (ledges) on the windows were a last minute addition... clearly an impulsive one led by the heart and not by the head... 

This gorgeous little ledge meant that the tap did not fit in the stone behind the sink... Oh well.... Plan B : 1. find a stone mason that was willing to drill a hole in the butlers sink or send it back interstate where it came from...thankfully a said stone mason was found - thankyou!! and 2. choose another tap - introducing the Perrin & Rowe Picardie in pewter complete with white porcelain handles that fits perfectly into the newly drilled hole..  *sigh*...

So that's her.....my baby... Oh how i cant wait to wash some vegies here...

You can also just see in this last photo my nifty little bench bin complete with chooki bucket under bench in the corner...

Now.....splashback choice...I had initially thought glass for the ease of cleaning..Think i have changed my mind though - too modern...bought some samples of little square travertine tiles but think i may just go white tiles??

Can there be too much white?? No , didn't think so, or is that just me??

Excuse the dark photos...they were taken during a rainy patch..

Thanks for visting

Melissa xx

We have stone...

a full audience to watch the island bench stone being installed..

I am over the moon with how the stone has come up and I just cant wait to cook in that kitchen!! Thanks Simon and Co for all your hard work on the kitchen and cabinetry - could not be happier with the end result....

bathroom benches with basin..

our bath arrived

and the roof was finished on the man cave...

laundry trough in place...

little chook snacking away on the mower after daddy mowed the lawns...

full frontal..

The last week has been chaotic again, trying to coordinate everyone so that we can mooooovvee!! I am growing more and more impatient excited by the day as the light is finally at the end of the tunnel..

The plumbers,tiler and electrician are madly working away...

I picked up all the taps, toilets, etc for them to be installed today and may have squeeled a little when I laid eyes on my kitchen tap.. It was being fitted when I visited the house this morning - so pictures will be coming very soon..

Naturally there have been some issues with getting everything right for the plumbing fit off - basins arriving with no waste, wrong size waste, missing things from the order, etc, etc.. But hopefully it will be all sorted by the end of today and all the taps, basins will be in place...

Pictures to come...

Melissa x

bathroom sneaky peek

Firstly - thanks a bunch to everyone that commented, called and messaged me yesterday about my kitchen lighting dilemma....I appreciate all of your very valued feedback!!
I am closer to a decision and will share soon...

Mr tiler has been busy. He started in the girls bathroom - walls and floors....

Is it wrong that I cant wait to mop and polish them??

he has now moved around the corner into their shower space...

I couldn't get in to take pictures of the shower as the tiles had been freshly laid....

he has also tiled the floors in the ensuite and powder room...

The missing tiles are where the bath will sit in the girls bathroom, which will hopefully arrive later this week..

bath in transit!

bath tap set - I almost chose the fixed shorter bath spout but decided something that could be swung out of the way would be more sensible...

the ensuite vanity, as it was being installed - so without handles but you get the idea..

the girls bathroom vanity is almost identical..

 this stone on top

two of these on top of each vanity

and these taps...

So that's the bathrooms,  hopefully next time I share some pics, all these things will be sitting in the right places..

 no more agonising decisions for the bathrooms, umming or arghhing - the choices are complete... Well maybe just the window furnishings....I know what I want already though...I bet you could guess....

Bathroom choices complete - now just have to wait for the tradies to do their thing and cross fingers that it looks as I have imagined and hoped it would..

The powder room will also have the same stone, basin and tap sets = done. I love that it sounds so simple but it has taken me forever, oh the joy of owner building..... Did you hear the sarcasm??

Melissa xxx

kitchen lights

I have very few choices left to make now for the house and have left an all important one very late - procrastinating, too much choice, confusion - not sure but whatever it is needs to stop and a decision needs to be made pronto.. that's where you lovely bloggy buddies come in - help please!!

I need to choose two feature pendant lights to hang over the island bench in the kitchen.

You cant see the little holes that have been cut out in these pictures but they will hang just either side of the middle rangehood section

So, considering the white, white, white and more white - what do you think of the following choices??

 freedom industrial light?

 freedom broom woven grass pendant

 Ikea Ottava pendant?

 Ikea brushed stainless pendant?

cape cod designs gorgeous french glass lights??

Cape cod designs maritime pendant?

 freedom webb tapered pendant??

 Schots pendant??

Recollections pendant??

shiny Recollections pendant??

 Your expert feedback and opinion would be so greatly appreciated - I truly am decisioned out. I always thought I would go with the maritime pendant but the Daddy is not so keen....and as much as I love them I think the woven pendant may be the wrong coloring??

Also, it is important not to block the view out of the kitchen windows....If you have any other suggestions please fire away!! the voice of a desperate woman.......

Thanks xx 

Melissa