Lining at the end of the tunnel

 

 

 

 

 

Yes that is gib board on our walls and, Yes, that is a chair in our house. I know it's a little premature for chair placements but I couldn't help myself...that's one of my favourite spots in the house so I had to put something there. It's actually come in very handy for some good honest sitting, looking, picturing what will go where and occasionally just watching Guy or Dad work.

I must say though, I actually have become quite handy with a gib screw gun thingy unless it's an awkward corner where I can't put my full weight behind it (I really need to work on these noodle arms)....nothing a little encouragement with a screwdriver won't fix though. I do still have my own special words for some tools, which amuses Guy and Dad but I generally know what they're talking about whenever I need to pass them something. So, the skills are definitely coming along.

 

Guy's skills on the other hand have gone next level... So proud of what he can do and love seeing how much he enjoys building our home, it's such an experience we will never forget.... And we owe so much to my Dad who has put in just as much time as we have. Even when we are away for a wedding and we say.... Make sure you take the weekend off as well...you can guarantee he won't.

 

Hmmmm Do you sense a little nostalgia from me...a little 'oh, what a journey it's been!' kind of emotion...Well, you'd be right...because we just this morning got the big tick from the council to get onto the plastering and painting stage!! I can hardly believe we're here and I'm just soooo excited!

 

We put in a big pre inspection effort last night until 10pm, this area was a highlight for me...the fire zone. Before

 

 

 

 

 

And After!

It was so great to see it all lined.....and Guy and Dad were very gracious when I said..."Wooow! I love it.......actuuually I think the face wall above the fire needs to be around 800mm lower so it lines up with the top of the glass" They decided it wouldn't take much to add an extra 800mm and said "Righto PM (project manager/mistress/monster)" and then I could breathe again with the promise my lines are going to line up soon.

 

 

 

I'm loving the grooved ply ceilings, which we will be painting white... I love white, and white the house will be. I'm counting on the texture changes like this one to give the house the interest that a lot of people use colour for. White textures.... that's where I'm at.

I'm also slightly inspired by this pile of gib against the living room wall. I think a wall mural may be on my list of things to do now....

 

 

 

 

 

Half of the kitchen is in... Which blew my mind. Handles need to go on, bench needs to be fitted, Island put together, island bench made.... But ya know, we're getting there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last but not least.... Our bedroom!! The plan was to waterfall the ply right down the back of the wall. That WAS the plan until the boys discovered that due to basic mathematics the lines wouldn't line up seeing as the ceiling is on a 15° slope. Naturally, I was slightly devastated... My exciting feature scrapped due to Maths?! Maths! The Maths I said I would never use again when I left school because I would buy a calculator...damn! get outta here 'basic mathematics', quite honestly I have never liked you, you've always been a little mean.

 

But after I had my grand idea deflated I decided the way to get around it was to take the gooved wall to the top of the windows and just create one giant headboard type feature.

 

I think it's a win (Guy is almost on board) and like my Dad said...

 

"it won't be everyone's cup of tea"

But that brings me to my next thought....I've decided that I'm not phased if every persons cup of tea and wine biscuit crumbs aren't at our house.

We're building this home for us and our cups of tea to sit in. And when people visit and don't like something I'm guessing we won't know anyway, I assume, in the spirit of good manners that they would wait until they are sitting around with their own yummy cups of tea in their own beautiful homes to talk about what they would have done differently...right?

Unless you're Kevin McCloud, then you can and will say whatever you want to whoever you want. Because you're Kevin McCloud and that's your job.

 

Hooray for progress...and an update!!! And to all my Instgram friends, thanks so much for the constant encouragement. You're all incredible!

K x

 

365°

 

 

I've been meaning to post this for a while now....most of you probably follow my instagram feed and you see the top two images all the time!

But this is the thing about instagram, it's for pretty photo's right? Like when I try and cook that perfect fillet of fish that's lying delicately over the creamy risotto, exactly like the Pinterest photo, but instead it looks like scrambled fish and lumpy rice....that will not go on instagram.... But a perfectly ripe just opened avocado. Snap, filter, go!

Well I guess I kind of do that with our house too, not to fool you, but because who really photographs the not-as-good bits?! Well, I have because I want you to see them.

 

We bought the section as a flat empty 2.5 acre paddock, which means there is a fair amount of work that needs to go into landscaping it. At the moment we can see right over to our neighbours shed and our other neighbours yard where he keeps all his business vehicles and toys (he is a VERY handy man to know!!)

 

 

On the western (shed) side we've already planted a whole row of trees and created and planted a mound directly in front of it to give us privacy from our neighbours (who we love but I'm sure they don't want to see us doing the forgetful nudie dash from shower to towel cupboard). Some of the trees are already taller than the fence!! Unreal and pretty exciting! Soon we won't even know that each other are there...and then we'll probably miss our ride on mower waves and chats.

On the Eastern side, you can see the line of trees that our very thoughtful neighbours have already planted....that's a lot of money right there and it's not going to benefit them in anyway.... I mean, Their trucks didn't need privacy. So it was very kind of them to get them in the ground and get them growing. We have plenty more to do on that eastern side...landscape either side of the driveway and then do some kind of hedging closer to our house to help with the easterly wind.

Actually that's a really good tip if you're in the design stage....make sure you spend time on the section and figure out what your prevailing winds are etc... Then create sheltered zones around the house. We have one beside the living room out the front of our ensuite window and another on the south western side outside what we now refer to as 'the den' it's where our computers will be and a loungey reading zone that leads out to a deck. It's a great end of the day spot.

 

 

Camping on the land last summer is also what prompted us to extend the eaves of the house on the North side outside of the living room.... If we hadn't of, the sun would just pooooour in there all day in the summer and make living in the living room, a sweaty and uncomfortable business, and that's no way to live.

 

 

So there you go.... The other bits that you don't see as much because they don't inspire me to snap away (yet). It's a good reminder for myself and I'm sure many others from my generation.... Things can't always be perfect from the beginning, we need to work towards it! I look forward to showing you another 4 photos in the future with a bunch of bushy happy trees.

 

 

 

Friday Five

 

 

 

 

I'm getting in there.... just... Only 1 hour left of Friday. I'm lying in bed and watching a couple of videos of a band I recently came across and I just had to share.

 

The Sons of the East. I'm a fan.

 

This video got Guy into a real spin...great music and DIY board shaping.

And this video, their imagery is so lovely and I just love the music.

 

I know what you're thinking "that's not five" but it's late and I have a trick. Their album has five songs on it. Taaadaaaa. Enjoy

 

Happy Friday x

 

Where to hang?

 

 

Wardrobes, they're one of the things that I've put to the back of my mind, on the 'not a priority' list....what would Carrie Bradshaw say, that's all the poor girl wanted in the end, right? Unlike Carrie though, my wardrobe is full of "I found it for 10 bucks" kinda items and a little less "I sold my left kidney for this Balmain blazer" type treasures, so it's hardly surprising.

So here lies the I'm-not-Carrie-dilemma, we have no budget for kitting out the empty spaces we will eventually call wardrobes....none at all. I'm not giving an inch to these wardrobes that could be better used elsewhere, I know what I need to do, I need to get crafty.

I need to make our wardrobes look less budget and more buudgettte (that's budget said in a French accent and written in italics, so much more chic) so I've been collecting some ideas from Pinterest and this is where I'm at.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These driftwood options are right up there for me. I have access to plenty of it at the beach down the road and I love the look of it. Painted or unpainted, still undecided.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This ply and copper job looks so great, we have a fair bit of ply lying around but I'm not sure if the budget would allow for copper pipe.

 

 

 

 

Crates and boxes for shoes, I've done that before and I think I could easily do it again. As much as I love the rustic look of the boxes, I think I'd go white in our wardrobe to make it look a little less cramped and busy in a small space. There will also be a few less red soles and heels in our wardrobe, mainly just rubber soles if I'm honest.

 

 

Thinking, thinking, need to start deciding.....

 

 

 

 

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