Facade Tiles!!!! Eco Alabster Grigio Lappato Porcelain

I have definitely been in love with a lot of things in this build but this one has really got my heart racing. You know how a cat (I'm not a cat person at all, in-fact I kind of detest them...!! sorry cat lovers) anyway, you know how a cat rubs up against something and it's tail lifts up and it gets all warm and fuzzy, well that is how I feel when I see our facade tile!! I just want to run up to them and touch them and purr!!! I'm so happy with our facade and our colour choices. When you choose your colour selections, it's so hard to envisage it all. We didn't want anything over the top or something that would date. We decided that warm neutral colours would be the best. We feel like the render colours have come up really well. They are light but with enough contrast and variation and I love that the tiles almost match the Hog Bristle Half render colour. They don't stand out but because of their colour variation and look/feel are a sutble feature without being in your face! That is what we were hoping for anyway - everyone obviously has a different taste, but we are super happy with it all!

Facade - Hardwick
Render - Dulux Hog Bristle Half (sandy)
 - Dulux BedBox (brown)
Tiles - Eco Alabaster Grigio Lappato Porcelain
Grout - Travertine
Front Doors - Corinthian Win21 - stained in Rich Walnut
Garage Door - Decowood Bush Cherry
Roof/fascia/downpipes - Colourbond Woodland Grey

Tile Beginning!

Slowly Growing

Loving the Tile Variation

The tiler has done a great job at making sure the tiles are layed with the greatest of variation. We opened a box of tiles to see what they looked like and a lot looked to have a similar pattern, but on the pier they all look so varied and different. LOVE THEM!

Finished Tiles!

Up Close and Personal

Tiles also have metal trim

Oh so Close

Hog Bristle Half Render

It has definitely been a monumental day today. Our coloured render has started!! I've said before that I have been a little nervous about our colour choices on the facade. They were one area that we weren't 100% sure about when we went through our colour selection and took on the guidance of the colour consultant. Render sample look so different to colour swatches too. So I have been looking at our colour swatches lately with a hit of hesitation. So whcen I went past today and saw the colour I was so excited! It's great! We wanted a nice sandy colour without being too white and it's just that. The main render is Dulux Hog Bristle Half. Our second render colour is Dulux Bedbox - which will be part of the small piers and beam - they have done a minor part of this colour today too and it's great to see them together. Feeling so happy and proud of our baby; Nelson!!! Facade colours are a HUGE choice - it's not something you can hide and its not a cheap option to change either. 

Render - Dulux Hog Bristle Half

The render on the small beam under the portico is

- Dulux Bedbox

Dulux Bedbox render on the beams (far pier will also be this colour render - brick pier will be tiles)

Close up of colours together - (not finished)

Garage hasn't been done yet! - It will also be Dulux Hog Bristle Half

Side of House

Looking Forward to Tomorrow!

Garage door was also painted - Hog Bristle Half 

We had this door extended to 920mm so you could get through with a wheelbarrow a little more comfortably without skinning your knuckles!!

Alfresco Beams Painted - Dulux Hog Bristle Half

It's amazing how much more 'finished' this area feels, being painted.  

Metre Box Painted - Woodland Grey

(Not sure why they don't just supply the metre cox in the colourbond colour you pick - it will no doubt chip a bit being a metal opening door - every build seems to be the same - standard Jasper when delivered)

Drainage Pipes Painted - Woodland Grey

Didn't expect these to be done - nice touch Carlisle!!

Sneak Peak at the Stairs!!!

There will definitely be more photos to come when I can sneak in - (tomorrow!!) 

Bath Must be In!!

I wasn't sure I was looking in the right house at first as the kitchen bench actually looked a little clean - I had to do a double take - what a special day today is!!! 

Brickwork Nearly Done, Internal Paint Nearly Done and Kitchen Nearly Done!

I've been missing my blogging the past few weeks. Every time I think I have a second to update things something else gets in the way! I've been trying to write these things for over a week now! 

Things have been moving along smoothly and in some ways also slowed down. The brickwork is oh so close to being finished. The brickies ran out of bricks, so they have a few areas to still finished off. The bricks were delivered on Saturday (2 pallets) but we are assuming the brickies have started another house this week. No doubt they will be back in the coming days to finish off. The window over the kitchen was fixed, yayyyyyy!! The wall was deconstructed, lintel in correct position and the wall rebuilt! 

Boral Mocha Bricks - Cat 4
Off-White Mortar - Upgrade

Brickwork above Garage Complete

Kitchen Window at Correct Height! 

Upper Eastern Wall Bricked

Living Room Wall (including fire place)

First Floor around Balcony Bricked (missing above door)

This looks like an infill as they haven't left room for a lintel. Our plans/contracts show brickwork so we will definitely be following this up during the week.

Alfresco Piers Finished

Almost Finished! 

More work was done to the kitchen too!

The overhead cupboards that had holes in them for handles have been replaced with flush cupboards and the panel shelf above has been put in the correct position - to make a useable shelf!! The wine rack has also been put in. Looking forward to filling this up - if I can reach it!!

Vinyl Wrap Gloss - Polar White - Upgrade

More Completed Cabinetry in Kitchen

                             

Open Shelf with Correct Panel and New Flush Doors

Our Benchtops are not Red!! Ready for Caesar Stone!

                       

                         

We were so excited to get into the house over the weekend! I even took the broom and gave it a lovely sweep out! Couldn't help myself! We're in for a mighty shock though when we move in as it took me nearly 3 hours to sweep it all out.'What do you do?' 'I work a few days, I'm a mother and I sweep...... nice to meet you!!!' Loving the paintwork!! Oh the gloss enamel doors are amazing. I think I ran my hand over the internal garage door for 5 min before I opened it! Don't know how they get that finish, but we sure do like it!

Dulux Lexicon Quarter - all walls, roof and doors

Admiring the Front Doors! - 

Check out the swept floors!

 Crisp and Clean 

The Upstairs Bathroom 

Ready for Stone 

Master Bedroom Doors - Still being painted 

Cheeky Monkey!

Upstairs Activity Room 

 More Paintwork

Theatre Room - We are going to paint this room grey/charcoal after handover

Can we move in yet?!!

 More Walls and Doors

Study

This window will be replacing the one in our ensuite. It has hardwood reveals, rather than MDF as our SS thought that it was more suitable being above the shower and in such a wet environment. Happy they made this decision without us even mentioning it. We actually assumed that all the reveals would be hardwood. In hindsight, we would have upgrade all reveals to hardwood if we had have known they were going to be MDF. The theatre room reveals are still to be replaced too. 

Internal Painting with Dulux Lexicon Quarter

While we had an inspection we were able to take a few pics. We've been able to get into the house up until this point, at nights and on weekends, but our front doors have been put on, yay!!! But, we can no longer sneak in!! (we even left the laundry unlocked hoping to come back and have a better look but the painters were too vigilant and locked them all!!!)

Walls, roof, skirting and doors = Dulux Lexicon Quarter

The painters have these marks to sand any imperfections. There were absolutely everywhere! There were literally hundreds (couldn't get a better photo as they were busy working!)

So happy with our bedroom doors! These were an upgrade (also for powder-rooms and bathrooms.

We debated to go with keeping them timber and painting white (Lexicon Quarter) over and over again - well I did! Especially when they were delivered and the timber looked so beautiful. We are having hardwood spotted gum floors installed after handover and felt that it might be a bit of a mish-mash of timber with the stairs and front doors if we kept these timber too. Really happy with the result!! We have gone with white for nearly everything so really looking forward to adding some splashes of colour in our furiture!

Loving the white and black windows too!

First Coat in the Theatre (we are painting this grey/charcoal after handover)

First Coat in the Dining

Really happy with the quality of paintwork so far. This was the first coat and looked great! The work they were doing with sanding etc. was meticulous - more than you would do if you were doing it yourself!

Almost Need Your Sunnies in the Lounge!

A Splash of Colour for our Entry (Art Work)!

Internal Doors Looking Good

Good to see they are using quality paint too!