Window Infills

I was a little snowed under last week so this is an update that actually occurred last Thursday, the day before our PCI. I was really happy to drive past and see two A & L Window trucks there working away at the windows and doors. They put all (3 missing) infills in, which have been a fairly big part of our journey and I'm so happy to say that I love them!! Of course, I would prefer they weren't there but they actually suit the boutique windows and really finish it all off. We were able to insulate these so we hope this maximises the double glazing. There were also other parts of the windows and doors that were cleaned and replaced, including foot plates, brushes to doors and cleaning out (most) of the mud and dirt from the tracks. 

Here they are;

Window Infills 

Above Dining Room Doors

Above Laundry Door - this is probably the largest

Study Window

Fixed Lounge Window

Carpet Work Begins - Takarra Ridge Wool Blend

No idea what has happened to the renderers. The weather forecast was for potential rain, so we should be happy that they haven't been yet. The rest of the week isn't looking flash either so it might be a while till we see the finished product! However, the carpet layers were there all day today so work inside moves forward. Underlay for upstairs was laid and the carpet has been rolled out and cut in most rooms. All rooms upstairs are carpeted (except bathroom and powder room!). Downstairs, the underlay is also down and the carpet has been rolled out - is some parts to flatten and decrease (master bedroom, study and theatre). In our previous home we had a light colour wool carpet and we were really happy with how it stood up in wear and tear and in durability. In 11 years it was only just starting to look like it needed replacing and it had been there for a few years prior to that. We chose a wool blend for this home in the hope that it would also be easy to clean (especially having kids) and have found that lighter carpets are actually easier to keep clean than darker too! It's not a plush carpet but it does have a soft feel and it hopefully ties in with our coastal location. 

Underlay - Super Premium Foam (Cat 3)
Carpet - Takarra Ridge - Wool Blend Loop 520 (Cat 3)

Underlay

Underlay in Master Bedroom

Upstairs Bedroom

Rolled Out Upstairs

Rolled out Carpet Ready to go

Theatre Room

Carpet Close Up

Upstairs (few dirty boot footprints - eek!)

 

Takarra Ridge - Wool Blend 520 (Cat 3) - Colour Selection

Lights, Camera, Action - Electrical Light Up!!

Photo overload today!! Yesterday when we went past we were lucky enough to get inside as one of the doors had been left unlocked. We made the most of the opportunity! As well as taking lots of photos and having the freedom to have a careful look around, the main reason I wanted to get inside this week was to give the floors a good clean. The carpet will be close to going down and the floors are sooooooo dusty and dirty. You would assume that the floors would be vacuumed cleaned beforehand but I honestly don't trust they would be. The painters had swept the dirt away from the bottom of the staircase but it all sat 30cm away and would surely end up all through the house again. I actually took our old vacuum and started upstairs. It was quite a scene. Within 3 minutes of vacuuming the dust was pouring out the end of the vacuum and the room was thick of dust - I opened every window in a mad panic as it looked like smoke and the last thing I needed was the fire brigade turning up to a dust storm!! So instead, I attacked it all with a broom, brush and shovel. It was much cleaner (took a lot longer) and I opened the back and front doors which limited any dust. It's spotless now! By the time I finished sweeping, darkness had crept in. So I tested out all the lights! It was definitely a goose-bump moment!! It looks like a real house, like a house you would really live in!!! We were really surprised with the brightness of the downlights too. We had excepted that we may need to change most of the globes over to brighter ones once we moved in but they are great!! The photos don't really show the true effect of them - in real life is even better!  

Looking Through the Front Doors

Down the Hall (forgot to turn the bulkhead lights on)

(Dust Free Floors!!)

Stair Lights (with hall lights on)

Stair Lights Only - LOVE THESE!

Study - this room is super bright

Theatre Room

Downstairs Powder Room

Ensuite

Looking the Other Way Down the Hall

Kitchen - only had these ones on for a split second as even the dangling ones were working!

Clean Floors!!

Lounge Room

Laundry

Upstairs Activity Room

Upstairs Bathroom 

Upstairs Powder Room

Flooring Booked

There still seems so long to go before we move in, but we are now making decisions about curtains and getting the ball rolling for our hardwood flooring and fencing to be done after handover. 
Our SS informed us a few weeks ago that our completion date should be about 5/6 weeks away. We have been keeping in contact with our flooring company and they have measured and ordered all our flooring and we have now booked this in for 29th September (but may need to change if things are slower)!!

FLOORING
We are having Hardwood QLD Spotted Gum flooring - select grade 80 x 14mm (narrow) with gloss finish (polyurethane). We looked at both NSW and QLD Spotted Gum and decided we liked the QLD a little better. It seems to have more variation of colour and has more brownish/chocolatey tones compared to the NSW, which is much lighter. Our flooring company will also do the skirting boards to all the ground floor - after the timber is laid . The flooring will run through the entry and hall into the kitchen, lounge and dining. Carpet and Tiles to wet areas are all being done through Carlisle Homes.

Ground Floor

Here is a photo of their work

QLD Hardwood Spotted Gum (post handover)

Other Colour Selections for Ground Flooring

Crystal Super White Porcelain Tiles 

300 x 600 - (to laundry, powder room and ensuite)

Takarra Ridge 520 Carpet (Cat 3) - 

(to master bedroom, study and theatre)

I'm Addicted to Adairs...!!!!!! and a Few Other Purchases

I wouldn't call myself a home-styler, in fact I think I have very little idea of what looks good and what doesn't in any fashion sense! However, I am really enjoying the fun side of designing and furnishing. I had a little taste for it when we sold our house and we wanted to get it looking as appealing to others as we could. It may be starting to turn into a full blown fetish now! I still don't feel overly confident in the decisions, but I am having fun. I have started following a great blog called Lime & Mortar. She has some really practical organisational ideas and has a great blog on furnishing and designing her newly built home.  I was reading through her posts and the comments she had about Adairs (linen, towels etc.) made me think they were worth checking out. I hadn't really been in there before so I went in for a browse. Well what a mistake! I am officially addicted to all their products!! We had been searching for new quilt covers and I would happily buy any of them! They are great quality and everything we have bought, we managed to get on sale which was great. I was in there yesterday grabbing some towels and the sales assistant told me there was a Kids Adairs shop at High Point, Melbourne - that is sure to send you into bankruptcy... Love to see it one day after I recover from financial ruin!!

These are the purchases we have made..

Quilts - Enchanted Forest - Pink,  Raindrop Confetti

Blankets for the girls - Morgan Stripe, Alex

Towels for the new bathrooms and hand towels for powder rooms - Flinders Chevron

Curious Yellow Owl - we are going for a splash of yellow here and there!

And the cleaning products - you have to try these!

The linen spray - you could spray on everything in your home; its delectable

Laundry detergent, floor cleaner, all purpose spray. I am yet to use them all but they all smell so fresh and are made with essential oil. 

I'm saving them till we move in!

These are the cushions (some of) that I want to buy!

I'm going to wait till they go on sale and then purchase away!!

Our Doona Cover (not Adairs - Logan & Mason)

Study Chair my Husband has Picked

For guitar playing, reading or contemplating life!

Matt Blatt - Jean Prouvre

Our Side Table - in yellow, not red

Jay Lamp Table - Vast Galleries 

Plaster

It's been a big week of plaster work this week. The plasterers started the plaster on Tuesday and in effectively two days they had the majority of all walls and roof areas plastered. Our SS informed us that they would also be there most of the weekend. 

Looking Down the Hall (from the Entry)

Master Bedroom (with bulkhead) 

Not sure what all the plaster squares are on the wall - they appear in most rooms

Ensuite

You can see the difference in plaster to ground floor - finish will be square set

Study

Theatre

Lounge - with bulkhead and hob (vicious evening sun coming in)

Kitchen - rough plaster work under window - wasn't finished

Window not centred which looked a little odd. We looked at the plans and display and it is the same. Funny the things you don't see until it is stripped back!

First Floor

Activity Room - you can see the gap where the cornice will go

Bathroom

Bedroom 3

WIR in bedrooms 

NBN Box in Garage 

One thing I am glad we did before the plaster went up was take a photo of all the walls in each of the rooms and take note of all the electrical wires as well as the measurements for noggins etc. The hope is that when it comes to hanging pictures, shelves etc on the walls we won't make a mess of the plaster-work or cause a house fire!! (we also need it for the speaker wires in the theatre room - should be fun finding those!!)