Concrete, Deck and Shutters

Hey friends

Sorry for the silence- not only have we been busy with our move and getting our old place ready for the market, we've had no internet access for almost a week. But all is good now and things are definitely progressing. Pathway and driveway have been concreted and decking for the alfresco and front porch has been completed.

Our concreter comes back in a few weeks to apply the finish.

The decking needs a bit of cleaning, but it is a beauty. The wood is bamboo and our carpenter did a great job. If anyone needs a deck constructed in Brissie, I can pass his details.

Until today, we've had no window coverings, except for hubby's makeshift plastic tablecloth.

The curtains actually look pretty good, but not as good as these shutters below:

A glimpse of the shutters in the ensuite bathroom. The rest of the shutters will get installed tomorrow. And the ones for the alfresco area will be installed in a few weeks time. It's all coming together folks. Let me know what you think.

A Work in Progress

Two weeks later and we are still progressing on putting the finishing touches on our new home. The floor is almost done, but we miscalculated and ran out of floorboards. So we had to put in another extra order, but hubby hopes to finish it by this weekend! Can't wait.

In the meantime, we are trying to make this new house our home. We are getting there,  but I have to remember it doesn't happen overnight so I have to stop pushing myself. Just a glimpse of what we have managed to do so far:

I love the wooden trim Plantation Homes included here on the stairs. And this folks is the carpet we ended up choosing. A light wool carpet to contrast all the dark wood we have in the house.

The formal lounge room- all furniture in, but needs the art and those pieces we've collected over the years.

Though this is meant to be the kids' TV room, we've decided to add a reading nook for them. And they are loving it!

Our huge dark wooden table from Far Pavilions, with my beloved Moroccan-inspired pendant lighting above! Absolutely love it!!

Not a great shot of the pendant- perhaps I can take some photos in the daytime to show how the beauty of this pendant.

Quite a bit of work has been happening on the outside such as the concreting. Our decking gets installed tomorrow so expect more photos folks.

We are almost there

Sorry for the absence folks. We got handover last Thursday and it's been full-on since then. Hubby and our eldest boy have been busy laying the bamboo floorboards and I have been trying to help out there, plus pack up our stuff from our current house so that it can be ready to go on the market by end of next week!!!! And I have been running to Bunnings almost twice a day for this supply or that. I am a regular there now :). But as exhausting as it has been, we haven't mind too much. Laying the floorboards by ourselves has meant that we are putting something of ourselves into the build of the house. And we are so love in love with the floorboards, we sigh each time we see them. Here's a sneak peek:

This was on the second night. Hubby and our eldest son managed to finish the lounge room, the hallway, the huge family room and half of the library so far. Just the dining room, kitchen and pantry to go.

The finished hallway. I love the semi-gloss look. It just sparkles but is not too high maintenance. Oh yes, notice the splashes of red here and there?

Our youngest loves the vacuum maid so much that he looks for every opportunity to vacuum. Yes, poor thing was so bored! :) I hope he still loves the vacuum maid in a few weeks time when I may actually ask him to do it.

This week we are having our carpet installed, the concreting done and most of our furniture delivered. So I should be able so post some more photos in the next coming days. Till then my friends- have a great and productive week.

The Block is back

Did you guys catch the return of Nine's The Block?

Unfortunately I was so busy with work that I missed the first episode last night, but I managed to play catch up TV just before. And boy, what an episode it was. I was in tears when the decision was made. If you didn't get to view it either last night, you can watch it now here- http://homes.ninemsn.com.au/theblock/theblock2011/

And when you have finished watching, let me know if you were happy with the judges' decision?  Can't wait to see tonight's episode!

Countdown Time

So much has been happening here that I haven't had time to update everyone. But the latest and most exciting news is that our handover is in less than 1 week. That's right folks- we get the keys to our new house next week. We are all so excited, especially my little girl who can't wait to have her own bathroom so that she doesn't have to share with her two brothers anymore!

But for those who have built before, you know that the hard work only starts after handover. The concreter has been booked to come in immediately, bamboo flooring will be laid by hubby and then the carpet gets laid. Then we have the guys install the decking and another lot install the shutters. Then it's the turf and landscaping. So much to organise and manage,but hopefully it won't be long until we can finally settle into our new home.

I wanted to upload some photos but I thought I might wait until we get handover....oh what the heck, I shall upload a few now to give you folks a glimpse of what it's looking like. Don't mind the dust and dirt everywhere- the cleaners come next week to get the place sparkling.

The view of the kitchen from our library. Btw I love the red glass splashback!

I love the dark stain of these sliding doors. I love these doors, period!

Our ensuite- hubby chose most of the colours

The large bathtub in our ensuite- what a luxury. We may even get to use it as we have a huge watertank installed

Our library doors, stained in a dark chocolate colour. Our other splurge but well worth the extra dollars I think.



Absolutely Breathless Speed

I had a lovely chat to our Site Supervisor and our Adminstrator who advised that our handover is scheduled for the 3rd week of June, which means that the house will be in our possession in less than 2 weeks. OMG!!!!

As exciting as that prospect is, there is just so much work to be done in terms of organising the concreting and the decking. And honestly, I have been so wrapped up in other insane, emotional stuff this last week that I have neglected all these chores. I guess I better get a move on it. I did, however, manage to secure the aluminium shutters on Friday at a reasonable price.  And they are willing to install them in just a few weeks time so a YAY for that.

In hindsight, it would have been so much easier to get the builder to organise everything so that the house is all ready to move in at handover. However, as we wanted items not readily available (bamboo flooring, aluminium security shutters, anti-allergen wool carpet) by the builder and we did not want to pay the 20 % mark up, we forgo that convenience. I just wished I had been more organised; actually I really wished I had more hours in my day to do everything I need to do. Does this sound familiar anyone? Alas, I will simply have to crack the whip. So here's my checklist (hope this helps those in the same boat!):

To do by end of this week:

• Organise 3 concreting quotes
• Organise 3 decking quotes
• Order lounges for family and lounge room from furniture maker
• Organise 3 fencing quotes
• Organise quotes for the pool
• Organise turf quotes

To do immediately after handover:

• Lay bamboo flooring
• Get carpet laid
• Get decking installed
• Get concrete driveway and paths laid
• Get turf laid
• Get fencing constructed
• Have security shutters installed

To do by end of June:

• Buy our daughter's new bed and mattress
• Buy dining chairs for our new dining table
• Buy new bookcase to go into our library
• Buy and install garden shed
• Get electrician to install dining room pendant light

The rest of the landscaping will happen once we move in. Anyhow I feel like I am missing a few important things but not sure what? If you notice something missing, drop me a reminder please. Oh yes, we are having a walk through the house with our Site Supervisor this Tuesday so I should be able to update you further then. Until then folks, enjoy the long weekend if you are here in Oz.

Packing Time!

What a busy few days! I have managed to ruthlessly declutter my closet (giving away about 40-50 items of clothing- makes me sick to think that I had that much to give away in the first place), yet my closet still looks quite full. I will have to reassess the situation in a few weeks time and see if I can give more away.

And I got my youngest boy to declutter his toy drawers. I am proud to say that he was willing to give many of his toys so that other kids could have a chance to play with them. He also decided to give away many of his books. So this is what our decluttering has amounted to (minus my two bags of clothes I took to LifeLine today or gave away to friends):

But I think this is only the start. I will get my other kids to declutter their rooms when they get home from the farm tomorrow.

I have also started packing. I know we haven't received a handover date yet, but by all indications it looks like it will be end of June. And with my commitments to uni, community and family, I don't want to panic and be overwhelmed end of June because there is just so much to do.

So far, I have packed most of my linen closet, keeping only a few towels and a set of sheets for each bed out. I have also packed away most of our books, leaving only my books I need for my PhD. And this my friends is what one bookcase packed looks like:

I still have 2 more bookcases to do. While it hasn't been difficult to declutter my closet, I find it very difficult to part with my books. I still have books I read in high school, carrying them from the US to Malaysia and now finally Australia. My books are too precious to me. But I know I will eventually have to summon the courage to give them away, if I truly want to comitt to living minimally.