Where to start...

One of the reasons why it's taking us so long to decorate our house is because we couldn't decide on the theme. And since moving into our new home, I realised that Bill and I have different definitions of what our home should be. We both agreed on comfort, kids friendly and vintage inspired. It's the "vintage" that seems to separate us a bit. Bill finds antiques from England appealing, and while beautifully carved wooden furniture is romantic, to me it doesn't speak character or charm. I'm more "retro vintage" I love quirky, colours, boldness but then I also enjoy a more coastal/provincial french to relax in and be soaked in elegance and class. Yes, I'm quite moody lol

Now, do we stick to one theme throughout the whole house or do we mix it up room by room?
Mix it up of course! Where is the fun otherwise haha my ever loving husband has gracefully agreed for me to take over and do whatever makes me happy :D

Our almost three year old daughter asked us the other morning why her (10 months old) brother is still sleeping (in his cot) in our room (oops). And it was decided then that we need to start working on his room. Two weeks later, we (or rather I) chose a dark blue paint as a feature wall. Here's hoping that it looks good....

J.

Where are we now?

wow it has been over two years since handover and it just hit us that we have completely disappeared from our beloved blog! Where did the time go?!

Truth be told, we have been quite slack. There was nothing that exciting in our lives to excuse the absence. But to be fair, Telstra did take forever to connect us and with little access to the internet, blogging wasn't really that enticing. The first couple of days were crazy though. We had the home theatre, blinds and alarm installed all in the same day! And with so many activities going on; our daughter's christening/house warming, christmas bbq, new year's bbq, our daughther's first birthday, working, fencing, landscaping, pregnant again (he's nearly 10 months now) even after a year there were still boxes to be unpacked. Hell, there ARE still boxes NOW to be unpacked! Our fourth room has become a storage room; our garage is a complete disarray of junk. It's getting out of hand and starting today, I'm putting a stop to it all! Yes, finally we will do some serious home decorating because while at the moment we are settled and comfortable, our home feels.. naked. Walls lack colour and frames, furniture need dressing and space in general needs organising.
We're on a mission because I'm a designer and a perfectionist and it's driving me insane to have a home that is not.. inspiring. With two kids, a small business (magapi.com.au) and both working full time, surely we can find the time, right people? Right? lol YES WE CAN! LETS DO IT!

-J.

ps. Carlisle Homes were fantastic by the way! 90 days inspection went well with only minor imperfections which were rectified promptly. All in all, we are very pleased with our experiences with Carlisle Homes and given the opportunity would definitely build with them again xx

Handover date is Nigh...

We received a call from our lovely SS with a handover date. Everything's been booked in for this Friday coming. Fingers crossed if all goes well we will be moving over the weekend :)

Our CLE also rang us to confirm the settlement date. She said she also had a present waiting for us at Mulgrave. I'm guessing it's a toaster or blender.

Now all we need to do is organise the removalists, fencing, concreter, landscaper, mailbox, etc., etc....
OMG it seems like we'll never get to rest... :)

PCI is over and out

We had our PCI yesterday. It went better than expected. Much better :) We were very impressed with not only the quality workmanship of the tradies, but also our wonderful Site Supervisor Kevin.

We found a few issues, all of which were minor ones. The thing that impressed us was Kevin. He was helping us pick out faults as well, some of which were barely noticeable. It's good to see Kevin prides his work and treats everyone's build as his own home.

He didn't give us a date for the final inspection as he needs to book in some tradies, but he did indicate it would be a couple of weeks.

We're getting very excited now and looking forward to moving in :)

PS. We took the camera with us with the intention of taking pics but totally forgot. Sorry all.

One Step Backward

Well the past week and a bit has been a drama for us. Our CLE had called us and advised that the PCI would need to be postponed due to things not being finished on time. Things like our front door not being fixed, wiring getting stolen during pre-plaster stage, tiling and tile grouting not done. Things just seemed to be mounting up. We thought at this rate we'd be lucky to move in before Christmas.

Well I'm glad to say we received another call from our CLE. We've been given a new PCI date :) I won't tell you guys though coz I don't want to jinx it again :) Next time we speak we should (fingers crossed) have completed the PCI and be one step closer to Handover.

Almost at the finish line

We've got exactly one week left till PCI. So exciting!!!! :)

The facade has been finished and our colours look wonderful. The front door has since been replaced (no photo of that yet) but not painted. Our carpet looks fantastic. Nothing like the sample back at Spectra. We didn't realise it had a pattern running through it which is only visible at certain angles.

Now deciding whether or not to visit the house in this last week or leave it as a surprise come PCI? Hmmm.... may not be able to control myself..... :)

The carpet has a pleasant texture to it.

Close up of the carpet

The final rendered facade. I'm loving the colours :)

Our stolen front door. The house was left like this for a good three days. It's since been replaced though.

We are still alive!

It has been the slowest month ever!
At the rate CH was going we were expecting to move in by now haha but alas, PCI is pencilled in for the end of this month.
So where are we up to thus far?
- we got a garage door woot woot~~
- walls are painted BEAUTIFUL! (although, there are still some spots that need to be patched up!)
- sexy red splash back fitted in the kitchen
- tiles to wet areas complete (except for the showers)
- toilet, tapeware, and door handles fitted
- we have lights!
- and our floor was laid today!

rendering and front door to be painted

very happy with our wall colours and the red splash back is divine!

a bit dusty but these are our floor boards

Bathroom

Powder Room

Master Ensuite