External Painting - Part 1

I have been very slow with the posts lately. Mostly due to not a lot happening, so little to report.

There has however been small little changes like the outside flashing has been put up, and this week Tom started painting the exterior. And while I realise these small jobs are barely news worthy I thought I would document it none the less.

The only thing worse than boring posts is no posts, right?

So Tom in action.

Already looking better with just the undercoat. Looking forward to seeing the end result.

Kitchen - Part 1

After what has felt like an age, Peter from Parkview Cabinetry called on Wednesday afternoon to say they were installing our kitchen the following day. Yipee!

They arrived bright and early at 8.30am and by 3pm that day almost all was completed. We do need the electrician to come out and install the electrical appliances which should happen in the next couple of days.

This morning the stonemasons arrived to pick up the templates for the stone benches, so all going well this time next week we should be in business.

So, Colours? We ended up going with 'Dulux Calfskin' for the grey and 'Dulux Natural White' for the white overheads. So far I am very happy with our choice. 'Calfskin' was selected because it works well as a neutral base which helps other colours to pop (Note the floral cup down the bottom popping away!). Hopefully it will work well with our choice of stone too.

Other changes? We ended up reducing the island bench from 1200mm to 1100mm. Once we saw the 1200mm template in place we realised this size was a bit too large for the space. We also reduced the space from benchtop to benchtop from 1300mm to 1250mm. A small change I know, but I wanted just enough room for two people to walk comfortably past each other and no more. I arranged with Peter to raise the benchtops from 900mm (standard height) to 925mm as 900mm felt a little low for me.

We have lived with this kitchen for approx. 15 whole hours now. Both David and I are still yet to move anything across from our old kitchen. We find ourselves pulling up chairs and just staring at it. Is it really here? Or are we hallucinating?

Our kitchen - Ta Daa!

Electrical appliances still to be installed

One bin is for rubbish and one is for recyclables.

Sneak Peak of the kitchen.

Yesterday Peter invited me down today to view the kitchen before it gets sent to the painters. Needless to say he didn't have to ask me twice!

They have done a great job, it is looking fantastic! The pantry is huge, honestly I didn't expect it to be that big (Pantry on the right of the oven). Seeing it like this has really got me excited (I had forgotten what the appliances we bought looked liked) as the end result could just well exceed my expectations.

Below Peter and co making sure the oven is a snug fit.

Our kitchen Island!

Sink goes to the left and cutlery drawers to the right.

Hot plate goes above drawers, gap is for the diswasher.

Both ovens now fitted

Narrowed colours down to two - now I just need to pick one!!

Garden Update - Oh dear :(

Thought it about time I did a garden update. As you can see my garden has certainly seen better days. Next doors 'London Plane' Tree has started to drop it's leaves, making for even more mess.

I would like to get the entire space cleared and turfed (I imagine growing lawn from seed would be quite difficult?) Anyhow, I'm thinking January probably isn't the best time to do anything in the garden. Perhaps leaving it as is until March when the mercury drops a bit may be a wise thing.

On a positive note:

My Callistemons are going gang busters, my potted Forest Pansys are holding up quite well and my lovely eucalptus petiolaris is going to flower for the first time in a few months :)

Out the front my 'Syzygium Cascades' are looking very pretty. Their multi coloured foliage never fails to delight.

Laundry Configuration

Yesterday Peter from Parkview Cabinetry came out to measure up our laundry.

It's such a small space (approx. 2.2m) which means we really need to make every centimetre count.

Below is our current laundry configuration, along with a 'before shot'. As you can see it is in extreme need of an overhaul.

Here are our two possible options for the new laundry, at present I'm thinking Option B might be the go - but honestly I don't really know. Yes they are pretty much mirror images of each other, I guess it comes down to which one would feel visually bigger?

What are your thoughts on Dryers? We bought it when Charlie was a baby during winter when I desperately needed to get things dry quickly. Since then we now have hydronic heating which has greatly eliminated the need for the dryer as you just sling whatever over one of the radiators. However there still is the occasional time when you want to wash and dry something in a hurry (Like when I forget to have David's work shirts washed and dryed for Monday). But the laundry would be soooo much more spacious and attractive without it, wouldn't it? Decisions...

Build Update

Technically there hasn't been much/anything happening since Christmas Eve when the deck was finished.

Con has been out early January to assess where we are at and what to proceed with next. While all the major things have been completed there is still quite a bit left to finish off however much now depends on the kitchen installation. It has been really nice to have a break from building over the Xmas and New year break I must say.

Peter from Parkview Cabinets is busy building our kitchen as we speak and so far I have found him to be terrific. He called me yesterday to discuss shelving in our pantry (as apparently the shelves will need to be fixed due to reasons he did explain but escape me now). So he wanted my approval on the shelf dimensions before he proceeded.

They were originally to be 5 x shelves (including the bottom) spaced 436mm apart. I don't know about you, but I think thats alot of space wasted above things like cans, sauces etc. So this is what I have come up with instead. I'm not sure it's better, but it does make more sense to me.

Welcome 2013!

I'm back!

A new year has ticked over yet again and so far '13' has been a lucky number for us. While things have been very quiet on the build front, it hasn't been the case in other areas of our life. In fact all going well 2013 just may go down as a 'Great' rather than good year.

However,

Sadly our old car (the Cressida) has officially been retired and awaiting a new life as parts. We attempted to get her serviced (in the hope of getting another 6 -12 months out of her) only to learn she is very sick and not easily mended.

As silly as this may sound, we will miss the old gal. David bought her new in 1989 when she was a 'Luxury' vehicle (can you imagine!) and she has been an absolute star! When it comes to the actual disposal I will have to arrange it on a day David isn't around as I know it won't be easy for him to say 'Goodbye' due to all the good memories she holds.

What has been easy is driving our spanking new Golf Wagon home from the Volkswagen showroom! The jump from a 1989 vehicle to a 2013 has been dramatic to say the least. I also think she looks great parked outside our new (old) house.

I hope 2013 has began well for you too :)