Beautiful Boys

Callistemon 'Eureka' - Spring 2013

My Callistemon hedge is slowly growing. Actually after only 3 short years it has come a long way, reaching almost 3m in height. This spring the floral display has been outstanding.  I will need to give it a hard prune after flowering to thicken it up and encourage hedging, but so far planting this hedge from tiny little seedlings has been extremely rewarding. What will it look like in 3 years from now!

Below is a photo from when it was first planted.  Clearly it likes this position!

A few other photos from Spring 2013. We are yet to do any landscaping, it's on a very long list of things still left to do. We will get there eventually.

New Sofa and Rug.

Somehow, a couple of months ago, I managed to talk David into the idea of buying a sofa for our new family room (there were sales on at the time).  Also the lead times were considerable, so we only needed to pay a smallish deposit upfront with loads of time to save up for the residual. He struggled to argue with my logic.

Fast forward 6 (short) weeks later, we had just cleaned out both our savings accounts to pay for the floor sanding and were hoping for a few 'expense free' weeks to recover, when Urban Rhythm called to say they were delivering our sofa the next day. Great! Completely forgot about the sofa!

Needless to say we found the funds to pay for it (sorry utility bills, kinder fees and security alarm fees, you will be next I promise). And I love it! We may have a total of $139 to last us until next pay day, but who cares it looks great, besides we can all do with a little less food, right?

To make up for it, I managed to find a rug (which is an edged carpet off cut from a local carpet place) for the cheap, cheap price of only $100. It is 3m x 2.5m and an incredible bargain, considering everything else I have looked at has been around $1000 up. The only down side is it happens to be the exact colour of the sofa and cabinetry (in hindsight a little contrast might have been better.) Still $100 how good is that!! I have probably saved us money when you think about.  (Strangely, David doesn't feel quite the same way as I do, go figure.)

Floor Sanded - the last of the big jobs.

Finally we have the floor sanding behind us. It was a considerable job (it wasn't part of the building contract so was an additional expense.) with approx. 142 sqm to be done. 

We decided to get the existing floors and new floors done at the same time. It's been around 13 years since they were laid and the wear and tear was beginning to show. We also thought the transition from old to new would be more seamless if we did this.

We are very pleased with the end result. The extension has gone from feeling like a 'work in progress building site' to a finished space overnight.  The seam between the old and new floors is quite apparent though, however having the same finish on both does help. 

This is the last of the big jobs (we hope anyway). And while we are still saving up to afford all the other little details not included in the contract, we feel confident that these other jobs can take place when we are ready with minimal discomfort.

Above - floor before

The seam between old and new.

Wardrobe installed!

Last week we saw the installation of our long awaited wardrobe.  I have longed for this moment for many many years now. The poor installer, I practically stood over his shoulder the entire time in anticipation. 

I thought I would have everything in place within a mere couple of hours of installation. However it has taken alot longer to sort through clothes, re-wash them ( laundry finished and working now - yipee), mend them, then hang/fold and finally asign them to their new home. 

It feels wonderful to take back control of the ever increasing sprawl of stuff that living through a renovation brings. With each new 'sqm' of reclaimed clear space I feel the tension in my shoulders starting to evaporate. 

Peter from Belmore heating extended our hydronic system into the new areas on Friday just in time for the cold spell.  We had been living without heating since the build began which was fine until now. 

We are close to the finish line now. All that is left is the glass splashbacks and floor sanding. We might just get there before this baby is born in September afterall!

Tiling, Laundry Cabinetry, Plastering and Painting.

Things have been moving along though. The plasters were here last week (creating more mess than I thought humanly possible.) The tilers arrived a few days afterwards (a far less messy bunch!). Tom and David are doing the painting together and it is taking far longer than we could have imagined.

Slowly, slowly the light at the end of the tunnel is beginning to appear. Peter from Parkview Cabinetry installed the laundry cabinetry on Friday (the cabinetry stage is always thrilling.) However we are still without a washing machine and surviving on the kindness of others to wash our clothes. 

We are hoping to see the plumber and electrician back this week (but I am waiting on Reece to get my powder room basin in stock).

George needs to finish a few smallish jobs still (he has been pulled away on another job around the corner). But honestly we are almost there. I am hoping the nesting phase of pregnancy hits me six months early and turns me into a different person (an organised clean freak with endless amounts of energy to dust, mop and polish this house into shape.) Should happen any day now, right.

Tiling completed in the laundry (same tiles used in the ensuite.)

 Laundry Cabinetry installed - my camera lens struggles to take photos in this room.

  Bedroom and study nook plastered - still a bit more work to do in this room.

 Painting is 80% finished in the family room. Electrician decided to wait until the painting was finished before installing all the lights.

To all my wonderful friends who have been so very supportive during this build but are yet to be invited over for a bbq, dinner or drinks. I hope this photo explains why! 

Renovation Part 2 - more demolition.

Yes it has been awhile hasn't it. I have been suffering from renovation fatigue and have been struggling to find the enthusiasm that I initially had. This build has been a two stage process. There was the first stage which was removing the 1960's extension and rebuilding a new kitchen/family/dining space. The second stage has been the reworking of the current sections of the existing house - with a long break in between them (Christmas, New Year and waiting on cabinetry.)

With the beginning of the second stage we have found ourselves back to the horrible dust and endless mess.  80% of the old plaster was removed from the walls of old kitchen and laundry sending dust across every inch of my house (I'm not sure how this happens but it does.) This combined with horrible morning sickness (I am currently 18 weeks pregnant) has meant the blog has been neglected big time, my apologies. Fortunately I am feeling much better now.

So here are a few photos taken a couple of weeks back of the old kitchen (which we are converting into a bedroom) and the laundry / powder room.

Old kitchen with larger window installed. The alcove below is where the oven was previously (this will become a study nook.)

Laundry with plaster removed

 Plumbing done in the powder room.

 Charlie with one of the many friends he has made along the way. This lab named 'Reefer' was particularly gentle and friendly and Charlie talked about him for weeks afterwards.