Showing posts with label laundry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label laundry. Show all posts

5.10.15

Year of The House: September update


  #YOTH15 update for Sea-Spray #2:  
I promised you that September would be a Progress-Packed month and it certainly has been.
David has devoted allot of time working here at home so, there's lots to report! 

  Carpet installed to Playroom, Main, J's and Guest Bedrooms!

Playroom carpeted and lounge in place!
 WE MOVED UPSTAIRS!!!!!! 

Occupying Main Bedroom at last. Art hung. Those lamps are too big! Eeek!
Guest Bedroom ready for visitors!
 
As we have now vacated this room, it's ready for guests! Love my charcoal carpet!
Ordered this bed for one of the downstairs bedrooms as an update. 


Image via Freedom

  Stone top for playroom, Custom entertainment unit delivered and all pieces assembled.

Now to get the telly installed!

  The custom joinery robe for the Guest bedroom has been installed, ready for painting.

TIP: We saved a motsa here by ordering craftwood doors for us to paint in satin enamel, the same as all the other doors in the house. The difference between doing this and ordering two-pac saved thousands!


The fireplace for the main lounge is ready to be collected. Yippee!
David just waiting for some 'muscles' to help collect and unload here. The supplier doesn't deliver. WTF?

  Kitchen and Laundry joinery installed!
Main Kitchen Install: Lots of 'missing' pieces!
 With two big installs at one time, there were bound to be a few hiccups! We are missing drawer and door fronts, trim pieces, an appliance and oven cupboard to name a few. Pretty pics will have to wait! This week I will organise for the stonemasons to come and template the bench tops....
 
Laundry / Kitchenette; Still some parts to come too...
 Stone Walling feature stone delivered 

$500 delivery fee on this lot. The added cost of building in a regional area!

Custom steel handrail for internal stairs installed!
The fixing plates will be hidden in wall & behind a timber riser.
Frameless Glass balustrades for top decks installed.

Support sticks there till grout dried only!
Ordered Faux Grass for Poolside deck area.

Was able to get only one Fencing quote! Accepted this and installation is now complete!

A 5' fence was installed...it's now 6' as ordered. Ooops!
Timber Flooring installed to all areas; upper and lower halls, stairs, study, lounge, dining and kitchen.
 
Study looking a bit Ho-hum.
We decided to wall hang David's desktop. The supports will be painted the wall colour but the whole room looks pretty ordinary. It looks worse now with all the busy paraphernalia a working office contains. Think I'm going to just figuratively and physically, 'shut the door' on this room for awhile!

Lounge room Bookcase shelves installed.

Waiting to be painted now...

I haven't done much blogging as we've been so busy with the house and life in general. 
I'm popping updates on Instagram more frequently if youre interested in the 'gaps'! 

Renovating? Building? Got some House Projects to complete?
Join in! #YOTH15
(also on instagram of course!) 

Missed the progress? Catch up here:
February / March
January / February

x KL

Thank you for stopping by my blog.
You are very welcome and encouraged to comment, I love receiving feedback!

5.6.15

detailing: laundry / kitchenette


 I haven't done a house building, detail post for a long time. I've found these posts helpful to keep track of our decisions and ongoing direction. The middle level of our house, where we are living, is completed from a structural view but not finished in terms of flooring, joinery or styling. We're sort of 'glamping' till we move upstairs and then, the vacated areas can be completed.
I'm currently seeking quotations for the laundry / kitchenette so I thought a post on this multi-task space would be pertinent. Below are our plans for this space:

LEFT: Council Plans                                                             RIGHT: Modified design
 When I first designed this area, I deliberately excluded pool toilet facilities. I thought the close proximity of the main bathroom would suffice. When construction started however, I reviewed this idea. Wet feet inside, on slippery polished marble floors, is not a good idea. 
I altered the layout of the  main bathroom and shuffled the space in the proposed laundry to accommodate an externally accessed W.C. This wee little room is complete, as pictured below:



New plan

Another upside of the new layout was that the laundry bench situated opposite the bi-fold windows became centred in relation to it. It now looks balanced when viewed from both inside and out. The linen cupboard was relocated under the stairs (pics HERE) which meant a serendipitous increase in size. Triple win! Yippee!

I asked David to build in alcoves for a fridge (F) and microwave oven (M/W) to allow the laundry to function as a bar / kitchenette when entertaining poolside.
I even managed to accommodate an externally accessed bar fridge for this purpose! The bench top will run through the bi-fold windows to create an external ledge / servery / bar. Mojito anyone?

Timber cladding to bar back was completed in January.
 Council would not allow us to have two kitchens in the house but a second microwave, sink and fridge are permissible. To this end I have purchased a Smeg convection / microwave / grill combi oven. Combined with our BBQ, cooking on this level should be easy and we can avoid traipsing up and down stairs.

Smeg Combi oven: SA45MCX2, Crema Perla Marble flooring and Oak veneer joinery.

The marble previously used in the downstairs bathrooms, (Crema Perla) will also be used on the laundry floor but in a larger 600 x 600 mm format. The floor will be heated for toasty toes in winter too.

There are two 'sides' to the laundry creating a galley effect. The window side will house the sink and dishwasher and I'm planning the joinery to be finished in 2 pac: Dulux Natural White (satin) to tie in with the bathroom joinery already in situ.

That light fitting has got-to-go! What was I thinking!!! ?
Above and below are images of our temporary laundry / cooking set up! Eeeek! 
 (The cabinetry was ripped out of a house David was demolishing). 

I'm contemplating finishing the lower cupboards on the laundry side with an Oak veneer to add some continuity with the oak flooring chosen for upstairs. Inspiration pic below:


There will be doors concealing the washer and dryer so when not in use, the hard working hub of the laundry will be invisible!  Like this but under bench only....


In between the washer and dryer I'm planning for an integrated laundry basket/s like this:

Not sure if I can fit one or two?

The bench tops on both sides are most likely to be made from white ceasarstone.
I've already bought the sink and tap...the sink I boasted about HERE and the tap was also an ex-display bargain!


The one thing I'm still very undecided on, is the wall treatment above the laundry side of the room.
I have entertained all the following ideas at some stage or other...
BAR SHELVING....

BLACKBOARD?

SWISHIER BAR SHELVING. LOL!

MIRROR BACKING

TILE & SIMPLE SHELF?

TRADITIONAL OVERHEADS

ZIP...FOR ART OR FEATURE MIRROR....
 ??????
Another conundrum is this:

In EVERY laundry I've designed for ourselves, I've included a clothes drying rail. I always highly recommend these to clients too. But, the multi task nature of our room is not conductive, aesthetically with this very practical inclusion! Damn!!!
Pinterest to the rescue!!!!


I'm planning a retractable line from inside the broom cupboard to the wall opposite!

Nifty, eh?

One does have to be practical after all!


x KL

Thank you for stopping by my blog. 
You are very welcome and encouraged to comment, I love receiving feedback!

1.12.11

A new shopping discovery!

When was the last time you got really excited about a 'new' shop?
The Central Coast, where I live is limited in shopping choices. We are a 'D' graded region for the big national store's stock (Myer, DJs, Target, Kmart and Big W) and travelling to Sydney City and back is impossible to accomplish in the 9-3 school time slot. Smaller, specialist stores are few and far between and I can peruse them all in a half a day and never find anything new. I guess this is why I have embraced online and international shopping! 

Today I went to Castle Hill and met up with my oldest and dearest friend Jan, who had 'found' a shop she wanted to share with me. Only 1.5 hours from home, I even had time for a quick lunch with her before scooting back for school pick up! Yee Ha!

Anyhoo.... ramblings aside, this is her discovery:


Taste 
You'll find everything to renovate / decorate your home here: kitchens, bathrooms, dining, living and home wares - all in the one place!Some of the stuff was exy but others really reasonable. They have a website too but I found it really ho hum - the shop experience was divine!
Their web link is HERE if you're interested. They do bedroom furniture too but not at Castle Hill. (Maybe it's a 'c' grade store???LOL!)  Here are my snaps:

 

 The entry to the store showcased some very beautiful silverware. The variety and range of price points were great. Loved the display niche too! Could see swishy residential applications....

 Lots of nice 'Euro' styled kitchens were displayed. Not necessarily practical but some good design ideas to take home!

 I've described to my hubby how I dream of an integrated Stainless steel sink with faucets that I can hide and streamline. He told me I was dream'n!!!! Well now I'm not! I got SO excited by this sink....(Jan ran elsewhere when I started squealing!) and even more so the tap ware. The spout in this picture is recessed below bench height but can be elevated to the standard position. Sweet. (But the handles were yucky....and nothing was plumbed for practical testing).


 Above is a little cocktail cabinet we were both impressed with (till we asked the price!).  I don't know if it's because the store is new or not, but many items were not priced and staff were generally unknowledgeable but.... so very helpful. (ie; I don't know but I'll get that info for you... and they did!)

 There were great displays for entertainment systems. I have no idea of their value but they had WOW factor; like internal drawer lighting. Seriously impressive.


The bathroom vanities impressed me the most. Corian topped, sleek little units, as pictured above were $530 (sans tap ware). They had no brochures and directed me to their website but that didn't feature them. Grrr. Go figure!



 Jani and I were both very impressed with this bathtub. It was HUGE! $1350. Really. Amazing. I'm seriously earmarking it for 'the farm' or the next house.


 I have a friend who has (two days ago), become a client and has a very bad back. I've suggested to her that we raise as many appliances as possible to alleviate bending. The laundry ones were a given but I had never seen an example to show her before today. Hello practical fit-out!  And I love the 'upside-down' drawer under the washer / dryer that creates a basket holding space. Why aren't all laundries designed like this?!!!!


 If I could have had 'my pick' of anything in the store today, this mirror above was  IT! Much larger than is seems in this photograph I expected it to be exy. ..it is $11 000.00! Woah...Way too exy for Moi. Apparently it's an antique mirror from Turkey. If you have the moolah... run, don't walk. She's spectacular in real life! Bloody Hell I can pick 'em!


 This was Jan's favourite item. I sat on the lounge opposite whilst we played 'house'. 
(I've known her since I was two....and I'm 'cough' close to fifty!!!!) 
She upped the electronic, constantina glass cocktail cabinet door with a finger whist looking glam and asking 'ice?' in a so nonchalant manner.
If you're wondering as we were; it is $ 6000+ for the top cabinets as shown.


Groovy retro sideboards..


and funky kitchen stools! (some kid's outside chairs just sneaked into this shot for a peek!)


 A final shot of the entry as I was leaving, showing the mirror kicks on this island unit. L.O.V.E. !
And.... finally did I come home empty handed? Ha! I think not! Marble topped replica Eero Saarinen Tulip side table came home with me for $260.  (She was discounted by 10% as an opening special) She'll suffice till I can afford the real deal.
And they have a giveaway gift with kitchenware purchases at the moment too....
Go have a squizz if there's one near you. They are located at Castle Hill, Concord, Willoughby and Brookvale in New South Wales. Love to hear your thoughts!

x KL


Thank you for stopping by my blog. You are very welcome and encouraged to comment; I love receiving feedback! It helps me get to know you too!