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:

August

July

June

April / May

February / March
January / February

x KL

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You are very welcome and encouraged to comment, I love receiving feedback!

if a picture paints a thousand words...

..here is a forty-thousand word essay on 'what we've been doing'!

x KL

Thank you for stopping by my blog. 

You are very welcome and encouraged to comment, I love receiving feedback!

Bits 'n Bobs

Davey has just informed me that as a result of my recent illness, he will need to 'catch-up' the time he lost on client projects, by working Saturdays. 

Fair enough. 

Then, I thought about it...

He is currently employed in Sydney (90 minutes south of Copacabana), and his 5:30 am start and 6:30 - 7 pm arrival home make Saturday his only day to tackle building work here at La Hacienda.

3 weeks = 21 days. 

Twenty-one Saturdays from now takes us into January 2015!!!!

I heard a casual statement ... but it was actually a loaded bomb!

There goes my fantasy of 'moving' upstairs by Christmas.

 *sob*

Anyhow,  s l o w  progress aside (nothing new really....) here are some pics of what has been happening about these parts ....

The two upstairs bathrooms are approved by council and ready for underfloor heating installation. After much debate and soul searching, I decided to purchase Carrara Marble tiles in the same size (400 mm x 400 mm) as the downstairs bathrooms for our ensuite. I just couldn't justify spending three times more for Calcutta or mosaics when we still have so much more to do. The marble is Italian and the white is really crisp though, which helped clinch the deal!

David decided that it was high time we bought a new mattress too. I wasn't much help as I was just out of hospital so couldn't lay on the display beds. He chose a Tempur one (without the folding base, which J loved!). It was a big investment so I hope it's comfortable! Our last bed was a top-of-the-line disaster because of the too soft pillow top.

 Been 'playing' with some decor pieces, motivated by a Country Road competition. If you want to enter too, click HERE.

Had a day of shopping with a girlfriend in Sydney last week. We popped into the newest Matt Blatt store in Castle Hill. I've seen their wares online but never in person. Most pieces were disappointing... but I liked this replica daybed and dining table.

We then headed to a Freedom outlet store my friend knew about. I snapped up this Freedom console which was a quarter of it's retail price!  Not sure where it will 'live' but there are a few suitable alcoves upstairs!

Newham Console from Freedom

Spotted these gorgeous external lights at Beacon Lighting. L.O.V.E. ! 

David liked them too, but we can't have them here. The finish is unsuitable for our seaside location, nor are they IP rated ie; they'll rust. Fast. 

Frustrating. Why manufacture an outside light that isn't durable?

South Hampton light fixtures

Have you started thinking about Father's Day?

I think this Bunning's Tool Chest is on David's 'wish' list. It comes complete with bar fridge, LCD TV and stereo. I think it would be too much of a distraction to work....

Keep dreaming darling....

x KL

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You are very welcome and encouraged to comment, I love receiving feedback!

shoe cupboard

 Well, Davey finally got round to fitting out my the main bedroom shoe cupboard! Yippee!!!!

 You'll note that there is no mirror backing or wallpaper inside as lusted for HERE.

It was deemed too frivolous and a waste of money. Oh, Poohey! Oh well, I win some debates; it was obviously my turn to concede defeat.

I must say that I have allot of shoes; not for long though...

Upon unpacking boxes that have been in storage for 5 years, I found shoe heights that I now cannot walk in (eek!) and others that have become too small. W.T.F ? !

My feet have gotten fatter along with me apparently and my shoe size has increased from a 6 / 6.5 to a definite 7 / 7.5! ^# %&* (& $#%&@  !!!!

Anywho, life's like that, isn't it?

Although I had visions of my shoe wardrobe looking like this:

...the truth and contents are far more mundane. And, to be realistic, if I throw my shoe packaging away, how will I store them if one day we move and I am sans cupboard?

I decided to keep them in their original boxes (less dusting too) but they look so damn shop-storeroom-like now. I considered photographing each item and gluing it on the front of the box for easy content identification or cutting a peep hole to view but...

 ...some boxes have seen better days..and I'd like uniformity.

 Soooo, along with a squillion peoples before me, I am in search of attractive shoe boxes.

My first bit of research led me to Pinklily and Howard's Storage World.

They were too exy for the quantity I'd require. The Big W versions were recommended by a friend and were the cheapest option at $1.50 per box, but I think they look flimsy. ? And images of robes with multiple stacks looks messy! Ikea versions are fabric which I think would get grotty . . .

Then my thoughts returned to the humble shoe box.

If uniform in size and colour....

...and I was shocked at how expensive they are too. Even if purchased in bulk / wholesale!

I needed to think / look 'outside the box', and be creative.

And then I found these...

KASSETT Box with Lid from Ikea. They're designed for the office but for me they're perfect for shoe storage...
Cleanable / sturdy; tick!

Uniform in size and colour (black or white); tick!

Can be re purposed should we move; tick!
Very well priced; Tick!

With labelling space too!

Guess where I'm heading on Monday? 

Have you got any other suggestions I should consider?

x KL 

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Holidays...

*Framed my Typo T-Towel (Thxs for idea Katrina!) *We have a hand towel rail! *Mum's 50 yo bathroom tile framed as a reno momento. *The mirror bedsides have made it upstairs!

 The school holidays have finished here in NSW and J has returned to school, unfortunately without much enthusiasm. We had a very lazy two weeks at home. 

Lots of leisurely sleep-ins and pj mooching!

We got a few small chores knocked over and some arty projects completed.

 J and I ventured into Sydney and stayed in Newtown at my daughter's flat for a few days. She cooked up a storm and pampered us no end...We took J to Luna Park on the windiest day... it was looking tired but provided us with lots of fun, nonetheless. The bumper cars and giant slides being faves with J and S's BF, M.

I stuck to laughing at myself in the warping mirrors!

What did you get up to in the holidays?

x KL

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

Bits & Bobs....wallpaper woes & main bedroom furnishing!

O.M.G. DO NOT look at the mess! You did! You did! I know you did! Eeeeek!

Whilst sharing with you the agony of perusing wallpaper choices and then my excitement when finally deciding on THE design HERE, to the devastating conclusion that we couldn't afford it, posted HERE, the actual sample has been on order.

On a positive note, for 5 months it was an exciting 'done deal'.

And the sample which finally arrived, confirms that I've got exceptional taste!

Pity 'bout the budget. LOL!

In other news, the new King sized bedhead has been delivered (dust-cover still on)

but no matter which way I look at it...

 I can't help but feel it looks a bit incy in the space. ?

Hopefully when THESE mirrored bedsides get unpacked, they'll fill the space much better!

And...Davey has measured the shoe cupboard for fit-out!

It is a relatively inexpensive proposition and then I can finally unpack my shoes after 3 years of  'short-term', *cough* storage! 

My lame attempt at rendering; two of the wanted five shelves being drawn. You get the idea!

Whoop! Whoop!

x KL

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

seren'dipitous online shopping!

I've found an aesthetic soul-mate in Aaron Bourne of Harold's Finishing Touches.

 After 'discovering' him via Jen Bishop of The Interiors Addict in 2012, there's been little need for trawling the Internet for special pieces that pique my interest. No sore feet and disappointment in the local store offerings either!

Except for the faux bovine skull, all the items below are from his online store - it's a good thing (for my wallet) I don't live near enough to pop into his physical one!

Another serendipitous online find was the replica Constellation Map - Explorer; Compass to The Southern Sky, below right. Not a bad representation of the Thomas O'Brien map featured in the Elle Decor image, below left. Thank you Mimosa Lane for the tip off!

 I'm also excited to have secured the charcoal linen King bedhead I wanted for our new main bedroom. Dilema I posted about HERE, resolved! Yee Ha! 

Can you believe we're well past the half way mark of 2013?! 

Someone mentioned Christmas to me the other day. *shudder* 

Don't know about you, but I feel like I'm in some kind of space- time warp continuum where everything is sped up! Wish it would slow down so I could disembark! LOL!

x KL 

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

decisions...

After much internal debate, I've decided on purchasing the same headboard for the new Main Bedroom as we have already (linen top, right below), except in a Charcoal colour.  

Why re-invent the wheel?

I love my current headboard's height, fabric, quality and style but it won't 'work' with my chosen wall colour; Dulux Silver Illusion.

I posted about the dilemma HERE and I'm confident this is the right solution. The existing bedhead will be utilised in the guest bedroom but, here's the thing....I'm not sure I can buy it!

 Fingers & Toes are seriously crossed I can track one down!

Am about to tune into the televised political debate between our Labour and Liberal Parties before our looming Australian election. It's a biggie...

x KL 

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

On a roll!

 Dulux Silver Illusion it is! 

Everywhere. Though I may revisit the bedhead wall with Domino or wallpaper when the other room elements are in place. (Sshh- don't tell Davey!) And I may need a new bedhead too. Eeek.

Best news? I'm happy with the decision. Thank God!

One coat finished, one more gloss and wall coat to go before fitting out with lights, fan and door hardware. 

Whilst we're far from 'full steam' ahead, at least the tide is taking us in the correct direction!

TIP: Always buy good quality branded paint and ensure three coats are done on new walls / woodwork. Sealer / undercoat is a step that should not be skipped. Enamel painted woodwork is far superior to water based paint's durability...definitely worth the hassle and unpleasant fumes for a few days.

x KL 

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Indecision

Damn. After thinking the main bedroom colours through for THREE YEARS I am in a serious quandary. Dulux Silver Illusion, Natural White or Domino?

(Detailing and ideas posted HERE before)

The problem is the bedhead. It is made from a beige-y French linen and looks icky against the grey which is the Silver Illusion; my top contender for all those years. It looks great in the Guest room against Natural White but the Main Bedroom is a much larger space and I'm concerned it will look too bland.

So... I'm considering leaving the French Linen bedhead in the guest room and buying a new bedhead for our bedroom. Perhaps a similar style but in charcoal linen or white leather?

Or a greyer coloured linen?

or velvet?

In our last house (seen below; no bedhead to cause drama!) I loved the darker palette than elsewhere in the house so maybe I could use my chosen greys and replicate that concept?

Or throw some of my favourite wallpaper in too?

David's on his way to buy paint as I type....he'll call for a decision any minute! 

Eeeeeek!

x KL 

Thank you for stopping by my blog. You are very welcome and encouraged to comment. I love receiving feedback! I also love watching a new pretty picture box added to my followers - would love you to join me so I can get to know you too!