Year of The House 2015

House Progress here is painstakingly slow (yup, typical Builder's Home!) so in a lame attempt to motivate ourselves, I've hijacked Elsee Blog author, Laura's 2015 mantra: Year of The House 2015 or #YOTH15 for short. The concept is simple; list, tick off and post achievements so when the year concludes, a lovely collection of achievements can be found. 

H o p e f u l l y . 

2015 is THE year to get things done!

Pic via Laura from Elsee Blog

 I'm reminding myself daily that THIS IS THE YEAR and trying to be proactive accordingly! So, on the bandwagon, joiner as I am, here are our January / February #YOTH achievements. (*pats self!)

 JANUARY: 

Timber flooring for the upper level and ducted vacuum system purchased. 

Some eave soffit linings installed. 

Main Bedroom ensuite floor screed laid. 

The bar-front under the bi-fold window area was finished. 

Deets HERE.

Not the best photos....

 FEBRUARY: 

Ducted Vacuum System installed. Ye Ha! No more lugging a vacuum about! And sh*t that thing can suck!!!!

Roller Blinds installed in Playroom, Main Bedroom, Ensuite and J's bedroom.

Timber Flooring delivered, including custom made stair treads.

Our tiler is booked for tomorrow so my fingers are firmly crossed I can add more to this list very soon!

We've even dug the bath out of storage in delicious anticipation! LOL!

Renovating? Building? Got some House Projects to complete?

Join in! #YOTH15

(also on instagram of course!)

x KL

Thank you for stopping by my blog. 

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

Bits & Bobs and some wee house progress!

 There's been lots going on here lately but not enough time to post. My poor little blog has definitely been neglected! 

Of course it's holiday time and there are books to read, sunshine to enjoy and friends to catch up with after the frantic pace of Christmas and New Year. I am yet to put the tree and decor away...this afternoon is earmarked for that onerous chore and I'm procrastinating!

My West Elm gold cutlery has been packed away in a new canteen from POK.

 Mattress-gate has been resolved and we are sleeping comfortably at last. Who knew how traumatic buying a new mattress could be? ! Long story short, NEVER buy an $8K Tempur mattress if you or your partner are hot sleepers...that thing will cook you alive! When we eventual bought successfully (Sealy Posturepedic Nouvelle Plush Gardenia from Domayne; BLISS!), we bought J a new mattress too. . . and of course some new bedlinen was required. He he!

Abode Euros, Cultiver Linen, Bonnie & Neil Cushion.

 The Table-gate episode that occupied FIVE MONTHS of 2014 and that I thought was resolved HERE, wasn't. It is now though, with the item being returned and refunded. We are however, back to square one and table-less once again. Recommendations welcome! Minimum 3 m length x 1200 mm wide.

The upper floor bathrooms have seen no further progress as our tiler is still unavailable. We're looking at him starting in two weeks but I'm not going to hold my breath! In the interim, David has started prepping the top verandas so they'll be ready to tile too with the french pattern travertine bought exactly a year ago! He doesn't want to lay any timber flooring or carpet upstairs until they're completed due to potential damage. Which leads me to...

 (insert drum roll, trumpets and fanfare)

TIMBER FLOORING

Yup. Finally decided, purchased and it's ready to rock 'n roll!

21mm thick, extra wide engineered oak flooring; colour Matt silky oak. I probably would have gone for a lighter tone but decided to err on the side of caution and not be too trend specific.

One pack of our flooring laid out!

As mentioned, Davey has made a wee bit of progress here. He had planned to do more but needed to work between Christmas and New Year to finish a client's house as they wanted to move in three weeks earlier.

Thankfully, we were able to meet their request, sans shower screens and mirrors. I'll show you more pics of this one in another post.

Our latest completed, custom client home.

In the last few days, David has worked here and the top veranda outside what will be our bedroom, and the entry, now have ceiling linings. J assisted his Dad with the last piece and has shown himself to be a great help when needed.

The bar-front under the bi-fold window area is finished and now just needs sealing. 

A beautiful bone-inlay chest of drawers that has been on my 'wish list' forever, finally made it here. I'm going to use it in the main bedroom and officially announce an end to my bone-inlay obsession!

I bought this great Pony Rider pouf for J's bedroom too. It was on sale for $90 from $229 (yippee!) and it will make a great spot to sit and put on shoes etc. 

J has finished Primary School and is headed to High School this year. The end of the year was frantic as along with the usual Christmas functions we had graduation events too. I made J and a girlfriend's daughter, signature bears dressed in mini uniforms as a grad gift. Sommer loved hers and had all her mates and teachers sign it but J wouldn't even take his to school. Boys. I should have known better! LOL!

 My craft skills were more appreciated by my middle child though. I posted HERE about A's desire for a Dream-Catcher for Christmas. Below is the one I made her and which she liked. Thank God!

It was very easy to make but the materials (especially the lace) were exy so I didn't save money by making one, I just made a more spectacular version for the same outlay.

That probably brings the blog up-to-speed with the goings on here and hopefully I'll have more House Progress posts to share soon!

x KL

Thank you for stopping by my blog. 

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

Thoughts on Flooring...Scandi style

I have lamented the drawbacks of renovating / building over an extended time period before. Many times in fact. I've rarely mentioned any positives though, but there are a few!

The best one is being able to let the house grow organically....one decision leading to the other with consideration to what has been done before. And, this accommodates aesthetic shifts in direction....

 I'm very attracted to Scandinavian Design ATM. Although elements of this are already part of my style; the minimalistic, clean and monochromatic, I'm further honing my love for stark contrasts.

When I started this blog, my decorating frame of reference was this:

Now, it's below: 

  Images from favourite blogs: HOFP, left and Stylizimo, Right.

Less formal yet still predominantly black and white. It's the percentage of each that has changed....

The 'gloss' level is downplayed and the floors are light...

Images like these have had me re-questioning the colour and finish for the proposed timber floors, re-examining all options as we get closer to having to make this crucial decision!
Today, I'm loving the following;

Much lighter in colour, wider in plank size and engineered in structure.
Such a mammoth difference to what I would have chosen twelve months ago!

As these boards are factory finished, building dust may also be a thing of the past for La Hacienda!
David was impressed with them when specified for a client's project and we laid them in Mum & Dad's recent reno too. We're still doing some homework but, they appear to be very stable, the finish being virtually indestructible and are definitely easier / cleaner to lay in comparison to solid timber boards.

All these images are of European Oak in various finishes / colours because that's what we've been seduced by. They're all wire brushed and matte finished too. *sigh*

Because they're wide though, our parquetry concept would have to be tucked back into the ol' memory bank for another house...

Oh well, too bad, so sad....

Eenie Meenie Miny - Mo! The lounge room and hall floor is COVERED with sample planks!

...I predict a decision announcement VERY soon. Yippee!

x KL

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

 We're approximately at the half-way point of the school holidays here. 

Christmas / New Year celebrations and catch-ups with family and friends have dominated the last three weeks, along with lots of lazy sleep ins.

Below is a snapshot...

And here's the extended version for those that like deets!.....

A very well priced outdoor modular from Myer...do I / don't I?
The black and white combo is hard to find, as is the compact shape...
BUT, will it rust....?

POK cutlery tray $199 now $39. Good protection for my new gold cutlery, no?

There are good mags and ho-hum ones. Same goes for individual editions.
THIS one, THIS edition...W.O.W.! Don't miss out!

My head's still being turned by round, equestrian hardware mirrors.....
Have tracked down a 'maybe'. . .

There's good bedlinen bargains to be had...Drooled over this set at Adairs before Christmas and now it's even cheaper. But do I NEED it? (I'm trying to be good!)

I didn't know I needed this ottoman till I spotted it in a wholesaler's 'super specials'.
I think it will look terrific at the end of the Guest Bedroom bed.

David and I are still debating the upstairs flooring choice. Balancing budget / quality / aesthetics and what the heart wants is HARD. An ongoing, and time consuming quandary....

We're still 'puppy-sitting'. No complaints here...am a bit smitten (am cooking the wee thing special meals....WTF!?) J is in LOVE and enjoying every minute...
and he's away from gaming. Hooray!

He even made a dog kennel with David. On the tools. Highly supervised.
Boy heaven!

David goes back to work next week and had intended on doing lots here in his break; but didn't. 
One 'top coat' on the plastered lounge room walls (the last room to be done) was achieved though. Puppy play, beer and chillaxin' (his term!) distracted him somewhat!

The girl's bedroom wardrobes received handles....yay! and I got to vacuum, vacuum, vacuum.
Please note the carpet is temporary glamping....not the finished floor!

Daughter # 2 turned 22, which we celebrated at a Austrian Schnitzel hous and followed up with watching a new Disney production Frozen. Highly recommended.

"....do you wanna build a snowman...."

I've been trying to convince David that this method of Christmas Tree storage is the way to go since...I do it all. He thought I was nuts till I showed him this picture from a like-minded genius.
Maybe next year...

Congrats to my darling friend GB on his recent engagement. Woo Hoo !

Are you feeling pastels? Pink? Dunno why, but I am. Just a wee pillowcase indulgence ATM....

I hate finding a favourite dress is poor quality. I received a refund but I would have preferred to keep the dress. Even pure silk should be able to withstand more than one wear!

The investigation on main bedroom en suite flooring has begun. Marble, yes! White with black, Black with white..? Another quandary!

Nothing like celebrating the new year with an OLD friend! We've known each other for 48 years!
Emptied a few of these!

Love these pineapple lamps. Adairs tempting me again....

Camping; 'Over-safety cautious Mummy style'. Am I helicoptering? J and a mate didn't mind.
 It's a fun sleepover idea!

How's your break been...
Whatchaupto?

x KL

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Procrastinating...

Instead of continuing with my spring cleaning this morning, I wasted spent time drooling over the details in this house. I can blame Virginia over at Glamour Drops for initiating my fixation but when I started peeping at more of this house and others in the portfolio of Molecule, the housework was totally forgotten.

A clever mix of both contemporary and classic styles, perfectly executed.

 It has divine Chevron flooring...

....and the pure white colour scheme allows the eclectic mix of design classics (from antiques through to modern icons) to have centre stage.

I absolutely love the featured marble and the detailing. The pictures shown here are styled to perfection!

And I am really impressed that the house appears to be practical and functional too...

and WOW there are my favourite Bocci lights! *sigh*

It's currently for sale and is a finalist in the 2012 Melbourne Design Awards

 What's not to love?

x KL

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