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yes ... this blank space ...

... is for the kitchen ... hopefully not blank too much longer.

Hoping to pick up my new kitchen table today (an ebay purchase) - which needs some work on it ... given I've never done any furniture restoration (or destroying according to one of my friends, who is horrified I'm going to paint the table!) ... it could be interesting. I was sort of hoping to have time to do it once the builders have finished - then I can use my garage AND I wont look like a dill if I stuff it up in front of the builders :-)
Oh and the above photo is your first look at the floor that was finished last week ... the dogs love sliding around on it - I'll have to tell them off once it is all sanded and varnished!

The house is now actually at lock up (not just officially for the payments!) ... I have all external doors and windows in. The last door to go in was my pretty new back door.
One of the builders worked on Saturday (whilst I flew off for a wedding in Adelaide) ... and all the internal doors were put in ... the one below leads to the dining room. Painting is going ahead - kitchen still needs another coat but you can see the pretty green the dining room will be.


The dining room is the only room painted a colour - and it nearly missed out, it got a coat of Antique White USA before the painter was corrected. I think there was a mix up with the room names, and he thought the living room was the dining room (which actually could be a good idea!).

Interestingly I heard one of the builders saying the kitchen was going in Thursday - not the Tuesday I've been told ... and I can't quite work out how that is going to work, if the floors are supposed to be being done then. This week was supposed to be the week that I moved out so that the floors could be done ... I'll be hanging around until the last moment until I move - less trauma for the little animals!

I managed to get all my curtain orders in ... I should have the curtains for the dining rooms definitely - and the rollers in the kitchen are a pretty high chance, the romans in the kitchen are the least likely.

The builders themselves have some minor floor repair work to do, the skirtings aren't in yet, the window seats aren't in ... but they really are nearly done! Now for the plumber and the electrician to do their bit.

ooooo ... I have a laundry ... and a store area ... and a pantry ... and ...

Very exciting homecoming today ... when I left this morning the joiners had arrived ... so I knew big things were happening today. Sure enough when I got home they were still working at 5pm and I now have a laundry, a pantry, a storage area ... oh ... and I also have all my exterior door handles in the WRONG place!!! argh!!!! When I'm home the builders never do anything evil ... as soon as I leave for the day it seems they start to think up evil things to do ... especially since I'd already discussed it with them ... they are NOT going to be happy when I tell them ALL the doors have to be re-done (I'm hoping this is actually possible!!)!!!

The pantry ... plans and results ... WOW WOW WOW!!! My dream pantry ... I want to fill it all up right away! I don't think I've quite allowed enough room for all the appliances ... but I'll see how I go once I pack them in!







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The laundry plans ... and the results ... I really like how this has come out ... can't wait to see it with the final doors on the washing machine area!







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The laundry has a hallway storage cupboard ... here is my plan ... and the results!! Quite pleased with how it has come out ... only one thing I would change, which would to be to make the mail shelves shallower so you aren't tempted to hit your head!!! Also I didn't count in the effect of the kickboard ... so the boots wont be sitting on the ground (and the nice dark tile ... might have to put a layer of something at the base of the cupboard for muddy boots) ... now to work out the hooks to put in!

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Apparently my floors will be in by the end of the week ... the kitchen is arriving on Tuesday ... and I have to be out late next week for them to stain and polish the floors!! Not quite sure when the tiling is going in ... think we might have a bit of a hiccup with some of the tiling ... I handed the builder the tile for the kitchen and laundry today ... and his response was "I didn't know there was tiling in the kitchen" ... hmmmm!! Not sure about that one ... they are PC items anyway, so not included in his quote ... and of course there had to be something behind the oven as a splashback ... so not sure what he thought was going there.

The door between two worlds opens

I've been living a bit of an illusion ... it has been as though the renovation is a house on its own ... not really connected to the part I'm living in. Two very different worlds ... but today, for the first time, the door between the worlds was opened ... we have connection!!

The door was quickly closed again to keep out the heat :-) ... but gone is my illusion of a separate existance ... and hopefully soon there will be even less of a difference between the two - they are talking about putting the floorboards in!!!


Today I came home to find many of the cornices installed ... below is the laundry hallway (with manhole or womanhole!).
The bathroom is looking closer ... the hold up on the bath is the tap company sending the wrong tap thingie (they don't seem to appreciate my re-naming of tap parts?!?!). Hopefully tomorrow they will live up to their promises and actually turn up with the right bit ... can't see why they couldn't have posted it two weeks ago ... the whole "customer care" thing seems rather silly if the care takes a whole lot longer and distrupts building!!

The last of the windows are in ... the kitchen sink window and the bay windows ... oh ... and A door. Note: only one door ... we seem to have a case of the disappearing doors. One day the french doors are there, the next they are gone ... I look in the morning and watch them install them ... then they are gone by the afternoon ... so far I think they've gone in 3 times ... and still no doors (not sure I really want to ask!!).


One of my very exciting pickups this week (it is like Christmas with all the boxes arriving!) ... were the fabrics for the window seats. First up is the dining room ... the gold stripe is Warwick Port Norris Gold for the main window seat upholstery then cushions in: the creamy one that is above the blue is a gorgeous soft fabric (Warwick ), the houndtooth one is Warwick Grove Beach ... and there is one more cushion to go - a bright gold one.


The kitchen window seat fabrics ... missing the main upholstery fabric which is a light blue ticking stripe on white, and one of the cushion colours is missing (because I haven't picked it yet ... going to be a solid bright red) .... the other cushions are: Hoad Torquay Claret (the apple green motif one), Warwick Toulouse Cherrywood (the red pattern) and Warwick Provence Marina (the blue toile). I LOVE these colours!!! So exciting to see them together ... can't wait to see them on an actual window seat!!

To give Christy a giggle .....

I wasn't making it up!

It only took two days ... WALLS!!

A big load of plasterboard arrived on Friday ... then Saturday, when I was only expecting one builder (who was picking something up and leaving) I got a whole lot ... and the plasterers! In just two day's they've nearly completed the walls. There are a couple of sections missing (I think they ran out) ... but otherwise it is done!

The kitchen:


The bathroom:

The dining room (which now feels bigger):

The laundry:
I can't wait to see what happens next!

Dying of thirst? Find a rose!

Today I'd planned to chop down the big Cecil Brunner type rose at the front of the house ... it's got a bit out of control and was wrapped around one of the veranda posts - which needed painting. Good thing that was my plan ... I'd gone and got the tools, to come back and find the builder and painter considering what was going to be done with it today!! Once I got it down to just a tiny bit ... everyone noticed ... the rose was DRIPPING! One of the builders put a bowl underneath to see how much was coming out ... the bowl filled over! So if you're dying of thirst ... find a rose and chop it down!! (dead soft toy donated by the puppy to complete the scene!!) Lots of other developments have happened over the last couple of days ... finally we have windows in the dining room. Click on the outside window photo to see the larger version ... you might be able to see the detail of the weatherboards they've put between each window. The bath frame is in ... can't wait to see it all tiled up!! The builder was saying he's going to put some insulation around the bath in the frame ... which might help keep the bath warm!

The back door has glass in the panels - a door would be lovely too! With the veranda posts being painted I can now see how they are turning out ... I did really like them when they were white ... but the green does look fabulous too! Maybe in a couple of years I might change them back to white. The solar hot water was supposed to go in this week ... but it has been put off for another week. It is such a pity it has to ruin this pretty roof line!