Christmas recovery

I've been holding off on more photos because everything is just sooooo nearly complete ... the differences wont be really obvious in photos, but I'd rather hold off on most of them until the bits that are missing are done.

The dining room is the closest to completion ... the only thing missing now is the curtain on the french doors (I have the curtain, just not the appropriate plasterboard screws to put it up!).

A photo with my brother's special wide angle lensDining room details (added because I hated looking at other people's photos and having no idea how to copy things from them!!):
Paint colours - emerald city (green); vivid white
Curtains: Warwick Grandeur Gold (to come for french doors are Pavia Ecru cream)
Window seat main cushion: Warwick Port Norris Gold
Cushions: Warwick Global Soft Chalk (cream); Warwick Global Suede Navy (blue); Grove Beach Houndstooth Gold (my favourite one!); plain gold was purchased as is from Make Your House A Home.
Mirror: from Moreland Auctions in Kilmore
Dining table: Cousin Clyde's!

Christmas day and the table is set ...

The yummy fruit terrine I made for Christmas dessert:It has the most delightful basil syrup for the jelly - making it so refreshing and not heavy.

The builders have taken the week off ... the electrician wont be back until the 11th (damn! wanted that aircon connected up - or even the fan!). Who knows when the kitchen guy will be back ... I'd really love some handles!!! The kitchen so far ...
My brother helped put up the prints near the window seat yesterday ... he's now disappeared back home ... muttering something about holidays shouldn't be hard work!! ooops!! Sorry!

The painter should be back soon ... then the outside will be done and I can put up the final photos. Some of the external doors aren't quite finished.

Someone asked me if it felt strange being in the extension ... it doesn't! It feels like it has always been this way ... it feels like HOME!

This space left intentionally blank

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.

The first room!

Here it is ... the first room! The living room has been extended, and it is the only new section that is being lined with boards in the same way the old part of the house is. You can see near the french doors that they reused some of the old boards (which I'm happy with ... I wanted to recycle as much as I could).

The floorboards have arrived ... not quite the recycled boards I wished I could have ... the builder wasn't really into that concept!! Let's hope they look OK in the end.
I have finally ordered my rangehood ... that really was an icky decision ... nothing really was right ... so I've gone for one that has the fan on the outside of the house, to hopefully make it quieter. There was another one I would have liked ... unfortunately it wasn't going to be available until December ... and that wasn't really going to work (I could just see me trying to get it installed the day before Christmas!). The one I've chosen isn't quite big enough (those were twice the price) but given I don't really cook that many things that need the exhaust, hopefully it will be fine.

I'm starting to realise I'd better get my orders in if I want things installed before Christmas ... but it is a bit hard since I don't have a sealed roof yet ... and I can't measure windows when they don't actually exist! Curtains I think are going to be really important ... summer is going to be nasty and I'll need the block outs in before Christmas.

I've got a list of must haves before Christmas:
- air con for the kitchen
- solar hot water system
- carpet in the dining room
- window seat cushions
- new TV

I'm sure I'm forgetting something important!