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!

Photo of oven and others!

Here it is .......


awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww ... I could look at if for hours!!!

Below is a close up of the stainless steel bench ... still in its wrapping ... will be unwrapped for Christmas (given it was a pressie from my Mum!) ... it is nearly as beautiful as the oven!


I realised I had other photos I haven't shared ... so here goes ....

Below is my driveway on Friday afternoon ...
Rush hour!! That day we had carpenter, builder, 3 electricians, 2 tilers, 2 painters, 3 joiners ... and I'm sure I'm missing someone!!! Monday is going to be about the same ... adding in a plumber, airconditioner installer, flyscreen installer ... gas man? and maybe more?!?!

The dining room is ready to go for carpet ... was supposed to have happened this week but a bit of a mix up ... hopefully tomorrow morning (given I have guests arriving for lunch ... they'll have to carry in their own table to eat off!!). Bonus points if you can see the fatty grey poom-bah in the background!
Most of the tiling in the laundry and bathroom has been done ... I LOVE the tile ... thanks to my wonderful friend who trialled it for me ;-) ... it is quite amazing how little the dirt shows on it!! The bath is surrounded by the tile ... can't wait to see it all fitted out ... maybe tomorrow?! I suppose my brother who is staying from tomorrow night might actually LIKE his own bathroom.
I'm missing photos of the outside ... the windows have nearly all been done ... just waiting on the doors to get their final colour before I take another photo ... that will nearly be an "after" photo!

The blank space is filled ... with mistakes!

I cried again today ... luckily not in front of the builders this time!!! Only my second set of big tears over this process I suppose it really has been too easy.

The kitchen arrived today ... I was desperate to see it going in but stayed out of the way. I was asked in for a question about the bench at one stage during the day, when I saw the most HIDDEOUS looking shelf on the wall. It looked awful ... I thought maybe it only had temporary brackets holding it up ... I couldn't put a measuring tape on it (as the builders were all around) so decided to wait until they were all gone and to go out with plans and tape (I hate to make a claim that something is wrong until I've quadruple checked plans and measurements).

The painter was around and asked me what I though of the kitchen ... I said I hadn't really seen it yet but I didn't like the shelf. He went and spoke to one of the builders (not the kitchen guys - they had already left) ... and a builder came to me ... I really didn't want to start making claims about it being wrong until I could check for myself ... but they said I had to quickly speak up so they could rip it off the wall before the glue dried!!!!

We pulled out the plans, the tape measure, the pretty picture from a magazine it was modelled on ... and it was ripped OFF the wall!!! I wasn't wrong ... the plans and the shelf brackets were very different to reality! Picture shows my attempt to put them side by side in an image shows the difference ... though the shelf that remains is the microwave shelf (which I thought might be larger than the other ones since it has a larger shelf to support).

Quick discussion with the builders (the senior one wasn't on site today) and we sketched up an alternative (a pretty bracket!) ... those lemon meringue tarts that I made for them yesterday, at the neighbours, must have helped ;-) ... they get chocolate marshmallows tomorrow. Where they ripped the shelf off the wall has damaged the plasterwork ... but it will be covered by the tiled splashback ... the microwave shelf can't be removed without major problems.

Below is the front on view of the microwave shelf ... it is kind of hard to tell in this photo ... but it is really LARGE ... imagine something wider than a standard fridge ... and takes up huge wall space ... the shelf over the bench was this size but even bigger ... ugh!!!


I thought we'd got through the kitchen hiccup ... I thought that'd be it ... I waited until all the trades were out before further investigation ... and what I found caused me to cry ... it wasn't just the shelves wrong ... there is SO MUCH else wrong!!! It seemed nearly everything I opened wasn't right. Below is the main bench (with damage to the wall).

I was wandering around trying to work out why it looked all wrong ... it just didn't give the feel of what I thought it was going to look like. I got out the pictures I'd cut out of magazines to try and identify what felt wrong ... and I finally worked it out ... I'd asked for a particular profile on the draws and cupboards ... what they had done was a sort of interpretation of this. I wanted boring plain even surrounds ... they seem to have improvised ... below is a picture showing the plan vs the reality. Plan has one distance around the molding (marked yellow) ... the reality is three different sizes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It just makes it look all weird ... and modern! Also ... although two plans slightly differ ... I was planning on putting the handles on the top section (not in the middle as on the plan shown to the left) ... which on the lower draws is only the size of the blue measurement ... not big enough for the handles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The tears were flowing ... and then I opened the draws ... oh my ... oh no ... what the?!?!?!?

The kitchen maker and I had discussed the draws/cupboards were supposed to be like inside ... the cupboard below was supposed to be for my baking trays:
Can't work out how I'm going to put baking trays in there ... if I take off the top basket (which is removeable) the bottom basket is not deep enough to stop them flipping out. I have a peverse desire to hand the kitchen guy a baking tray and say "here, you put it in".

The next draw didn't stop the tears ... this one is supposed to be for tea towels and bottles ....
ummmmm ... half a draw!??!?! what's the other side supposed to have in it? you can't reach into it!!! One narrow little shelf bit?!?!?!?!

Then I opened one of the main big draws ... to find the sides only go halfway up ... so you can't fill the draws!!!!!!!!!!!!! arrggghhh!! I think I'm in the kitchen where the Mad Hatter's tea party was prepared!!!


Then I noticed the rangehood is in the wrong place ... I know it is odd ... but I wanted the actual vent bits to be to one side ... because the oven only has burners on one side (the other side is just a warming plate) ... had discussed this with the kitchen guy ... he wrote it down ... and nope ... it didn't happen.

Another "hmm ... that doesn't look right" .... the mantle over the oven ... just looked too big ... sure enough ... I look at the plans which have 250mm .. and I put up the measuring tape 330mm . ... just a little bit out!!!!

I hadn't quite worked out why they had used such thick MDF in the pantry ... I SHOULD have spoken up about it ... because that horrible thick stuff is all through the kitchen ... the linen cupboard (photo further down below) has normal thickness shelves ... but the new cookbookshelf (is that a word?!) has the thick stuff too... I've never seen bookshelves with huge thick shelves ... they don't have to take that much weight!! Looks awful :-(

Below is the east side of the kitchen .. apart from thick shelves, weird molding on the draws ... it doesn't look too bad!!! Bench colour is OK ... don't know why the powerpoints are at that height (the other side of the kitchen has them lower) ... but I like the top cupboards .. oh BUGGER ... just realised ... the glass was supposed to be opaque!!!!!!!!!! arrrrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhh!!!! *sob*
Ok ... enough whinging and wringing of hands ... I rang the senior builder, he'll be out tomorrow to discuss. The kitchen guy also called ... he'll be out tomorrow (and on the defensive ... he wasn't expecting my list of issues!) ... tomorrow wont be much fun ... but if the plans say something, then I'm sticking to them!!!

On to good things ... one draw I opened was GOOD ... the rubbish bins!!!! yup ... they're bigger than I expected (but the size I was hoping) ... they are fabulous! Lots of room for recycleables and rubbish!!


The first window seat is in ... in the dining room!! It looks a little low at the moment ... but it was put that way to account for the actual upholstery cushion going on top. Looks pretty!! There was nearly a hiccup over this one ... the builders had put in the skirting board without putting in the window seat. I mentioned it to one of the guys on site (to stop them doing the kitchen one and wasting their time) ... the senior builder approached me the next day saying he thought that the dining room would look better without the window seat ... ohhhh noooo you don't ... just because you made a boo-boo does not mean you get out of creating my window seat, not when I've spent $$$ on getting materials and upholstery done for it! Builder quickly saw it my way and this is today's result!


And I'd like to enter my linen closet in the "world's biggest linen closet" competition ... not sure you can get an idea of size from this photo (use the door as comparison) ... but it is HUUUUGGGGEEE!!! I can take all the stuff out of the spare room ... and it will fit in here!!!! (oh ... it will have doors too!)

Oh ... and for those who struggle to throw things out ... I'd watched an exchange between the builder and the painter ... they had some of the pretty cornice left over ... two big pieces ... the painter asked the builder if he wanted it brought in before the rain came, the builder said he didn't want it, the painter could take it if he wanted ... no the painter didn't want it either ... I looked at it ... and desperately wanted to keep it ... but what would I ever use cornice for?!?!? Well ... when they installed the rangehood today, they realised they just needed an extra piece of cornice ... pity it poured with rain the other day and it is ruined!!!!

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 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!!

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!

Lots of changes

I was being slack and didn't take photos of the prep of the front of the house, so you've missed a stage ... they've started painting!!! The new green looks very pretty on the one veranda post they've done so far, I'm really pleased at how the rafters under the veranda have come up (considering I don't like them and wish they weren't there!).Looking at the corner of the house below ... on the left is the new paint, on the right is the old paint ... even in "real life" it is hard to pick the different colour (the new one is a shade or two lighter ... oh, and not covered in dust!).

They've got the french door frame in for the living room in ... which means I've lost another room!! But of course ... means the finish is a bit closer!

The bay window on the dining room is moving along ... the window frames are sitting in my garage, I can't wait to see them go in. I also noticed that the tin for the roof over bathroom arrived today (it isn't corrugated like the rest of the roof ... architects!!) ... the roofer was supposed to come today, but bad weather once again put him off. Hopefully nice weather tomorrow will mean they can get the capping on (I'm in a bit of denial about how much water must have got in over the last couple of days ... most of it has the old stuff temporarily attached, but there are gaps).

The first "inside" photos

I had a thought as I was walking around after the builders left yesterday ... I can actually stand IN the extension and take photos of what it will be like - yes I know it probably isn't that amazing a thought to many, but it was the change from "I'm standing on a piece of dirt" to "I'm standing IN my house"!!!

So ... the first photos that will soon become reality!

The view from the back door:

The lounge area window seat (got to think of a new name for that area of the house, already have a living room so that doesn't fit!):

The kitchen bench to be:

The part of living room:

Still waiting on the ensuite - those drying times are just taking the time - grouting all done (thought I might have picked a colour that was too dark, but it seems to have dried much lighter and looks great), now have to wait until the seal is dry, then they can sand off the plasterwork, then painting, more drying time ... THEN they might be able to fit it out! So ... unlikely to be this weekend (sorry friends, I'll be visiting for more showers!).

Friday they hope to lay the slab - weather is looking ok ... just hoping not too much rain to ruin their preparations. Apparently the electrician is booked for next Thursday to start putting the wiring in - which means the frames will be up by then!

I'm still just amazed at the concept of IN the house!!!