Thursday, July 7, 2011

Long time no post!

Wow - its been quite a while since my last post - due to a combination of being super busy and not having the internet connected here at the house until last week.

Lots has been happening since I last posted - landscaping is plodding along, with a weeks worth of excavation (sloping block back to front and side to side..), footings poured for the retaining walls delayed due to rain, then walls are now almost finished but we had another rain delay as we had to wait until the ground was dry to get a bobcat in to backfill behind the walls.

In terms of things needing to be attended to by Metricon those are slowly being sorted too.

The front doors has been reglazed in translucent glass, all the painting fixes have been done (took one painter a whole day), the kitchen doors have been resprayed (and Castlewood Kitchens made and installed a small shelf for my appliance cupboard at no cost - HUGE tick to them for customer service!), the dented roof over the study side projection has been fixed, and the top shelf in pantry and linen cupboard were finally installed on Sunday. Yay for the jolly man from Stegbar for working on a Sunday to get it done :)

We are STILL waiting for our heated towel rail (which cost a small fortune BTW), a towel rail in the main bathroom (yes - we have NO towel rails in the house at all!), the powder room door handle to be replaced (our SS installed a temporary one on handover day which isn't correctly installed so doesn't stay shut when the light/exhaust fan is on - VERY annoying), replacement door handle for french door upstairs and a few other small items.

Also, our Master Balcony roof sprung a leak over the long weekend when we had torrential rain. Probably just a cracked tile but not something we want to leave until the 90 day maintenance inspection.

In terms of unpacking I am thrilled that with the pantry shelf finished I could finally finish unpacking the kitchen this week - those last two huge boxes were so annoying!
Finished unpacking our sons room yesterday  - with no wardrobe fitout as yet until the money tree fruits again there were a few boxes of stuff I wasn't sure where I wanted to live!

The study has been the biggest challenge in terms of furnishing/decorating/unpacking for a number of reasons. The first being it is at the front door and is open plan so I don't want it to look cluttered and messy. Secondly it has windows on two walls and the staircase on the third (no fourth wall as its open to the entrance) - making furniture placement tricky..
Thirdly we had NO furniture at all suitable for this space so have had to buy everything new - which is lovely but expensive at this stage with all the other costs on our plate right now.
I am slowly getting there which feels nice as a few weeks ago I had 30 boxes piled in the study to try to work around and unpack!

Ok, ok, enough with the wordiness right? Pics?


One side of the study as it is today


Wider view - starting to encompass the messy side!


Still lots of tidying, another trip to IKEA and styling to be done here


Powder room on moving day


Our sons room on moving day


Guest room on moving day


Playroom


Upstairs living - mostly finished just needs styling/feature wall


Upstairs living. I find it ironic that this living area is larger then the only one we had at our old place :)


Master Bedroom


Master bed balcony - painting just finished here so not yet "done"


Looking into Master Bedroom


Love out new huge bed! New bedsides to come - these are our old ones. Looking for wider ones to balance out the size of the bed, and use up some more space!


Ensuite


Ensuite - LOVE my feature tiles - you can see some in this pic


Keeping it real! Still 6 boxes for me to unpack in my wardrobe - LOL. Messy but fitout will have to wait. Looking forward to this being a super organised, pretty space eventually.


Another real shot - the spare room!!


Love my chaise!


The playroom/ second living area


Playroom - still some organising/sorting to do in here too


Living area


Looking from Dining through to Playroom


Living area - still needs to be styled/finished, tv mounted etc etc





Kitchen



Looking from living through house to front door











Rubble city outside!


Cant wait to put lovely long sheers up over the doors, just for looks rather than function. I think they will add a nice depth to the space. 


Sorry you all had to wait SO long for this post - will be back really soon with another pic-heave one, including landscaping pics!

17 comments:

  1. Yaay for the pics!

    Good to hear M are slowly fixing things..

    The rooms look lovely! Still LOVE your kitchen the best..the colours look lovely. Also, you have the same stools as my sister. Nice choice!

    Good luck with everything else :)

    Our tiling is starting this weekend, handover next friday and floorboards starting on the following Monday..can't wait!!

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  2. I just noticed I have used the word 'lovely' way too much in this post! hahaha sorry!! Ok its only twice, but still too much! lol

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  3. Thanks Tonia :) Its really hard to get decent pics - there is so much sunlight streaming in, LOL. Photos dont do it justice really.

    I'm so excited you guys have handover soon - hope everything goes smoothly for the next week!! Glad you made a decision on the bath too - I think the rectangle looks fab in that space!!

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  4. *Droooool*

    Your house is looking BEAUTIFUL! It must be so nice to finally be in.

    Can I ask you a question? Did you sign off on the house subject to the final things being completed? Or do you just have a verbal agreement with 'M'? I only ask because our SS has mentioned that good ol' Stegbar has a 6 week wait on wardrobe fitouts etc so in order to get our keys sooner, he said if we signed off on it, it would mean EB would give us our keys and we'd have an agreement with the SS (verbally)that it would get done. The order has been placed and I have no reason to not trust him but it still doesn't sit right with me and we'd have no recourse. Of course, it could mean the difference of having our keys weeks earlier. There are other small things that I wonder if they'll all get done in the next few working days too.

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  5. Hi Karla!

    Thanks, loving the house - despite having eleventy billion things to still do its amazing to be here finally :) And funnily enough all the drama does melt away and it feels like it was yesterday that we started this whole journey!

    We also had a verbal agreement - and a thousand emails from me outlining what needed to be finished, and they have been pretty good, I must admit. We filled out a form at 'presentation' outlining what needed to be done but there ended up being a few extras that aren't on that list that have been attended to (despite me having the same worries you do). I think especially in our case they didn't want to rock the boat any further!

    As for Stegbar - they finished our last pantry and linen cupboard shelves on Sunday, so it took quite a while, but after the drama I had with them (they tried to tell me M had only paid for a standard fit out - when I paid for extra shelves that were on my plans) I am just glad its done now.

    Good Luck! If I were you I'd take the keys - its just a bit of a pain when you can't unpack properly while waiting for fit out. I only had to wait for one pantry shelf out of 5 and found that annoying! LOL

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  6. Oh that's good to know Shayne. It probably happens all the time. Re pantry shelving we were meant to have 5 shelves as well but only got 4 and a whole side of the pantry has no shelves but it should! Apparently the error is on EB's end for not ordering correctly.

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  7. How wonderful Shayne, thank you for sharing your photos. I know how busy/stressful sorting/unpacking, where does it go....and to take photos, well done. House came up stunning; funny how all dramas melt away - some you even laugh about.

    No internet - I remember that!!!!I've yet to have a correct account from Telstra...total incompetence but that is a whole blog.
    Landscaping and mud....dreaming of turf.
    Love the shutters in ensuite and powder room plus the tiles in ensuite are so gorgeous.
    Masterbedroom and adjoining Balcony WOW - what a special retreat.
    Especially love the chaise in study? I guess we see that when entering front door, how inviting
    and
    the kitchen, so beautiful with all those drawers and window splashback.
    Next instalment best show landscaping view.

    Congratulations on surviving such a huge build; many many years of memories and happiness.

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  8. Looks completely fab!!! Can't wait to see landscape pics. Soo glad you are happy in your new home!

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  9. Wow, gorgeous.
    Your kitchen looks like its a pic from a mag, amazing, it blew me away :-)
    You should be a very happy lady, your house is amazing.
    And your study isn't that bad really :-)
    Good job :-)

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  10. Absolutely gorgeous - especially the kitchen! The contrast of dark timber with white goes really well. We have chosen similarly and will be very happy if it looks half as good as your place!

    Oh and I wouldn't worry about not having enough furniture for the new place - you look like you now have plenty!!

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  11. Yay...I was hanging out for a Shayne update. All the words have already been said; and it's all of those and more.
    Do you just pinch yourself that you're in after ALL this time??

    A massive thank you for sharing your beautiful home with us!!

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  12. It looks fabulous Shayne, a huge congrats to you all. I just love love LOVE the kitchen! Now tell me, is that wardrobe all yours???

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  13. Congrats Shayne on a fantastic home! I was hanging out for an update as well. The colours and choices have all come together so well.
    We are in as well!! We ended up having handover on our PCI day 22/6 after much pushing with Andrew M!!
    Metricon have been slowly fixing outstanding issues. Painter touched up on a Sunday. Biggest issue to date is that the microwave trim does not fit into the microwave tower. Might need to get cupboard doors shortened.

    I know what you mean about having boxes lying around ...
    Can't wait for this weekend to be over as timber floors will be complete (after two weeks of laying, sanding and polishing) and all rooms will be unpacked.

    Keep the fantastic pics coming.
    Rush.

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  14. Karla - annoying but its good you have some of the pantry shelves at least to start unpacking into! Not sure how I would've coped if I had to wait for more than one shelf ;p

    Thanks Deb! Yes you are right - the chaise is pretty much the first thing you see when you walk in the front door :) Will definitely do a landscaping post next - its a LONG and slow process but its taking shape :)

    Reinsey it still doesn't feel really real to be honest! Almost like I am an impostor rattling around in this big new house playing grown ups - LOL!

    Beccy - yes! That wardrobe is ALL mine! Jason has a big built in at the end I took the photo from :) Its half full at best so he has plenty of room!

    Rush! I have been meaning to email to see how you are going - SO glad to hear you are in too - good work! You did well to get in given how much still needed to be done when we moved :) Love to hear all about it!!

    Thanks to all of you for coming along on this crazy ride - and for the fantastic support :) It's hard to keep up spirits sometimes (as you all know!) and the blog, and the friends I've made and comments i've received have helped make it all worthwhile :)

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  15. Hi Shayne and Jason,
    Am sure you feel very relived and elated to have completed what i describe as a major endeavour. The photos of the completed house are stunning and the decor is excellent as well. Since my last communiqué we have had the tender presented and we have just recently accepted the tender. We have now been given a date for contract signing. We are now starting a journey that you just finished. If you dont mind I would like to ask couple of questions about the building process, contract and variations. Did you get your contract read by a solicitor or have any if the points in the contract negotiated. We are seriously thinking about it and wanted to get some advice.

    Thanks
    Mitesh

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  16. see this house is gorgeous, I do love your blog posts so much, could look at it for hours!
    I loved ur house and images that u issued in ur blogs..Wow! super! wonderful! I loved ur Interior Decoration of houses..

    Merbau Decking

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    ReplyDelete