Home At Last

Apologies for the blogging hiatus.
But the move is done.
Awful.
But done.

But most importantly we LOVE, Love, love our house.
And we love being HOME. Yes we do.
It is more wonderful every day we spend here.

The fist night was surreal.
I don't think James and I could believe we were actually here.
Our bodies ached from lifting and moving and packing and unpacking ... but the thrill of falling asleep in our room ... with the curved wall .... overlooking the creek .... eased the pain. We woke early to see the pale light gently fill our bedroom as dawn crept in.

That first morning was special.
We sat up in bed as the world awoke and saw the trees along the creek gradually glow golden. There was magic.
We 're home.
And we're staying.
Forever.

There will be pictures to complete this chapter once technology allows, but The House That Ben Built and The House That James Designed is so much more than I dared wish for.

Afternoon glow

I snapped this pic late in the afternoon ...
The house was glowing in the fading light, accentuating the mellow timber and the curved wall.

Look at her now

Isn't she lovely?
That new colour really suits her!
Cinderella is almost ready for the ball ...

Sealing the floors

The floors have been sanded and are now being sealed.
The timber is coming up a treat!
It's spotted gum, if you're wondering.

And that hole in the floor? The cellar! We kept the original cellar and will add a new door, that will sit flush with the floor.

Let there be light

The light fittings are going in.

The pink chandelier sits beautifully in Eliza's room

And can you see the storybook feature wall?

Totally gorgeous.

And in the spare room ...

.... rather posh I have to say! I think James sneaked that one in!

And I love this light fitting in the hallway.

It looks like some floating seaweed, and when the light is on it will cast playful shadows on the wall ...

Status Update

The house looks like something on a reality TV show at the moment.
There are tradesmen everywhere!

There are painters ... um ..... painting
Electricians fitting the lights and the final powerpoints
Heating people putting in the - heating
Carpenters doing a final bit of joinery

Ben is directing all the traffic .... and building the deck.

The floors will stained today (Friday)
Carpet goes in on Monday ...
We move in the following weekend!!!!

Can this be true?

Special Visitors

Mum and Dad came to the house again today to check the progress before heading back to Qld.
The spare room will be ready and waiting when they come back to Melbourne again.
Christmas ???

And the little girls found the perfect place to sit ...

Aren't they gorgeous?

Inside ...

Inside the house, things are moving fast.

All the cupboards have doors.
The hard plaster in the kitchen is complete.
Floors are in.
Tiles for the bathrooms have been delivered.
Light fittings have arrived.
Painting is underway.

In the living area, James has designed joinery for the fireplace.

There space for the TV as well as display shelving for some precious pieces.

And the plastering up the staircase has been finished.

Looking good for the move in 3 weeks.

(Less actually!!!)

The outside ...

There 's been quite a bit of progress on the outside of the house.

The butt glazed windows have been installed and the scaffolding has been removed now the curved wall has been stained.

The tank is in, and the floor joists for the decking are in place.

Adjacent to the deck is a small shed, perfect for storing outdoor furniture and garden tools.

Tanked up

The timing for the tank is perfect.
It went in this week ... just before the rain came this weekend.
So all those lovely raindrops are running off our shiny new roof into our beautiful tank.
We've already got several thousand litres of water.

Soon we won't be able to see the tank.

The deck will cover it.

The floor joists are in ...

and the circular deck will float into the garden.

Our house has a heart

We placed the heart in our house this morning.

The extended family was there to give it a kiss for good luck.
Even Ben!

Eliza then placed the heart in the column in the kitchen

And Ben sealed it up.

A new date

James casually mentioned to me that the house will be ready to move into about May 8

I repeat:

James casually mentioned to me that the house will be ready to move into about May 8
James casually mentioned to me that the house will be ready to move into about May 8
James casually mentioned to me that the house will be ready to move into about May 8
James casually mentioned to me that the house will be ready to move into about May 8
James casually mentioned to me that the house will be ready to move into about May 8
James casually mentioned to me that the house will be ready to move into about May 8
James casually mentioned to me that the house will be ready to move into about May 8
James casually mentioned to me that the house will be ready to move into about May 8
James casually mentioned to me that the house will be ready to move into about May 8
James casually mentioned to me that the house will be ready to move into about May 8
James casually mentioned to me that the house will be ready to move into about May 8
James casually mentioned to me that the house will be ready to move into about May 8
James casually mentioned to me that the house will be ready to move into about May 8
James casually mentioned to me that the house will be ready to move into about May 8
James casually mentioned to me that the house will be ready to move into about May 8
James casually mentioned to me that the house will be ready to move into about May 8

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh ... and he bought a new car today.

Amongst the trees

A different view of the the house today.

We walked over the rail bridge across the creek and looked back .

Our house is emerging through the gum trees.

When we first moved into the house 7 years ago, the trees were quite small, but in that relatively short amount of time they've created a green screen.

And those same trees now give us great views from our new bedroom windows.

We love this 'rura'l outlook right on the edge of the city.

The joy of ... hard plaster

I am completely in love with the hard plaster in our kitchen.
I dropped into the house today and saw it for myself.

James says it's butt kicking.
I don't think that's actually an architectural description.

The plaster - It's slick ... but so solid.
The texture radiates sophistication and quality.
We'll wax it as a final finish, creating a beautiful natural lustre.

No pics (sorry)
Didn't have my camera on me.

Ben, bless him, has also installed the firebox in the fireplace and the stairs to the studio are in too. He's working frantically to get it all done! He's on the job 7 days a week. And the house is full of tradies - plastering, painting, plumbing....

And they all drive black utes! What's with that??

Celebrations at the house

My birthday was the perfect excuse to open a bottle of bubbles at the house today with the family.
It was especially lovely for my parents who are down from Qld to see the house for the first time - rather than view it via this blog!

The space worked perfectly.
And yes, it will be better when it's finally finished and we've moved in
but today gave us a taste of things to come.

And special thanks to Ben and Moet who worked this morning (Good Friday)! and left the house looking sparkling clean.

A little celebration

We're planning our first celebration at the house tomorrow - for my birthday.
My parents are here from Queensland.
Y es, yes, they should have been staying in the new spare room in this house ... but it hasn't worked out that way. Besides, my sister is loving the fact they are staying with her.
So we'll drink a glass of bubbles at the house tomorrow and toast the future!

I made a very quick detour to the house this afternoon. The gorgeous timber curved wall has been oiled and looks amazing. And some of the external weatherboards have been painted. Thumbs up!

New views

Some new pics from the house

showing how the kitchen relates to other rooms and spaces.

This pic is taken standing at the back of the kitchen looking down the island bench and out to the glazed windows of the dining room.

This pic is taken from the dining room looking back to the kitchen.

And I love this view.

Taken from the windows in the dining room, showing the kitchen on the right, living room and staircase on the left ... and up to the front door, part of the original house.

The most important room of the house

To us, the kitchen is the most important room of the house.

We both love to cook and entertain.

(But can I say, the way we prep and cook is very different!! I like to clean up as I go ... but don't get me started on that old arguement!)

A lot thought has gone into the kitchen, the layout, the cupboards, the flow of traffic, the use of space and the way the kitchen relates to the dining room, living room and the rest of the house.

So to see the kitchen start to take shape this week is very exciting.