Going to plan

The plans on site

Wooden it be lovely ...

Our house will feature a lot of timber.

Spotted gum for the floors and deck and Vic Ash for the ceilings and some walls.

A weathered stain has been applied to the Vic Ash and the colouring is a smokey grey.

Ben has been cutting up lengths of timber for the external cladding on the back wall.

Some of the internal doors are now on site. This one (above) is the bathroom door.

Every man needs a ...

Shed!

Ben has made the frame and it's ready to be erected once the cement slab has cured.

Coffee House

This house has been built on a lot of coffee.

We might entomb a couple of the takeaway cups as part of a time capsule.

Eureka Coffee is our local.

Mark and his crew make a mean brew.

Looking in and looking out

The new bay window at the front of the house looks lovely.

All the rotten wood is gone, the front weatherboards are new and the old stucco has been pulled off and will be replaced.

The sashless double hung windows are now installed upstairs.

This is the view into the garden from the living room and dining room.

And the new windows, guttering and pristine weatherboards on the side of the house.

Looking good!

Tanked

I finally made it to the house today to take some pics.

Remember that bloody big hole?

Now there's a bloody big tank in it!

Well - bits of a tank.

The concrete has been poured forming the walls.

The tank will hold10,000 litres ... that's if it ever rains again.

The tank is right at the back sliding doors that lead into the living room.

The deck will be built over the top ...

And we'll step off the deck into the garden.

Sorry House ... I've been neglecting you

Just because haven't been blogging doesn't mean there's nothing happenning at the house.
In fact there has been heaps of progress. It's just that my camera battery has been flat, or I've left my camera at the office, or I've done a quick look and dash the last few times I've visited the site.
So to fill you in :

• Windows are in - the glass bits I mean.
• The weather boards on the front of the house, which were rotten, have been replaced. Looks fab
• The bay window in Eliza's new room has been replaced. Incredible.
• The box gutters and downpipes are in.
• The joiner is making good progress with all the cupboards off site.
• James has selected the limestone for the benchtops. They winched huge slabs of stone so he could select the perfect colour for our house.
• Some of the new internal doors have arrived on site. Beautiful.
• An old Italian guy is making the staircase.
• The form work has gone in that massive hole, for the tank.
• New oven ordered.
• New bathroom stuff - toilets, taps, shower base have arrived.
• The plasterer starts this week - so we'll have walls! Exciting.

Ben says he's going hell for leather to get the house finished by the end of March. He knows my folks are coming down from QLD in early April to stay!
Yes mum and dad, your room will be ready.

Colours Of Our House

It's been a pleasure to choose the colours for our house and incredibly easy. James and I have not disagreed on any selection. We are remarkably together on every choice!

We've selected carpet, tiles and paint colours for the doors, walls, ceilings, skirting and architraves. We've chosen beautiful French limestone for the kitchen bench tops and bathroom vanities, lovely bathroom tiles as well as dark timber and blue grey limestone for the floors... not forgetting a splash of colour and fun in the upholstery.

The palette is elegant and subtly dramatic; a mix of soft greys and neutrals against strong elements like the timber.

Eliza says she's finally getting excited about the house. She can see what it might look like.

She LOVES the Porters Paint pale pink and eggshell which will be painted in wide stripes on a feature wall in her bedroom.

Yes, we are all started to get a little bit excited!!!!

Happy Birthday Alfredo

Our gorgeous neighbour Alfredo turned 80 yesterday!

I can't believe it actually. He doesn't look it one little bit. Must be the grappa he has with his espresso every day.

We dropped in to say hello this morning and were plied with pasta, pollo, cheese, bread, panetone and cafe.

All this before 11am !!!!

I gave the grappa a miss or it could have been a very snoozy day.

You like vino instead??

Lordy!

Galliano??

!!!!!

View From Above

The view from our bedroom is awesome! We showed Pina and Alfredo this pic today and Alfredo was very proud of how his shed looked!

Not too late for you to build a shed you know.

He can't get over the fact we'll park our cars on the street so we can preserve our backyard as a garden. At least we've got fruit trees and some veggies. He hasn't complained about the white nectarines, apricots or artichokes we've handed over the fence.

The bedroom has a beautiful feel about it. The curved wall is sensational and you do feel like you're floating in the trees. Not a bad outlook when you think we're 10 mins from the city!

And this is the view from our bed. The windows are long enough for us to be able to lie back and check out the day as it unfolds. I'll drink in this scene every morning, along with my cup of tea. Thanks darling xxx

The Heat Is On

Melbourne cooked this week.

In fact cooked is an understatement

Fried

Baked

BOILED OVER

Three days of more than 43 degrees and on Friday it reached 45.2

OMG!!!!!!!

In our little rented house there is no air con, we have two little fans and very little insulation.

It was awful

unbearable

appalling

mind sapping

I was losing the will to go on

but a cooler couple of days this weekend has helped us feel human again.

But back to the house ...

Ben the bloody hero kept working - although not on the roof!

He managed to put the blueboard on, which forms the foundation for the render.

The guy is AMAZING.

Wired For ...

The electrician has been on site this week.
There's blue spaghetti poking through holes in the ceiling and curled up on the floor.
We're wired for lights, data, TV and phone.
A thoroughly modern household!