This is the look I have to marry with the one from the previous post

This is classic modern. Still has the white but mixed with dark timber furniture. This is beautiful. Only trouble is I have to work with what we have as well. I do want this look for the top level of our house. There is Ikea used quite a bit in these rooms but it is well blended. That is my intention.

I am wondering can I do this on level one and then the other on level two. Our house is split level. I already have some good pieces to start this look off with. I reckon I can pull it off.

 I have a great table from the sixties I can use as an occasional desk for my laptop but it needs a paint. I have an antique hall stand from my granddad, it could do with a restore but I can't do it. Maybe one day I can have it professionally done.  We have a chest of drawers for our bedroom that needs staining and new knobs. I have an old chair that needs recovering too. I am going to paint our house too once we live there and get a feel for the space. I am loving the turquoise paint from pic2 at the moment. I am thinking for our bedroom.

I have to find a space for all my ideas now. Sometimes I wish the house was going to be a bit bigger but then I think about the reasons it isn't and my main one cleaning and then I think no, we made the right choice.

Style Confusion

 

I am a bit confused about the decorating aspect which bemuses me because I KNOW knew what my style is but now I am liking a few bits that may not actually go with 'the' style OR am going back to a style I liked years ago OR maybe I just like an eclectic style and need to embrace that. Anyway I'm a little confused...

I know I love white and light. I also love some colour. Hence the coloured quilt in the previous post which Michael agreed we could keep but with the tag " the things I will do for you!".

I love the wall shelves below they are fabulous for picture arrangements. Using these I change my photo arrangements when ever I want to without putting holes everywhere. Brilliant!

Above are our existing cabinets in white and pine.
This is as shown in our last house. Doesn't Ikea furniture look so much nicer without all the tags.




I love these curtains for our family room. I showed Micahel and he likes them too which is great. His taste surprises me sometimes. I expected him to hate them. I am not certain they will be "the" curtains because they are rather thin which allows alot of light to penetrate which may be too much but I do love them. They are cheap too so may be great for "an until we can afford blinds" option.



This was the only style I loved for years. Classic, modern scandanavian. Coutesy of my favorite store Ikea. I love the birch furniture with the light gray and white soft furnishings. They have such short dark days in Sweden and this colour pallet works well in that environment as it allows as much light reflection as possible. It works equally as well here as we have really short winters so we live a very sunny existance. I really like the jute rug. I got my eye on that one.



We already have these bookcases in birch but I would like these white doors for them. Once the doors are installed they will match our existing furniture pcitured above(pic2 I think). The doors will hide some of the items or books, making the shelves less busy and making them more conjusive to living outside the study, maybe in the family room or media room. This will then allow more space for Michael's musical equipment in the study.



Michael would like a leather futon in his music room but I don't think one will fit. I saw this chair which I think is perfect for sitting and playing guitar. Michael did however point out to me that we have ALOT of chairs already. Maybe we can use one of those instead.



I also like this option for one of my bookcases. I want to get rid of our existing cabinet that houses our glassware. It is beech and goes with NOTHING. I think this would be a great alternative. In fact I think I want to get rid of alot of the glasses as well. We have sooo many. All engagement and wedding gifts that we almost never use. I am sure Michael will want to keep every last one of those dust catchers. I could paint the glass cabinet white. I wonder if that will work. It's better than sticking it in the garage. Hmmm.



Michael wants a high backed desk for the music room/study. This matches really well.

 

I also like these curtains but think I may tire of them more quickly.

 


This is the style I want for our family room. Here is another example of those great picture rail shelves.  

  

Now I just have to marry it all up to get the look I love without buying all new furniture.

Got our final appointment

Just got a call from the builder. Final plans are being drawn up tomorrow and we have an appointment to sign the final plans next Tuesday. The build is sceduled to start the week after. Please no rain.

WE ARE SO FRIGGIN" EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quilt Love

Today I went to  do banking and I visited "the quilt" in Myer.

I too and froed and made a crunch decision. I bought it. Owww I do love it. I think it will be a nice addition to our room, it will add some modern spice to our existing furnishings. Change things up a little and unlike our old red walls(yes we used to have bright saturated red walls in our honeymoon days) the quilt can be changed easily when we tire of it. If Michael really hates it I can exchange or refund. I do understand that Michael does have to sleep with it everyday. I am hoping that he will like it though.

All is not lost if it goes back to the shop as I did  see a wonderful white quilt with pinch pleat details and fancy buttons that was also on sale. Plus I KNOW he would like it if the coloured one doesn't work out.

To be continued...

Finally a break

Michael spoke to our builder yesterday and they are closer to starting than they thought. They want us to come in mid next week to sign the final "for construction plans". Then the build should start the week after. OMG that's close. As Dora says rain, rain go away come back some other day! Or in our case in another six months.

Yesterday the bank had a private valuer do the valuation on what they expect the house to be worth once completed. He called us for help with it rather than wait for the bank as they can delay things. We had a good chat and I forwarded off heaps of docs which he was very grateful for. Anyway my assistancee paid off as he rang Michael at 9pm last night to ask a few questions about the kitchen and bathroom finishes and he said that all was great and that he was sending it off to the bank immediately. It was via email so the bank has it as I type. Yah!

Now letter of commencement come, come, come!

Had our first blinds quote

$4000 for blinds and $2500 for security doors. I tell you what those double stacker doors cost a bomb to screen. This does not include having any window coverings on the largest windows in the house which are located in the family room. There we are having curtains. A very simple white curtain estimated at $500.

Fans

The last post wouldn't let me load the image. Anywho...here is a picture of the fan. It looks much nicer in real life. This is the wood grain side but you can't even see the grain in this picture. They have remotes too.

Fans for Chloe's bedroom and the mastersuite.

Now that we are near to the building start we have decided that as things we want come on special we are going to have to seriously consider buying them. So on the weekend we went and got the fans for two of the bedrooms.

They have a reversible blade with wood grain on one side and dark grey on the other colour. We will go with the dark grey. Or I might spray paint the blades on Chloe's white. 

I love this quilt

I got a Myer voucher for my birthday. Last week I was in Myer and I spotted this. I fell in love instantly. Michael isn't so sure. I am thinking I should get it and then live with it(in the pack) for a week or two and then if I change my mind I can always take it back and get a refund. It is on sale so I need to move quickly.

As of today

We have had word from our mortgage broker that the final construction loan is approved. That was just a formality really but it's another step. Now a valuer has to do a valuation on the expected finished product. That is happening today or tomorrow. Then we sign the final loan documents and the letter of commencement will be sent to the builder.

We sent back the signed variations discussed with builder last week. Concrete has been extended and we are getting an extra door installed at hallway near Chloe's bedroom. This will block sound when she sleeps and will give us an area for the dogs to be contained in. They can then go between the laundry, bathroom and hall. They won't set off the alarm and they won't be able to sit on my new lounge.

Michael and I went to the show home on the weekend and it's funny how things change in shape and size the more you look at them. We knew we were getting a much smaller yard, a large courtyard sized space but yesterday it just seemed a lot smaller. Well it looks fine just turfed but we want garden beds and water features and pergolas. We have to really plan this space well. There isn't the room to play with a million different plants like we did at out old place. We will only select the plants that did very well at our last home and plants that we really love and are in line with creating the environment that we want.

Of course we had another delay!

Things have moved slowly again. We finally got the construction certificate. Our retaining wall is over 1000mm and of late our council has started a requirement that we have an engineer certificate for that wall prior to CC being issued. Anyway after a bit of drama we got around it by using the specs for boral retaining wall blocks "keystone" and kopper logs down the dead side of the house. I don't really like koppers but it was worth it as otherwise we had to fork out over $700 for the engineer and there would have been a further delay of 5-10 days.

Things are back on track for the time being. Today we meet to discuss the final electrical plan, discuss and order further variations and talk about any questions we may have before the final plan is drawn up.

We sent everything outstanding to the bank and now just await the final construction loan paper then once signed they will issue a commencement letter.

We have been told we should be in to sign off on everything for the builder within two to three weeks and first break of soil should be the week after. Here's hoping. Oh and if it doesn't rain.

On a lighter note the tiler has got a new great range of tiles for us to chose from. Awesome tiles. Beautiful florals, stripes, mosaics and some nice art deco inspired ones. Can't wait to go and chose those now. I ma designing bathrooms in my head as I type. So I guess the question is to decide whether to be brave and choose a modern tile with some serious wow factor that will date eventually or go for plain white, boring but won't date. Hmmm. Decisions.

It's getting very exciting

I just spoke to Casaview and they said they ordered the engineering certificate last week so it should come any day. The engineering team at Casaview will go over everything, issue final plans and ask us to come in to sign the final plans very soon. We should get a call any day.

The pegs to mark out the house excavation have already been placed on our land. We are the first lot with anything physical going on. 

The signed contract and final variations are going to bank tomorrow or Thursday, Wednesday is written off  (darn Australia day). The letter of commencement can be issued once they are received.

She said she expecets us to be breaking ground in no more than four weeks but most likely sooner. OMG Yah!

We have had contact a week earlier than expected

I was just about to do a blog entry about our builder returning from their annual close in 5 days or 3 more full working days and low and behold I got an email from the builder chasing our "letter of commencement" from the bank. It's a bit spooky that I would be about to do a blog entry on them when they were typing an email to me. 

I am thrilled they called and that this will hopefully be sorted before this week is out. I have got the builder and our mortgage broker dealing directly. Starting this week(instead of next) means we are one week closer to breaking ground. OMG.

I am so excited to start building. The renting is getting a bit old and money will start to get really tight soon.

Oh please God let the paper work get sorted quickly so we can break ground ASAP and... hold off the rain please. At least until we get the frame, bricks and roof on.

DA Approved!

Yah! Bravo to council for doing this in...11 days!

We are signing construction certificates papers today. I hope all that goes really quickly and we can break ground in early 2011.

Happy days.

The land is officially ours!

Settlement occurred at 2.30pm today. Yah!

Plans are in council and all is going well. Now the real pressure starts. Especially in February as we have all our bills and rent and mortgage. Anyway happy thoughts today. Yah!

House Number

I was worried that we would get number four. Not that I'm Chinese but still the thought freaked me. Here is what  numerology says about life in a six 6 home. Sounds all good to me.

The 6 is the most loving of all numbers. It is harmonious will all other numbers, and is committed, caring, sympathetic, protective, and nurturing, as well as responsible, self-sacrificing, and undemanding. It is domestic, marriage and family oriented, and community conscious. It is the teacher and the healer.



You'd better have a green thumb as this number demands greenery!  This is the home of the gardener, especially for one who loves to beautify he home and grounds with lots of flowers. Make this a place of beauty and love, for that's the natural vibration of the 6.

When you move into this address unpack everything you own for you're going to be here for a long time  for this is a number of stability. It won't let you go easily either so choose wisely... Artistic and creative people like it here, as well as newly married or moving in together. Any creative talents you possess will come to the surface and demand expression. There will be an upsurge in creative energy and the desire to make money from your new-found abilities or, the opportunity to make money from talents already recognised but undeveloped. Linked to the planet Venus in Astrology with Taurean's and Librans attracted to this number and if you make friends with either sign, your life will improve out of sight! If born in Taurus or Libra this is the place for you - you're home - spiritual, mental and material...


Interestingly, when visitors come to stay they often extend their visit, you've been warned! Keep in mind the old axiom - "guests like fish go off after three days." Remember this saying when inviting family or friends to pay a visit for unless you set the ground rules re: length of stay - they'll never leave... Don't allow your life to become monotonous whilst living here and if you're a lover of children this is the address to have all the neighbourhood kids come to party! Don't fall into the trap of competing with the 'Joneses' be yourselves and entertain the kids with clowns, ventriloquists, scary movies or stories. House or apartment (even lot) number six is all about the theatre and the theatrical profession.


Family pictures from wall to wall. A 6 dwelling is a family "nest". People feel safe and warm and understood in a 6 house and anyone is considered family here. Most likely a beautiful home in decor, the female members of the household will rule the roost and nobody will mind. Pets, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren are drawn to this house and delicious smells create happy memories for all. There's an air of sophistication here as well and of following the "status quo". Tradition, ritual, gentlemen and gentlewomen, rescuing, healing and nurturing resonate to 6. Good for nurses, social workers, childcare workers, grandparents, retirees, and close-knit family life.


Good luck colors for this home are: Light Blue, Royal Blue, Lilac and Hyacinth. The kitchen and the family room are the most highly trafficked so make these comfy and inviting. It's best if they're connected. A big backyard for BBQ's is important too!

Kitchen Cupboards

After getting about 10 different glass door types and finishes quoted and much thought we have decided we are not getting the glass cabinets in the kitchen. I would have liked them but they are just too expensive and we have other things to spend our money on.

Like...

We are getting the canopy range hood, Michael has said yes. I am thrilled to bits. It's going to look really, really nice.

We have movement for sure.

Land is registered...finally.

Solicitor is planning on settling by 20.12.10 or sooner.

Builder has submitted DA to council on 3.12.10. We had no idea it had occurred so it very exciting. I have not told Michael yet as he is busy at work. Bugger!

Once they get the DA from council there is about a six week wait to organise - construction certificate, Sydney water building, engineering certificate and do a final construction check. Hopefully council will have approved our DA whilst Casaview are closed and it will be waiting for them when they re-open. They return on 23.1.11.

The only issue now is RAIN. 2010 has been the wettest in Sydney for years. Hopefully the rain will have it's turn over Xmas and then go away. As Dora and Boots sing - rain, rain go away, come back another day. I must do the Dora dance.

We may have movement

We spoke to our solicitor and it looks like our land should register next week. The other group awaiting registration registered last week. I'm so excited and hopeful. Pleeeease God let it be next week.

Majestic but not "our" majestic

A pic of the good looking under construction house that I am ogling at the moment. The one with the slate. The one that nearly made me ask Michael for slate. Gorgeous white slate. It  really is nice IRL. This photo does not do the house justice.  It pops IRL.