Lock it in Eddy

The planets must have aligned this week because we have MADE A DECISION.

1st - are we restricted to a PD house on our block?  Short answer = no.  But for some reason, land sales aren't impressed and want us to ring them for a chat.  Interesting.  How about you ring us and tell us the land is going to be delayed by 4 months?

2nd - shortlist our top 3 x 35ish square two storey homes.  Compare the quotes.  Check the room dimensions, promotions, building standards and our gut reaction too.  Result = they are all a compromise, all cost more than we really want to spend, and all would be hot in summer and cold in winter.  Decision = two storey homes are off the list completely.

3rd - find single storey homes that take advantage of our great block, meet our criteria (which I found reviewing an old blog post - how handy was it to have captured that moment's thinking and be able to refer back to it?), and fall within an amount we're prepared to pay.

The revised shortlist looked something like this;
Big M Chelsea 37
PD Jasper
Carlisle Pagoda
Carlisle Monaco
Carlisle Montrose

Big M seem to oeprate in a similar way to PD.  Pretty much everything is an upgrade and they are cagey about the real costs.  Although the house was great, we were unable to get a clear indication of what it would cost, so ruled it off the list

Jasper is a good plan, but with a north facing side boundary, having the solid wall of the rumpus (home theatre) blocking all the light is less than ideal.  There was a lot of good in this design, but not enough to save it from the red texta.

Carlisle.  When we first started this "journey" it began as a hunt for ideas to put into a renovation of our current home.  We looked through some Carlisle homes at that time and liked their designs, but weren't in the larket for a home then.  Now we've re-visited armed with a fair bit of knowledge of what we do and don't like, plus the way the building industry seems to work, and they certainly seem to have the right idea on pricing, inclusions and customer service.

Pagoda - love the minor bedroom wing, the master, infact almost everything except the family room that is really just a big hall way.  I don't know how we would use this space, but we love it enough to leave it with a question mark.

Montrose - Ticks all the boxes and even has one extra room that we don't have an immediate need for.  But, the outdoor flow is more to the side that the rear.  But we love this one too, so it stays on the list with 2 question marks.

Monaco - Don't like the facade, but love love love the wide entry, the minor bedroom wing without having too many windows to the front (coz some people who live with us are messy!), bathroom seems wider than most and very spacious.  Master bedroom - ding dong!  Put sliding doors on there and you've got a north facing courtyard.  Ensuite - hello Christmas! A spa under the window (standard), double vanity with those cute little pigeon holes for towel storage, massive double shower with a rail shower head and dumper (standard), plus a door on the loo (I know you're nodding - that's a good thing, right?).  We'd turn the lounge into a home theatre by adding double doors, move a few walls around in the living area out the back to combine the meals and rumpus, narrow off the family room and turn it into a library.  And then there's the kitchen.  It opens directly onto the alfresco, has the feature window behind the sink (which would be north facing for us), a massive island bench with the cooktop and underbench oven in it (so I can actually face people and cook).  It's just perfect.  And we're not loking at any more houses.

This is the one.  Yes it's my final answer.  Lock it in Eddy!