Getting to know you

We've been having a lovely time getting to know our house - it's light switches, how it lives, which windows to open when the wind blows a certain way.  It's been really fun :)

Our shutters were hung to the front windows on Saturday morning;

Dining and family rooms are coming together - just need some more "stuff";

Still tossing up whether to paint the master bedhead wall in Jasper or leave it as is;

Front and side gardens are done and we're tickled pink, blue and purple with the look;

When we started on this "ïdea"all those months ago, I never imagined that it would be this good :)

A bit of gardenage

Our landscapers (Outdoor Edge) have allllllmost finished the first stage of works.  It's very like the build - the first part dragged, middle part flew and the finishing touches seem to take months.  Well not really months, coz we've only been in for 3 weeks.  OMG - 3 weeks.  In some ways it's seemed like 3 months, and others 3 days.

It's damn hard work this moving business, so anyone out there who hasn't yet moved, live it up now!!!!

Anyway - here's some pics of our gardeners hard work.  Now that the bones are in place, we can start adding a bit of our own flavour to the space...

Isn't she gorgeous???

Pours and paws

Activity central at the orange house this week.  We're STILL pinching ourselves that we're actually IN, but the dust - oh my - there's so much dust, and mud, and dusty muddy footprints, both human and canine.

So to eliminate some of the mess, our paths have been poured, driveway too.

Exposed aggregate down the skinny side with a 3m long gap which will have Castlemaine Slate steppers set into a garden bed at our feature window.  See our gate all the way down there?  We decided (at the absolute last minute) to put it at the end of the house to keep the hounds at bay.  We'll put a wrought iron feature gate at the front here - at some stage.

Can't wait to drive on it for the first time.  Just needs the saw cuts, an acid wash and a couple of coats of sealer.

Here's a close-up of the blend.  It's "Glenelg" from Mentone Pre-mix & I think the boys at 1300 driveways have done a great job.

The front landscaping will continue this week and weather permitting, it MAY be completed (???). Will be nice to see some greenery against all of this paleness :)

We've arrived!

Just a quick update coz I'm seriously busy at work after having a week off and Telstra have done their thing, meaning no internet at home yet.

I thought the build was emotional, but actually moving into this place we have created is so amazing - almost surreal.  We took the keys a week ago on Thursday and spend the next two days gently moving smaller items, painting a couple of feature walls and really just roaming from room to room pinching ourselves.

The actual move day was Saturday (last week) and man was that a day and a half. But by the time we used our double shower for the first time, we had set up all of the bedrooms and unpacked the kitchen.  The rest could wait.

Waking up in our new house was like being on holiday in a ritzy resort...until we got to the rooms that had boxes piled to the ceilings.  Arrrggghhhhh.

But now, 10 days later we reckon we've done pretty well, and most importantly, the fur kids have settled in which is a massive relief.

Anyway - here's a few piccies;

Jasper feature wall in one of the bedrooms

Feature wall in Dulux "Plantain"

The troublesome fireplace waiting for some paint!

Dining room through corner stackers to alfresco

Kitchen splashback window at night

The whole kitchen

Miss Bella staring through the window!

My Mum & Dad have been over both weekends and have been so unbelievably wonderfully amazing, putting up lights, towel rails, helping with the painting and just being grouse parents.  Love you both xxxxx

Landscaping is well underway and we're hoping to have our exposed aggregate driveway and paths poured later this week.

But the best bit is walking the fur kids around the estate and stopping to chat with neighbours, or having little pop in visits from fellow avenuers.  I love love love living here already :)