almost done

Since Oscar joined our family two weeks ago we are adjusting to some serious sleep deprivation, so this post is just going to be some pictures of where we're at...

sparkly floors

Still a liiiitle bit of work (fridge, dishwasher & range hood to be installed, spashback tiled, skirting boards under cupboards, painting...) to be done in the kitchen, but you have to agree it's going to be beautiful. We're so happy with the American Cherry cabinets, and the floors are just stunning.

Below is the upstairs third bedroom/study. Again, a liiiiiitle bit of painting to be done, but almost there.

The front downstairs rooms are also lacking in a bit of paint but looking gorgeous, and while the staircase photo below isn't crash hot when you look at it properly it's perfect.


Enough gushing for now - will post some more photos soon once we have done some more painting and unpacking. We also have to chase up the kitchen guy as he has a bit to do that will make it much more special than it already is, can't wait.

kitchen & render & staircase

As you can see from the title of this post it's been a busy few weeks. The kitchen is well on it's way to being installed, as you can see in the photographs above and below.

The floor to ceiling cupboards with the "boxing rings" in them are the pantry, and then the cupboards to their right are firstly for the television and associated electronic bits and bobs, and other appliances and kitchen gear. The television will hide behind wood veneer doors that can slide our and back so that it can be pulled forward when we want to watch. I love a hidden TV, I hate the way the dominate a space otherwise.

Kitchen cupboards will be Dulux Whisper White veneer, as will the island, but the floor to ceiling cupboards will have wood veneer doors so that they we can differentiate the space and they are more built in furniture than connected to the kitchen.

Now to the staircase, we are incredibly happy with it. Now that I've seen it I have no regrets about ditching the old one and getting this copy made. The brushbox treads match our new floorboards, so will be polished, and the pine detailing will be painted.


Finally, the render. So glad to have banished the scraps of lime green pain from the house forever. The painter has started painting the sides of the house, but the front still needs doing. And in this picture you can also see the balcony.

We're edging closer to completion... sometimes two steps forward and one step back, but we'll get there. And hopefully soon.

a blessing in disguise

Last week (when we actually managed to persuade our electrician to turn) it emerged that we would be unable to use down lights in one part of the new living area due to the placement of an air conditioning panel. Which means that right above our dining table we can install a pendant light instead. I have loved this George Nelson Criss Cross pendant forever, but as we are sticking to a more traditional look in the front rooms of the house I didn't think I'd have anywhere to put one. And now we do! We just need to get the electrician to come back again some time this decade...

The pendant lights in the front of the house are equally as beautiful, designed and made by Lisa at Shady Designs. She does a fabulous job and I can't recommend her highly enough. They are giant drum shades with black linen on the outside. One shade has Catherine Martin for Porter's Paints wallpaper in "Sparrow" (we went with the cream and red colourway) on the inside. The other has a solid gold wallpaper with flecks of red through it. At the moment they're sitting in the living room, and they already look beautiful, I can't wait to see them actually hanging.

While things are happy on the lighting front, the gyprockers are making me want to cry with their unexpected absences. We were assured they would be completely finished by the end of the week, which meant that the floors could go down on Monday, but now I am a bit sceptical.

outside

From the front our place is currently an eyesore. Thankfully it's less alarming from the back.

The extension is really taking shape now. The roof is on and the electrician has started work inside, and once the doors and windows arrive and we are at lock up stage we will be able to properly connect the old part of the house and the new part.

This should all happen within the next three weeks or so, after which the next step is to get the gyprock up and timber floors down and polished.

The front of the house needs some serious TLC. As you can see in the photograph we've removed most of the balcony with the exception of the corner that connects the electricity to the house. We have to get a special category 2 sparkie to come and connect that.

We also have to put some kind of footings in under the front porch, because at the moment it's just being held up by clay and some bricks. Apparently they didn't know much about foundations in 1900.

Interesting times...

just another few thousand bricks

The extension feels like a (windowless, roofless) room. It's amazing getting a real sense of how the space feels, although I am sure my perception will continually change. Some days the space seems big, other days I worry it's too small. Its so hard to relate to an empty cube!

The gap in the photograph above will be filled with bi fold glass doors that open onto a decked area, and then ultimately the back garden. The back garden will obviously need some work, given that at the moment it is a big puddle of mud with rubbish all over it.

The photograph below shows the doorway which will open to our courtyard.

bricks and beams

I've been a bit slack posting photos and then all of a sudden today we have some bricks and beams and bearers (and almost some temporary floors!)

I love having a better sense of the space we'll be working with in the extension. I'm even thinking of breaking out the sidewalk chalk and marking out where the kitchen will sit, and a proposed couch location. The boys are out there at the moment putting down some chipboard so we can walk around and play house. Exciting!

Concrete

Last week, after hours of George's digging, we were finally ready to pour the concrete that will be the base of the footings for the back extension.

I really like the KEEP OUT sign. Very homely. Martha Stewart would be proud.

In case you've never seen a concrete pump in action, here's a little video for you.

Next will be the bricklayer and I have a feeling that kind of work will be exciting to see. To me bricks mean that something is really happening. Like walls.

In other news I am trying to track down a person or company who restores old staircases. Any Sydney recommendations would be appreciated.