Choosing floorboards is fun

Hubby picked up two samples of floorboards which we may using in the house. We want to replace the old baltic pine and have the same boards right the way through into the extension.

I really like light colours or dark colours but not a fan of the middle range or red toned wood.

For example, I like:

and

This is what he brought home:



They both look very simialar to me. The one on the left is messmate (which I had never heard of before but hubby had) and the other is stringy bark. I think I am liking the stringy bark a bit more. They come in either width and are all made from recycled wood.

Next Saturday we will both go to the showroom to have a better look.

Yay!! This is the fun part  :)

The perks of the job

There are a few benefits of playing the waiting game.

1) We have more time to pay off our mortgage which is getting smaller, and smaller and paying less interest.

2) We have time to think about design and smarter ways to do things with the layout/design.

3) We can fix up other problems with the existing house (for example we jacked up the bouncy part of the kitchen and packed the stumps. Now the gaps in the walls have gone and no more floor like a trampoline)

4) We can collect building materials to save us money.

This last one is where my Husbands new job comes in. He is renovating/extending period type homes. Yesterday they had left over timber that was going to go into the skip. The site supervisor told Hubby that he could take it to use for stumps if he wanted. Cool!!  Every little bit helps. So far we only have some weatherboards and now these stumps but I am sure more things will pop up.

Also, we are making contact with suppliers. Yesterday the new staircase was going into one of the homes. The staircase man said that we can get the wholesale rate because we work for D. (He said about $3500-$4000) Can't wait to see the pics of the staircase that Hubby promised he'd take today.

Time has also lead me to Pinterest once again. We are looking at splashback ideas and we like pressed tin and subway tiles.

I really like these:

Subway tiles in herringbone

Pressed tin

Also, this arebesque style is gorgeous:

     

Those last ones are super expensive though. Which one are your favourite?

Maybe we will come across some extra free tiles along the way :)    I'll keep dreaming.

Well, Monday is the last official day for taking complaints about our renovation. I wonder if any have been lodged. Time will tell.

Have a lovely weekend to my gorgeous readers
xx

Tick, tock

So we have started the 2 weeks wait. And no I dont mean that horrid one when you are TTC. Our plans are now on the councils website for people to view and complain if desired. Please everyone cross your fingers that no one has any problems with our plans. I'd hate to do more waiting than we already have.

The block nextdoor was meant to have their slab started yesterday but they got rained out. It poured all day yesterday. Today it is dry and they were only there for about 2 hours and I can't see any work done. Maybe it is still too wet underfoot.

Also, we are trying to get quotes for plumbing and stumping. The stumper said he wont do it because he would have to dig too deep.  So, looks like Hubby will be doing it himself. It will save money but be a pain in the bum. I am thining of taking the 3 kids down to see Mum in Hobart for 2 weeks while he does it.

It has been about 2 weeks and still no quote back from the plumber and wont answer our calls. Grrr....

Tick, tock, tick, tock whn will the waiting end and the building begin????

It's a sign

It was just one of those days today. Nothing was going right; I even spelt my own name wrong when I was signing the baby into childcare. Even at work things were just a mess. Nothing too bad but just frustrating and I got drenched dropping Sammy at childcare to boot.

It wasn't a complete write off though; I did get scones and biscuits at my son's kinder VIP day and then when I arrived home all cold and wet and carrying about 6 bags and a baby inside the house, I was greeted by another nice surprise.  A letter from the council asking for money for the advertsing. It said as soon as we pay the fee ($163- we saved $7 by maing our own board to stick it on) they will send out the letters to our adjoing neighbours and we can erect our sign. So I called hubby straight away and told him to go to the council straight from work to pay it and to collect the signage.

So now we have a pretty board in the front of our house.

Little Heidi made it into this pick. Can you find her?

This sign has to stay up for 2 weeks from tomorrow and fingers crossed no one complains or we will have to wait all over again.

But overall I came out of the day pretty happy.  :)







Footings problem

I don't know much about building, but Hubby says that we will run into a problem if the neighbours pour their slab before us (which will definately happen). Not that we have a slab, we will be on stumps; but we need a concrete footing for the side wall which will be on the fence line.

I just sent our plans off to our engineer to see what we can do. It may mean that we have to put a footing down in a few weeks at or before the neighbours pour their slab.

If that ends up to be the case, then we will have to remove the trees that currently line that fence and pull up the deck. I hope he doesn't take too long to respond as I am hoping to replant the trees somewhere else. If possible as they are pencil pines which don't like getting moved.

My Mother's Day surprises

It's not until you have a relaxed rest day that you really realise how busy life is every other day of the year. Yesterday was Mother's Day and I felt spoilt just by the fact that I did minimal housework and didn't feel guilty letting Hubby take ove for just one day.

Firstly my 15 month old baby girl Heidi slept through the night and didn't wake until 7.07am. HEAVEN!! That is a good sleep in to me.

Then I get big hugs and kisses in bed from my 3 goregous kids followed by the gifts they made at childcare, kinder and school as well as the ones that daddy helped them buy.

Thought I'd share some lovely ones.

My artwork from number 2 son Sammy:



A gorgeous kale flower plant:



I think it is meant to be an outdoor plant so I will have to think of a good place to put it in the garden.

What a lucky Mummy I am and I am so thankful for my wonderful Husband and Children for making me feel special. I hope all the other Mum's ot their had a relaxing day too.

A small step forward

Each day we creep closer and closer to a start date. Today I have been told that our amendments have been oked by the council and have been sent forward to the advertising stage.

This requires us to put a notice in our front yard for 2 weeks in which time the neighbours can view the plans and make any complaints that they might have about our extension. Cross your fingers that nobody complains (especially scarey as we have one set of neighbours who complain about everything and would probably enjoy knocking our plans back).

Now we wait to hear back about paying an advertising fee and getting our board up.

But the other exciting news is that our new neighbours who bought the vaccant block nextdoor laid all their plumbing yesterday. My son spent about 3 hours hanging over the fence just watching the digger and the plumbers going to work. He is mega excited about our build so this can entertain him until it is our turn.

A frame for the laundry

The laundry is now looking a lot less cluttered and more spacious too. However I thought it felt a little too bare now. It needed some colour and I had just the thing.

I found a picture of a potted germanium in a magazine and was waiting for a place to put it. I spray painted and old picture frame white and put the picture in.

It is kinda dark in the laundry so it doesn't stand out a lot which hubby will be happy with as he thinks it is too girly :)

Before:

After:

This laundry will be moved once we do the renovation so I don't want to worry about it too much. Oh and on the reno plans saga; I heard from the council man yesterday and he said it should all go through ok. They will start advertising shortly. Then he sent me another email saying that I didnt include the title documents or the title page or something like that. I am confused with all these documents so I jst sent him all I had and hope that covers it.

My patience is start the wear thin now. Well it has been 17-18 months since we logged the first plans.

Anyway, enjoy your weekend everyone and thanks for reading :)

Pottery Barn Australia now open

Oh how I wish I lived in Sydney right now.

They just opened their first store outside of the US and Sydney were the lucky people to get it. Their new Australian website (Pottery Barn) is up and running and is shipping all over Australia.

Also find them on Facebook.

Sadly they are not selling all the stock that is avaiable in the US. For example the lighting and door handles and drawer pulls to name a few. Something to do with the configuration of the electrics to meet Australia specifications. But this may change if enough people demand the products.



They have so much nice stuff and it isn't that expensive compared to the equivalent stock here. Shipping is also very very reasonable.

Happy shopping!!