HOUSE UPDATE

the slab has been poured! i'm so excited! i feel like the house is finally at the stage now where others can join in on the excitement as well. before, when it was just a few trenches dug into a plot of land, most people weren't doing the same nervous, happy jig i was when we showed them (totally understandable). but now, it's more real and much easier to visualize. here on in it really gets exciting (the frame will go up soon! eeek!) 

kitchen and dining

bedrooms, bathrooms and garage on the far side

kitchen, dining and living room

 this empty space (below) is the living room, which will be built on a timber frame instead of a concrete slab since it is pretty high of the ground. i think that's one of the things happening next. 

i've just realised that i always take pictures on the same side of the house, facing our next door neighbours. i should take more pictures on the opposite side because that faces out to our garden and a pretty clump of trees, which are so much nicer to look at. 

so there it is. the most beautiful chunk of concrete i've ever laid eyes on. hope you had a great weekend!

xx Bret 

THE EXTERIOR

more progress! this has been so exciting. on thursday they had these big cement trucks pumping into the ground. it was pretty cool to watch. it's becoming easier to visualize the spaces and position of the house now. the living room is going to be amazing!

one of the things that ty and i debated over for a long time was the exterior. do we experiment with colour or do we keep it pretty neutral? our house is going to look something like this - 

- fairly simple and modern. the majority of the house is cladding. the panels surrounding the windows and on the garage are a type of material called james hardie easylap panel. it's pretty cost effective and easy to install so we went with it. our architect has designed it so the panels are the same height as the windows and will wrap around the entire house. like a belt. or a horizontal stripe. does that make sense?  the panel is designed to be painted, so we thought it might be fun to use a bright colour as a feature, with white cladding and a dark balustrade/fence.  so we experimented with heaps of different colour combinations. i sourced inspiration from fashion runways and magazines and any image that caught my fancy. 

we both really liked this yellow/gold colour and had pretty much settled on it, when ty drove past a house on one of the streets nearby and fell in love with its colour scheme and look. it was completely white. 

he now wanted a simple exterior and i was totally fine with that. so it was back to the drawing board, and these are the images that inspired me.

1 . 2 . 3 . 4

so finally, this. 

i love it and i'm kinda glad we're not doing a bright crazy colour because this will be beautiful and simple. if we can do it, the fence will be a really nice timber. i love how plants looks against a timber backdrop. and i love hydrangeas, so they are definitely making an appearance. 

have a good weekend!

xx Bret 

FLOOR PLAN + OTHER THINGS

so, if you were to drive past our land, this is what you'd currently see. fun stuff! i'm amazed by how much has already happened in just a few days.  sorry about the grainy photos, i took these on the iphone at dusk, so they're not the clearest.

anyway, you can see from the photo below that we're building on a slight hill. our living areas are at the front of the house to take full advantage of the sun, so since the front part of the house will be elevated we still have a great amount of privacy which is super. just below that horizontal beam is where the living room floor will be. by the time you reach the back of the house, the rooms will be sitting on the ground again.

the land is a funny shape, narrow at the front and wide at the back, like a triangle. here's a sketch to give you an idea of where the house will sit.

the backyard is going to be so big and pretty in the summer. and the big deck at the front of the house will get sun all day long. we'll be spending more time outside then in i reckon!
our house is a nice comfy size. definitely all we need at the moment with just us and noo. here's a sketch of the floor plan...

the design is relatively open. i'm not a major fan of living/kitchen/dining all in the same room. i like this layout because while i can watch what nancy's doing while i'm cooking, they still feel like separate zones. as soon as you walk through the front door, you look straight into the dining room, so i really want that area to have a big impact. i've got lots of ideas that i'll talk about another day!
the wall of windows in the living room is going to capture the sun all day long. it will be heavenly! we're seriously considering building a window seat along that entire wall. against the opposite wall is our little study nook which i'm going to make so pretty :).
the bedrooms are cosy sizes. no major architectural features, but i've got plans to make them really fun and exciting nonetheless. also, i'm a big fan of having laundries in garages. it free's up valuable space and it's the second last room on my list of "spaces to make beautiful" (garage is last).

so there you have it! i'll post about the exterior tomorrow if i get round to it. we're leaving tonight for a weekend getaway to sydney to catch up with family (and maybe do some house shopping.)
have a great night!

xx Bret

BIG NEWS!

it's official. we're building a house and we are sooo excited! ty and i have been in the process of purchasing land for months, and on friday last week the last papers were signed and the land officially ours. even though those months of waiting might seem like a bother, it turned out to be perfect timing for when our builder was available. so with only a few days of owning the land the groundwork has already started!
it still doesn't quite seem real to me though, and it probably won't until we're moved in and unpacked. i'll be sharing heaps about this house building process (seriously. you have been warned) because designing my own home is a major dream come true. my head has been full of colours and door fittings for ages!  so if you're in to that sort of thing, i'm your girl.

more details about the house tomorrow!

xx Bret

CHARTREUSE WALLS & ORIGAMI TILES

have you been watching the block? i have. it's one of the only tv shows i've ever really got hooked on, though i'll admit i am getting a bit tired of the "drama". but it's worth watching for all the good design ideas. for this last week's guest bedroom and ensuite, madi and jarrod used the most amazing chartreuse/yellow wall paint. i fell in love! i would never have considered that colour for walls, but i totally want to try it now! these pictures below in no way do the colour justice. the walls here look a bit custard-y. if you want to see the colour a little better, watch the room tour here.

and then trix and johnno used some beautiful white tiles in their ensuite. it looked like crinkled paper/origami. so so pretty!

so much inspiration!

xx Bret

OH ABIGAIL

i've said it before, and i am happily going to say it again. i love interior designer abigail ahern's home. everything about it. it is just so snug and interesting and exciting. i can easily picture myself sitting cosy on one of those cushiony couches reading on a rainy day.

these images and more at the selby. abigail's personal blog here. abigail's website here.

xx Bret

SOMETHING TO SIT ON

our dining chairs are coming to the end of their long-lived life. my mum bought them second-hand and years later gave them to me when i got married. in the past few years i have repainted and re-upholstered them multiple times. but it's time for a change. i've been doing some window-shopping online and have picked out a few favourites.

          
 

 

a. b. c. d. e. f. g.   

i better start saving some pennies!

xx Bret

VELVET SOFA

i'm sort-of-a-little-bit-addicted to velvet sofas at the moment. i love them! one day (when we're, you know, ridiculously wealthy... ha!) we will have one. until such a time though, i'm just going to have to make do with looking at these drool-worthy sofa's on the internet.

i think indigo is my favourite. or maybe a gorgeous green... or a crazy pink. hmmm or whatever. love them all!

between your ears

sadie and stella

coco cozy

house and home

musings etc

homedit

xx Bret

HOUSE: KITCHENS

with the possibility of building our own home looming on the horizon, my house planning obsession has kicked into overdrive. from paint colours to kitchen cabinetry (am i crazy because i get excited over door handles?) i've got this design thing covered. can you guess my favourite room to dream about? yep, the kitchen. i love kitchens. there's so much to think about! taps, tiles, colours, shelving, bench tops, the whole thing gets me giddy with excitement! so before i start sounding obsessed (is it too late for that?) here are a few of the kitchens i have been crushing on lately. 


finding the balance between an aesthetically beautiful and a practical kitchen is a toughy. visually i would love exposed brick walls and freestanding flea-market-find bench tops  but i know that they would be difficult to keep clean and not so smart for cooking. sad but true. i'm liking a bit of colour too. nothing too "out there" just enough to add a point of interest and make it less generic.  

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ahhh these pictures make me happy. i'll be doing this for a while. :)
do you have a favourite? let me know in the comments if you like. i'd love to hear your opinion.

xx Bret

HOUSE: POLAROIDS

i have a thing for polaroids as decor in homes. it is pretty and affordable wall art. these are a few of my favourite (thanks pinterest).

 (apartment therapy)

(a beautiful mess)

would you use polaroids to decorate an empty wall space? they are such a fun way to display pictures of family and friends. i have a similar polaroid project to do soon.

xx Bret