RENOVATION PROGRESS (POST 1)

so our house is progressing! i have been pleasantly surprised by our builder being on schedule and anticipating completion of stage 1 by the middle of next week! here are a few of the progress pictures so far (excuse the poor picture quality - they were taken on my iPhone)...i am very much looking forward to sharing with you all the pictures of stage 1 when complete!

so far all the structural and door changes for stage 1 have been completed, along with the plaster work and the new openings to what will be our deck as part of stage 1.

the bathroom area has been extended and waterproofed, and the tiles are progressively being installed. the kitchen is also a work in progress, with all the rough in completed and the carcass for all the cupboards in also. i am so excited about our new kitchen and bathroom!

this is looking from our lounge room into what was the kitchen and the third bedroom. having removed the wall between the kitchen and bedroom 3, and making the opening between the previous kitchen and dining/lounge, the space feels so much bigger and more open.

view into what was our kitchen! this is our new dining room. the width of the opening to outside stayed the same, but we dropped the sill to the floor as stage 2 will include a deck outside these doors. the extra opening size makes the room feel so much lighter and, combined with the extra width to the lounge room opening, the light in the lounge room is much better.

 

the opening between lounge and dining which is now much bigger. previously it was two sliding doors but has been cut now to be as open as possible while still catering for the joinery and the kitchen. the doors from the living to the corridor have also changed to bifolds, and joinery is going to go on either side of the bifolds. am very much looking forward to these cupboards and bookshelves, and think they will prove of infinite value to store bub's toys and get breakables at a height that is out of reach of little hands!!

the carcass of our new kitchen! i am most excited about a big clear bench space between dining and the kitchen so i can have preparation space, the new pantry with pull out drawers and the vertical storage above the oven and microwave. for the windows, we have gone for bifolds and are going to have a servery that will open out to the new deck. again, we kept the opening width the same to minimise structural changes and brought the sill height up to allow for the bench. this space was previously bed 3 which was originally a dining room that previous owners had converted. the conversion was done with minimal cost and had an awkward shape due to outdoor access also being from this room.

looking back to the living room which largely remains unchanged except that it will now just be living, not living and dining. this change will increase the amount of time that our family will fit in the home greatly. the ceiling has also been resheeted and cornices redone to ensure consistency!

the tiling in the bathroom is under way and i must admit, this was one of the things i was most nervous about because once its done it is an expensive thing to change. we are very happy with how they look so far. these white 300mm x 75mm handmade look subway tiles are being laid floor to ceiling in the main bathroom in a random pattern.

the floor tiles to the WC which are the same as the tiles in the main bathroom. i like the patterns, and am very happy with the colouring. i was a bit unsure if they would be too dark but the dark component is not black (but will still work with black tap ware) and there is enough white to balance. i think this also means that while the pattern is very busy and detailed if you look closely, it is not completely overwhelming on a large scale. the white wall tiles (which will have white grout) will also assist in balancing the floor.

a close up of the tiles on the floor

once all the works have been finished, i will do room by room posts which will include details of where the different components were purchased from etc. in the meantime let me know if there is a specific component you would like some info on!

THE BEFORE POST

we have finally gotten around to starting the renovations that we have been planning since we moved in (3.5 years ago) to our house. sure, we're on a tight time frame (hoping to move back in to a half finished house when i am 39 weeks pregnant) but hey, better late than never right?!

i have so many mixed emotions about this one...on one hand i am super excited to have our new kitchen and bathroom and deck, on the other hand i am super nervous about all of my decisions coming together. i have done all the drawings and obtained the relevant approvals (might as well use that architecture degree for something!!), and done all the research and made all the decisions about tiles and kitchen cupboards and lights and fittings and fixtures, so if it doesn't come together i really have nowhere else to turn except to myself (scary!!!!). i am very thankful to my friends who have spent many hours discussing the pros and cons of different light fittings and tiles and how everything is going to fit together!

originally, i was going to completely project manage all the trades myself, however when we found out we were expecting our first little bundle of joy, we decided (read: my husband insisted) that we engage a builder to take care of and manage the trades, particularly to keep things on a hopefully tighter time frame than if i was managing trades myself while working and being pregnant.

anyway, here are the before pictures of our little house that we love, and we are super excited to be having our family grow up in this house, particularly once we have made it ours!

WC

bathroom

living

dining

kitchen

kitchen

i will try and post a few pics along the way also - at the moment i just have a gutted kitchen and bathroom, will also try and put some pictures up of the plan for each room and the products we have chosen!!

COMMUNITY WEDDING IN A COMMUNITY HALL

firstly, apologies for the long post - there are quite a few pictures in this one!

in december, some friends from church got married at galston community hall. with both brendan and charlotte being such valued and loved members of our church community, they wanted to have a wedding that they could invite the whole church to, and the community hall was a venue that was both affordable and big enough. i offered to style the wedding, and these photos show the end result.

the day was captured amazingly by studio eclectic, and i am so thankful for the many many people who helped pull this together. brendan and charlotte were going for a rustic theme, using a deep red and a bit of gold.

the original plan was ceremony in the hall, with the afternoon tea and reception outside, however, due to the weather, all of the above was to take place in the hall. the transformations on the day from ceremony venue to afternoon tea, then to sit down reception for 300 people, then to dancing and dessert were absolutely epic but, as they say, many hands make light work. there is no way i could have executed these transformations without the many hands!!!

these were the invitations...hand drawn fonts...

welcome and directional signs as you approach the hall...

 

the ceremony in front of the rope backdrop. they were 'tying the knot'...

 flowers and jars (so many jars!!!), along with some old wine crates to set the theme...

the transformation for the reception saw metres and metres of garland with a collection of pom poms strung above the bridal table...

with so many people, it was a tight fit, but we got everyone in and seated for the reception. the hall was filled with long banquet tables, and everyone just took a seat (there wasn't much room for standing!!)...

 

 and then there was the dessert table. so much tasty goodness...

and some other details from the day, including afternoon tea drinks labels, guest book table and the gift table...