It's a Done Deal

We have the keys! I've written on my calendar ever since this journey began. Today was the best entry so far!

Unfortunately there is still a number of things to be completed post handover (and yes it has taken a bit of shine from the occasion) but we really wanted to proceed today so that we can make a start on the long list of things we need to do. The line for lots of other little things not fixed is 'add it to the 90 day check list'. Really??? Apparently it is common practice to handover with things already needing to be addressed at the 90 day check! Hmmm. I don't mean to be a party pooper but...

I realised this afternoon that very soon we will stop referring to it as 'the house' and it will soon be 'home'. I can't wait til that moment!!! The highlight of my afternoon was popping to the supermarket and getting toilet paper, kitchen wipes, hand wash etc to put in my NEW HOUSE!

I also popped to porters paints to look at feature wall colours. We'd like to do one or two before the flooring goes in. Found a colour that is a perfect match for our roller blinds in the rumpus. Bought a test pot so I can check how it looks once the blinds go in Monday.

My air con guy has delayed starting the job from Monday to Thursday. I will email him to confirm that - won't be happy if he pushes it back even further!

LOVE how my kitchen has come up. The house is so echo-y without flooring and furniture - can't wait to see the flooring transform the place.

We are hoping that the weather improves so that we can do a couple of jobs we hope to do on the outside.

More updates soon. Have a good weekend everyone!

Cheers
Kylie

It's the Final Countdown

Original title I know! Heard it before I know - but I couldn't help myself.

Can you believe that after the stressful hold up getting the final invoice, we are all sorted.  Completely done! This afternoon DH received a call that the payment has been finalised.!!!This is after only getting the invoice 5pm Monday afternoon! How did this happen? Well as I mentioned previously, DH tried to get the ball rolling late last week from our end with the bank. The bank did such a great job, and already knowing the final instalment amount, they had actually already made the payment for us electronically before they got the invoice from Metricon!

I did send an email to our SS about the long list of things that still needed doing before handover. Have they been attended to? Some have. But some - more than I am happy with, I'm guessing will happen after handover. Not a great situation to be in when they already have all of the money! But I intend on ringing them every single day until things are finished!

Handover will happen Friday at 1pm. Can't wait!  Thanks again everyone for your support. I have some advice as to how i might solve my not-able-to-comment dilema - will give it a try soon.

Cheers
Kylie

Is Anyone Home?

I don't have anything inparticular to post about today. I am simply using my blog as a forum to vent my frustrations. If you read my last post, there was a list of things to be done yesterday. Most got ticked off the list...except the ones associated with the builder.

I called SS Friday to confirm if I could access the house Saturday with the bank valuer - sure, the splahback is going in, was my answer. Now I knew this was to be a waiting game but he said they'd be there earlyish. (this is the splashback that was meant to go in a couple of weeks ago but they measured it wrong, and was then scheduled to be replaced Tuesday of last week). I got there at 8am prepared with my newspaper, magazines and a coffee - quite happy to simply enjoy the peaceful time without the kids.

Luckily the bank guy lives locally and decided to pop by - even though I hadn't rung him as planned to say the house was open. He stayed a matter of minutes and left saying all was good. I say luckily because to my knowledge, the splashback guys didn't come at all! We left the site about 2.45pm after meeting our pool builder and Nothing! No one!

Plus I realised the hot water system that was meant to go in last week is also not there. Now I realise this is a case of the supplier not keeping to their word but AGGGHHH, followed by lots of swear words is where I am at. Originally SS said the house would be ready for handover last Friday, and it was only our inability to get the bank stuff sorted that prevented this from happening. Really?????

I am about to compose an email, reminding them that we still do not have the final invoice and that there is still a s*+^load of work left to be done. I am going to be the unhappiest, crankiest person to walk this planet if those keys are not given to us next week, with things completed.

Do I feel better after getting all of that off my chest? Well, I think so. Hopefully I can write a civil sounding email now. Wish me luck for the week ahead...I think I am going to need it!

Yesterday was topped off with the gutterguard quote being nearly double what we had anticipated! Have you seen the gum trees in my pictures? We really can't do without it! Another piece of furniture I can't afford to buy now:(

I will try to pick myself up for the start of the week and find a way to be positive. Will definitely be much better when the bank stuff is confirmed and sorted. Come on Metricon...don't let us down at the final hurdle!

Cheers
Kylie

If I was a Betting Girl...

I am 1 week from handover and am feeling very nervous. Although PCI was last Friday we are still final-invoice-less. I am very nervous that Handover will be postponed due to the fact we are not able to finalise our last payment.

DH has tried to get the ball rolling from the banks side of things and I was contacted about doing an inspection today. Unfortunately I couldn't get there this afternoon but the guy lives locally so will meet me onsite tomorrow so he can do his thing.

This is able to happen because the glass splashback, that was meant to go in on Tuesday, will actually be fitted tomorrow. So I have to wait at the site until they get there, then ring the inspection guy...the things you do on a Saturday morning! At least this might improve our odds for the Friday handover. I will also email my special contact at Metricon to see if they can gently persuade (ensure) things to happen too.

Splashback might not be installed yet but appliances have been. I haven't been inside to see them yet but I did manage a dodgy shot through the bifolds. (I know I wasn't going to post any more pics for a while but I can't help myself) The solar panels were fitted Thursday. They can't be seen front the front which I am relieved about...photo below is taken from the back street.

You can just see the underbench oven, cooktop, rangehood, built-in microwave and coffee machine underneath. The water purifier was popped in too. I assume dishwasher too (couldn't see) - not sure that the front cabinet piece has been put on yet (it's fully integrated)

 Solar panels...solar hot water next to it - hopefully there is also room for solar pool heating too.

My quest for decorating ideas has continued. I love how pretty these fairy lights make this room...I'm sure my little girl would love them too. Remember, I am going for a very girly look in her room.

Plus this is another coffee table option. The white top kind of matches the kitchen benchtop and the metal legs go with the lounge and chairs.  

I have had unexplained problems commenting on my favourite build blogs. Please don't think I'm not interested - I'm am reading them all everyday. For some reason, I write the comment and it tells me I'm not signed in. So I sign in again and it expects me to rewrite the comment. Which I do, only to be told to sign in again...AGHHH And so it continues. No idea why or what I've done for this to happen. One or two blogs have a different set up for their comment box and so I've been able to comment on theirs. Mainly I've wanted to say: Thigee awesome - we should get our keys within days of each other! Enjoy this week ahead! And Karla, It's looking gorgeous! Continue to enjoy being in your new home! Others early in their build are seeing good progress too (well since the rain stopped!)

Tomorrow is fairly busy. We have the banks inspector to meet, gutter mesh guy for a quote, meeting with our landscape designer followed by a meeting with our pool builder. Construction certificate, which had been a bit stressful, arrived for the pool today!!! Monday or Tuesday I will start with the first of a few driveway quotes.

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend,
Cheers
Kylie

More Dreaming...

I have posted before about my constant quest to be inspired by beautifully decorated homes and to find a way to pick which 'look' best suits my taste, my home and the whole family's lifestyle. I also need to find a way to afford all of the beautiful things I set my heart on, when I do finally decide.

My heart wants me to 'fill' my home fairly quickly to give it a face...a personality. Too much time spent listening to gossip about project homes being characterless, has me anxious to make sure this is NOT  the case with my home. I want people to like my home and say what a lovely 'feel' it has to it. My head tells me to take my time, live in it before making larger investments and get a real feel for how the home works best. I need to care less about what others think - never has been my strong point! I know that what I think of my home is the most important thing, but it is human nature for you to want others to like it too.

I've spent time admiring a lot of things posted on another blog 'Signed by Tina'. Today I found a couple of things that caught my attention.

One thing that has me stumped is a coffee table for my main living area. I will really have to wait until my flooring and other main furniture, such as lounges and chairs, are in the room before I make any decisions. I have been considering the use of a large ottoman as a coffee table. Lovely trays could be used when serving drinks etc. Here is a couple of pics showing what I mean.

I also love one I found in a magazine a while ago that was from Coco Republic. It has a timber storage shelf underneath which I loved too.

Or I like this all glass table too but with 2 young children...probably not a great idea! Doesn't impose on the room - lets the other things be the feature. Freedom has similar tables to these that won't break the budget.

This is another idea for the front entry. I've considered having the cabinet in colour as a feature. I also like the placement of the chair next to it. A mirror here is a must too.

My son has always loved maps - his last bedroom had one wall in a wallpaper mural of a world map. I have been looking for a way to incorporate maps or globes again, so I loved the idea shown in this pic.

This is a very sad pic of his room - it was all empty (and a bit of a mess) ready for demo - but you get the idea. Looked much better fully furnished - was a feature that everyone loved!

A mixture of globes, varying sizes and colours, displayed on a bookshelf of some kind. I love the colour-coded book arrangement too but that would last about 5 minutes in my house!

And finally, I love this idea for my space poor - no where near as big as I'd like it - walk in wardrobe!

Splashback should have gone in today- will have to wait and see. Front portico was started yesterday so hopefully it gets finished very soon. Gas should be getting hooked up and other things on the PCI to do list will also be being done as I type (or soon after).

DH went to council yesterday to try to sort out some of our stresses associated with getting a construction certificate for the pool.  Blind company rang me to book in the installation of the roller blinds. Lets hope everything continues to fall into place.

Cheers
Kylie

Give Me A P...Give Me A C...Give Me an I...What does that spell?

PCI! Yes it did go ahead today. Went very smoothly in fact. We have built up a good rapport with our SS so it was friendly and easy going with him agreeing to all of the very small items that needed attention.

Our main shock factor was him saying he will be ready to give us the keys...next Friday! Unfortunately we are bank dependent  and seeing as we don't have the invoice yet, that will be impossible. Realistically we were very happy with the following Friday being handover and have booked in our next set of 'stuff' to be done from then so we aren't worried that it won't be next week. SS did say it will be ready anyway, so if by some miracle the bank says it can be ready, then we will handover next week.

He has a fair few things to do next week. Appliances will go in, splashback, solar panels, gas connection, paint fix ups both inside and out, towel rail replaced in our ensuite and the portico... should be a hive of activity!

I have decided not to post any pics today...really you've seen everything there is to see. So the next pics will be after flooring goes in...maybe. I could decide to wait for some furniture too, who knows! I will keep in touch. I have loved blogging during the whole process, loved your feedback and support and plan to keep discussing progress and decorating ideas over the next couple of weeks.

Speaking of decorating and blogging, A-M's blog post today showed a gorgeous shot of her son. I took some pics last weekend of mine using 'hipstamatic' on my iphone - isn't technology grand! Such gorgeous black and whites, I plan to frame a couple for a hallway or somewhere else appropriate. Below are one or two (or three) I thought I'd share with you. Love my two xx

Cheers (literally - I've indulged in a champers or two tonight after PCI)
Kylie

We are GO for launch

Tomorrow will see PCI happen...woohoo!

This week has been slightly frustrating again. Told things would happen and then...nothing. The front portico is the current 'thorn in my side'. Still not done. A phone call on Tuesday indicated work would happen Wednesday and Thursday. Nothing done. Another phone call today confirmed my prediction on the matter - it will happen next week. The only problem is, it's been on the agenda for weeks on end now - enough!

The toilet fiasco finally came to an end with them being installed today - yeah.

There are a number of blue tape spots around the house and a painter has been there the last 2 days touching bits up.

The glass splashback in the kitchen is still delayed. A big favour has been called in to see it installed next Tuesday - apparently it was still looking at being a week or 2 away. Fingers crossed they keep to their word.

To be honest, it all feels a bit surreal now the end is so close. Strange walking through the house this arvo knowing I'll finally be living there soon. (Yes, I walked through as the house had been left wide open with no one there - and when I went back an hour later at about 5pm it was still the same, so I pulled the front door shut!)

If tomorrow goes well, I will start ringing to book our next lot of tradies in. Looks like we will be aiming for handover to happen on the 19th! So air con, electrician will be our first in, followed by flooring and blinds. Pool will hopefully start sometime in there too - another one to chase up - we've had stress with one condition of our DA approval for obtaining the construction certificate.

Must also get back to our landscape designer so that he can move forward with the next phase of our plans. We'll then start getting a couple of those things priced up including our driveway..that one is going to hurt!

And in the meantime I have still been working my way through magazines and online stores and decorator blogs...dreaming. One thing I did fall in love with is this magazine cover (can't remember which blog I found it on sorry). Love this style of cabinet for our front entry. And love the idea of a feature wallpaper there too like in this pic (although not sure I could commit to such a bold pattern - was thinking more a wallpaper with texture...what do you all think?) Do you like the cabinet? Where do I find something like this...anyone know? I thought the white would go well with my dark timber floor and a feature colour wallpaper behind it to it stands out.

Will update with how tomorrow pans out...wish us luck.

Cheers

Kylie