We haven't got a handle on it

We didn't really like the handles on offer in the showroom when we were making our selections. We decided to change the handles after handover.

In the kitchen we are going to have cup pulls on the draws and knobs on the doors. As they don't have anything like it in the show room, we are not having any handles put on at all in the kitchen and will nervously put them on ourselves after handover.

Something like this for the kitchen

I had in mind something long for the bathrooms so we requested the longest handles in the standard range for both bathrooms.  The really ugly D handle.

Just before Christmas I decided that I'd better order the handles to replace the ones we were having put on. I discovered that the handle we selected that is provided by Laminex is not a standard size. And there is really only one other handle in the same size as this. The t-bar handle. Although it's much nicer than the D handle, it's not what I was envisaging.

I contacted our Building Coordinator before Christmas even though I knew that she wouldn't get the email till the 5th of Jan - thinking and hoping that 10 days would be enough time to let the installers know to change the handles to the smaller ones or to just not put any handles on at all. Today she got back to me to say that we can go ahead and change them, she didn't know that the cabinets had been installed already and the handles put on. So it was too late to change them. :(

Oh well, you win some, you loose some... 

Our Site Supervisor is on holidays still so she contacted whoever it was who is filling in for him to find out if the handles were put on, they took some photos so we can see. Yep, there's handles on them there cabinets.

Really happy with the handle size.  Might look at something a fraction longer that will also hide the original holes.

We Have a Kitchen... sort of

With Melbourne experiencing a week of 40+ degrees each day, we didn't expect to see anything happening at the house. When we received an email today with the fixing invoice attached we realised the builders all were busy working this week. Way to go guys! So we had to go and check it out.

Hubby could hear me squealing from the other side of the house when I saw the kitchen cupboards through the dirty windows. The photos below don't do it any justice at all. I could have stayed looking through the windows for hours. It is so beautiful. It's just as I imagined - better really because it's now a reality!

Can just see the ensuite cupboard doors

Laundry - it's gorgeous!

Elvis' successor (Fire helicopter) flying back to Melbourne after fighting fires in Lancefield today.

The closest we can get to seeing our bathroom and ensuite cupboards...

Laundry

Mudroom - part one

We remodelled our current home a few years ago. One thing we did was to make our formal lounge room smaller by putting a wall in to create a mudroom / storeroom between the lounge and the kitchen (if you're not sure what a 'mudroom' is, check out my pinterest inspiration board - they're very popular in America.)

Our home was sadly lacking in storage so we added two big linen cupboards in the newly created store room. The plan was to also put in some mudroom cabinets. Several years passed and the room became a place to dump stuff and shut the door - sometimes it was tricky to get to the linen part of the linen cupboards without performing some sort of acrobatics!

So last weekend we started. We cleared out the room and bought a heap of mdf, some plywood lining, some trim and got to work.

Some of the supplies

Before.
Not Before Before. Because I'm too embarrassed to show you that!

We had originally planned to put in a door through to the garage - but the electrical wiring we found in the wall put a halt to that. We could have easily got an electrician in to fix it, but we never got around to it. Now that we are under time pressure to get our home ready for sale, we decided it would be quicker and easier to cover it with lining boards - and if the next owners want to get the door put through, they just have to take down the lining, call an electrician and put in a door.

Initial plans

For a how to visit Sawdust Girl. We based this design on her Printer Cabinets.

One box assembled

Three boxes assembled

Boxes all joined together

Old fruit boxes will go in each section for shoes

Our open air workshop
(just don't look at how we are supporting the timber...
I think we need more than two saw horses!!!)

So far so good!

Hopefully we'll have it finished on the weekend. Just got to add the trim, then lots of puttying and painting. Once the hooks are on, the sliding doors are on the linen cupboards opposite, and the floors are done - the room will be finished. Hoping it will be a major selling point for our house!  And just to blow my own trumpet a little bit (hahaha) I designed it and together Mark and I are making it - I'm not scared to use the power saw or nail gun - just so you know ;-)

We'll get to do it all over again once we have moved in to our new home (it'll be in the room next to the garage and will be slightly different) - but we don't plan on waiting so long to do it next time!

We've Been Rendered

We're not sure when the lining boards will be put up. They've been delivered and are sitting in the garage. Our render will be painted in 'Dune'.

The doors have all been fitted! They look sooo good!

This week will see the carpenters installing the architrave and skirting boards - we don't envy them their job this week in this heat that's for sure!

Back to Reality

Sigh... Our time away went far too fast - as it always does!  But we weren't too disappointed to be coming home this year because we'd be seeing more progress on our house happen in the week following our coming home.

Skirtings, architraves, door frames and our beautiful doors were delivered just before we came home. Next week the cabinets will be delivered.

Our poor little dried up dam. Damn!!!