An Afternoon of Landscape Design

My husband has started asking about landscaping for the front yard, showing me some nearby examples of what he likes, so I decided to start the landscape design for the front yard.  Pretty much spent most of the afternoon turning the façade pic into our design concept for the front yard.  I am pretty happy with what I came up with using Powerpoint and lots of cutting and pasting from the net!

 

The main items we want in the design are :

• exposed aggregate concreting
• multiple platform decking for steps (our house is going to be slightly higher, so we will have a slope to the front yard).
• raised rendered planter boxes (one L-shape at the front, the rear one is straight along the portico

We want to include some nice trees as features, and to give the yard some height.  The plants will not be exactly as shown, they are for image purposes only.  I like using plants with different coloured foliage and different sized shrubs to give the garden depth and character.   I think a lot of people are in such a rush to get their front yard done and their plants in, they don't think about how the yard will evolve as it grows, in our area a lot of the new houses don't have enough trees if any in their yards.  I forgot to mention that I hate gardening!

 

Let's hope we can pull it off ;)

 

 

 

Below is the end product after re-doing our front landscaping in our last house three times!  Some of the plants needed trimming in this pic (okay well probably most of them!), and you miss the roughly hedged trees on either side, but you get the effect. 

Colour Style - Part 3 (Kitchen and appliances)

 

Above are my kitchen colours.  After my last kitchen being white gloss cupboards and grey stone benches, I was after something a little different colour-wise.  I am going for Sorrell coloured cabinetry, with the rear island cupboard and double oven tower to be in Moose laminex.  The overheads are Sublime Teak with a horizontal grain.  Benchtops are Caesarstone Snow, and the glass splashback around the window is Whisper White (same as internal paint colour).

 

Here is the layout plan overall, and for the two main walls of the kitchen. 

 

 

I was a little disappointed in the range of pull-out mixers at Cosham, there was pretty much only one old-style mixers with vegie spray.  I opted for the Argo square sink mixer which I can replace after handover with a pull-out mixer.  However, I love that I get the same mixer in the laundry as a no-cost upgrade. 

 

I have opted for minimal tab pull handles, except for the overheads on the window side, which have a longer lip on the cabinets so no handle is required. 

 

 

I have opted for the same brand/type of appliances as in my previous house, all sourced separately, except for the undermount rangehood which had to be done through Henley so that the cabinetry could be done, as the cabinets for undermount rangehoods are quite fiddly. 

 

I love large cutlery draws, which I also had when we renovated our kitchen in the last house.  So the cutlery will be on one side of the cooktop, and the utensils on the other. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have three Windsor 21 doors on the ground level (would have loved to have put more in but had to keep costs down).  They are the pantry door, the laundry door and the powder room door.   
 

 

I had upgraded to the square Technika sink, however when I discovered there was a Franke one which also came with accessories, that was slightly cheaper and had rounded corners, I opted for that one instead.  We had a fabulous deep square sink in the last kitchen but dirt would get stuck in the corners and it was quite hard to get into to clean, the round one is just as deep so hopefully will have no trouble washing my larger items (once I get another pull-out mixer tap of course ;)).

 

Ideally I would have liked the island bench to be a little longer, but what it lacks in length it definitely makes up in depth.  The standard island benches with Henley are very generously sized. 

 

We have gone for the side and rear overhang as we want to have a corner sort of breakfast bar for casual meals or snacks.  We also added in the rear offset cabinet at the back, I loved how it looked in one of the kitchen styles.  However, we did have a waterfall in, and the rear cabinet in line with the rest of the cabinets) but removed it to cut down on costs.  My husband is concerned about the laminex on the top edges of that rear cupboard being damaged easily. 

 

We also had a pull-out bin in our last kitchen, which I had included in this kitchen, but removed it due to a minor disagreement with the husband ;)  I loved our old bin, he did not, so I had to compromise - we can always add something in later if needed. 

 

The kitchen layout should end up similar to this picture, with some extra cupboards thrown in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colour Style - Part 2 (Stairs and Feature Light)

Okay, so with our stairs, we have opted for a platform at the bottom, stainless steel balusters and timber handrail.  Ultimately I think glass looks the best, but due to costs and cleaning, have gone with steel rods. 

 

The stairs on the Emporio have a large platform in the middle of the flight, and with the tall window at the end, it is a nice feature.

 

Here are some photos from the display of the stairs.

 

We are going for Henley Clear stain on the timber work, and stainless steel finish to the balusters. 

 

I had a gift voucher to spend which expired in January for a lighting shop, so went and bought a light for above the middle landing.  This is the only place I am having any decorative pendant style lighting as I want a minimalist type look. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were a few lights that caught my eye, which I have pictured below. 

 

 

 

 I was with my daughter and our favourite was the sphere (the one pictured had yellow inside, but we liked the lime green colour which was an option. 

 

The first one was a bit too angular for me.  My husband (on the phone) liked the second one (without the black - which was an option).  Then I stumbled across the last one, I love the timber and white look at the moment. 

 

My husband called back and said don't get the white one!  Too late - I am not a fan of the shadows with the timber lights (even though designers will say it is a nice feature with a light shade throwing shadows all over the room), it would annoy me.  My husband was concerned with the dust to which I claimed I would get a step ladder and keep it clean. 

 

I know the white light is not designed for voids, it is more of a dining table light, but I have bought it for the look, not the function ;)  Anyway, if it ends up looking crap I can move it into the bedroom and get a different light...

 

This is the look I am after for the stairs (in a lighter stain).  Would love to have the zig-zag effect along the side but not possible as the side will not be exposed. 

 

Colour Style - Part 1 (Exterior and Flooring)

I have amassed such a big collection of samples, I have dug out the latest ones so here are my colour selections, in no particular order...
 

For the external colours, we went with one of the no cost colour schemes.  We wanted to upgrade the brick but could not justify the cost (really liked Biscotti bricks but wanted the lighter coloured timber-look garage door) so we went for the Linseed theme.  I am more into the tan coloured bricks at the mo, our last two houses were red brick, the most recent of which was Burwood Blue.  The main sacrifice I had to make was I had to forgo my silver look windows which I had my heart set on.  Not to worry, got over it pretty quickly and have opted for the Woodland Grey for our aluminium windows, we also picked the lighter render for our front columns - Grand Piano Quarter. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The posts on balcony are Otway Ranges and Flashing/Capping and other random bits and bobs is Surfmist and Evening Haze.  The fascia is and guttering are all Woodland Grey to match the roof, as I did not want them to stand out.  Externally, the only paid upgrade was to off-white mortar finish, all other choices were from the Colour Scheme 3, so the upgrade for the bricks is not charged.   
 

 

love a pivot door - ours will have one sidelight and translucent glazing

love our door handle even more ;)

 

  

For the internal colours,  I opted to choose my own and not stick with a scheme.  I wanted to have different colours for each of the bathrooms.  The look I am going for is sort of modern/contemp/fresh. 

 

spotted gum laminate , lasting impressions "autumn"

 
 
 
 
I have tried to pick colours the same as I had done with the Waldorf, but some things I had to change a little to get the closest sort of match as Henley uses slightly different suppliers for some things.

 

The laminate flooring is the same, and I managed to find a Cat 3 carpet I liked. 

We have selected a neutral for the wall colour, Whisper White. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is this a digger I see before me?

Pardon the Shakespeare pun, and dodgy drive-by pic, but yay - it has finally started!

Some site scrape photos - and fenced photos.  When the fencer was there I assumed the toilet off the back of the truck was ours but it was never put on.  Maybe Henley use another supplier for the portaloos!

Our Cost Upgrades/Changes...

The changes/upgrades that were made to the base house (in no particular order) were as follows :

- we added in roof sarking
- step-down to the garage (builder instigated)
- three windows had to have obscure glazing and restricted winders due to rescode (builder instigated)

- ensuite to all minor bedrooms added, then two of the ensuites changed to a walk through shared bathroom
- reinstated the WIL which was removed for the ensuite option to go in
- we removed the wall between the theatre and study to create a large entertainment zone
- changed the dressing room into the study
- changed garage to a double garage plus
- added off-white mortar ILO standard natural
- added in noggin support for wall mounted TVs (4)

- changed staircase ballusters to stainless steel rods with timber handrail, and added a platform in for the bottom step
- changed front door to a Pivot door.  Originally had the taller door but this was changed back to 2040 high by the builder, as the taller one was not compatible with the façade we have chosen due to the balcony layout
- added in support in the stair void for future hanging light
- added in Omni trilock pull handle
- added in a cavity slider to master ensuite (the only ensuite which did not automatically include a door)
- changed three doors to Windsor 21 glazed doors with transluscent glass (laundry, poweder and pantry)
- added privacy adaptor to powder room
- added in new WIR in master bedroom
- increased height of façade window above staircase
- changed rear living windows and doors to aluminium (to cut costs)
- changed rear windows to 2 x 2057x1810 fixed picture windows
- we also moved the splashback window from the pantry and put it in the kitchen, the kitchen window splashback is non-standard, but the pantry one was so we switched them
- changed window to shared bathroom to larger size
- changed the vertical slimline window on the landing of the staircase to timber (on side elevation)
- added aluminium flyscreens to all openable windows

- upgraded the heater to 5 star zoned
- added in refrigerated cooling

- added in some pot draws in kitchen
- added a tower to beside the fridge space for the steam oven
- upgraded island stone to 40mm
- added two cabinets to the rear of the kitchen island
- changed grain of overheads to be horizontal
- upgraded undermount sink
- changed overheads to no handles, with overhang lip (no charge)
- deleted all kitchen appliances (except for rangehood) to supply my own after handover
- added cold water point in fridge overhead cupboard
- upgraded rangehood to smeg undermount- deleted two shelves on one wall of pantry to allow room for spare fridge and freezer
- closed of second entrance to pantry to make linen cupboard double door

- added shower niches to all showers

- upgraded to top carpet underlay

- added in the luxury electrical pack
- TV antenna added
- added in alarm pre-wire
- added in intercom pre-wire
- added in CCTV pre-wire
- added in NBN pre-wire and data cabling, including to all TV points
- added in external power points, hot and cold water points, gas points and drain points for pool equipment and outdoor kitchen

- deleted solar hot water and replaced with rinnai 26 continuous hot water with 4 hot water controllers and rainsaver toilet water system

MainVue Standard Inclusions

I was impressed with the level of standard inclusions with MainVue.  Many of the things that I would have paid for elsewhere are included as standard.  bonus.

 

Some of the things of note included :

 

- timber windows to the façade

- double glazing to windows

- no charge colourbond roof

- most of the splashback colours for the kitchen (except for two) were standard cat 1. 

- 20mm caesarstone benches with shadowline

- the handles I had previously chosen were Cat 1.

- 20mm stone in bathrooms

- towel ladders, towel rails and toilet roll holders

- upgraded tapware, basins and toilets

- upgraded shower rail and hand set for the master ensuite

- shower rails for minor bathrooms

- large choice of cat 1 tiles

- upgraded tapware to laundry

- 2340 internal doors to ground floor

- larger skirts (92mm) as standard

- all WIR and ensuites come with doors already included ;)

- all WIR have a double hanging rail section

- timber treads to first flight and middle landing of staircase

- staining of internal woodwork and entry doors is included

- timber sliding stackers (with keyed deadlocks) to alfresco and matching timber windows in the same area as the stackers

- timbergrain colour to garage sectional door

- three transmitters for garage door

- slimline powerpoints throughout

Introducing The Emporio!

Okay, so we are just on the verge of site scrape so I had better start on pages about the house we are actually going to build!

We have chosen the 44sq.m Emporio by MainVue.  Here is the standard Longbeach façade and floor plans taken from the MainVue website.

The major changes we have made to the plans include :


- deleting the struts from the façade

- increase the height of the window above the staircase so you can see out the front of the house from the upstairs living area


- adding a pivot door (I wanted a 2340 height door but due to the façade we chose we were unable to have this because of the design of the balcony - I was a little devastated). 

- increasing the width of the garage (originally we had a triple garage in but to keep costs down and because the format was double door to the right and single garage door to the left, meant it would be hard to manoeuvre the boat or trailers through to the back)

- blocking off the second entrance to the pantry, creating a double door linen

- I love a stair platform at the bottom of staircases, so have added one in here too.  I love the way there is a massive half-way platform in this house.  Above the half-way platform in the corner is the only place I am putting in a feature light, which I bought in January, will post a pic later. 

- combining the study and theatre to make a room large enough for our oversize pool table, and still leaving enough room for sofas or seating

- we also added in a walkthrough bathroom for beds 2 and 3, and an ensuite for bed 4.  To do this we had to select the ensuite option and then combine ensuites for beds 2 and 3 to make our brady bunch style bathroom.  When you add the ensuite option for this house, the walk in linen is deleted, so we had to also re-add that in which was slightly frustrating.  Bed 2's robe is quite small but love that they all have a section of double hanging rails. 

- I was adamant on having a downstairs study originally but this was proving impossible to find when also trying to make room for the pool table, so have changed the dressing room into a study.  There is plenty of cupboard space was you walk into the master which can be for my husband. 

- We have created another WIR by adding an internal wall in the master bedroom (some master bedrooms in current houses are massive - our last house had a large master also).  This still leaves ample space in the master bedroom. 

Still to come, new colours selections, site layout, kitchen design...

















   

Four months on...!

Wow it has been a long time since I have posted on my blog.  I did not want to post again until I knew for sure that everything was going to work out.  I didn't want to jinx myself. 

 

Anyway,  forget the Pavilion by Carlisle, I cancelled the appointment I had with the sales consultant so never obtained a quotation.  As much as Carlisle build nice homes and have a good reputation, I realised it would be too costly to make the changes required to fit the pool table in, and the layout, whilst adaptable, was not as open from the living areas out to the backyard as we like. 

 

In the meantime I had visited the Henley displays.  A few years ago I would not have given Henley a second thought, but I happened to see the ad in the Home section of the Herald Sun with price crash promo on my break at work, and thought I would give Henley a visit. 

 

My perception of Henley had changed.  I loved the feel of the displays, loved the kitchens and moreover was impressed with the level of inclusions.  I researched all double storey designs and then took the family to Henley displays across Melbourne.  There were a couple of designs that could be adapted, so I obtained pricelists for the options (the great thing about Henley and MainVue is that they have standardised pricing for many different options/upgrades for everyone which is readily available before even obtaining a sales quote). 

 

I went to the MainVue display at Williams Landing (which we had been in before when we were looking the first time deciding on the PD Waldorf).  I remembered the sales consultant in the display telling me originally that the house there (the Aegean) has the option of ensuites for all bedrooms, and that it was comparable to the Waldorf. 

 

The MainVue displays were really impressive, so I researched all of the MainVue houses and the one which would best suit our needs was the Emporio.   I started the whole process over again and am happy to say within a couple of weeks there will be a slab on our block of land (unless the weather turns to crap).  The final valuation came in OVER (yes you read right) on Christmas Eve, unconditional approval has finally come through, and balance of 3% deposit has been paid. 

 

I won't go through the sales/tender/contract process in detail but will say the whole experience thus far with MainVue has been a total contrast to my experience with PD.  There were a couple of little bumps along the way but for the most part, I have been very impressed with the experience.  MainVue's standard inclusions were better, there was more choice within the Cat 1 section (whereas most things with PD were upgrades), and MainVue were flexible with most of the changes I wanted to make outside of the norm, I did not have to go into battle to have our requirements met.  My lovely sales consultant made sure we had most of the changes and (accurate) pricing in the sales quote, so there was not much left to change at tender, and not too many surprises at both tender and contract.  The communication was great, the staff were friendly and actually understand what customer service is (sorry that will be my last dig at PD), and more importantly the pricing seemed competitive (except for the facades of course ;)).  

 

Cosham Interiors is a little dated, the kitchen section was being upgraded whilst I was there, but it does the job.  It was so easy to stay with mostly Cat 1, and certain changes/options I made did not cost anything whereas with other builders you are charged (for example for multiple cabinet colours in the kitchen - no charge!).  I opted to have my colour selection appointment at the display which was so easy, with all the samples there and one on one with the colour consultant. Tender was not signed at the tender appointment, but completed soon after via email (due to a few surprises re: site costs and energy star rating requirements).  Contract and plans are actually sent out to you before your appointment so you have time to review them, with pricing being accurate for most things from as early as the sales stage, which was such a revelation compared to the PD process. 

 

Enough about the process, lets talk about the house!