Ugh, what a week. Met our bank person and went thru all the stuff needed to set up our bank account. A few days later we realised that although she had set up our account, she hadn't actually given us any way to ACCESS the account - no internet banking, no eftpos card. WTF ASB? So back to the bank we went...
Got a letter from the Council that was impossible to decipher (this coming from an English Scholar!!). Turns out we have to pay the Council's Soliciter to put a note on our Title saying that if we had a crazy-big flood, we'd probably get some flooding. The fact that pretty much all of Greytown is on the flood map doesn't seem to matter.
Tried to cut down the kitchen quote by switching out the painted cabinetry to Arborform wrapped cabinetry. Saved about $500. Bum.
Our Solicitor said it'd cost about $500 for us to get him to read thru the fine print of our Fixed Price Builder's contract, (there goes the money we saved on cabinetry!!), so we decided to put on our best legalese hats and wade thru that puppy ourselves! Suffice to say..... we are taking the plunge! Signed up and pegged out. PEGGED OUT!! Finally something to get excited over instead of stressed out about! Regardez-vous our gorgeous new home (to be)....
Got a letter from the Council that was impossible to decipher (this coming from an English Scholar!!). Turns out we have to pay the Council's Soliciter to put a note on our Title saying that if we had a crazy-big flood, we'd probably get some flooding. The fact that pretty much all of Greytown is on the flood map doesn't seem to matter.
Tried to cut down the kitchen quote by switching out the painted cabinetry to Arborform wrapped cabinetry. Saved about $500. Bum.
Our Solicitor said it'd cost about $500 for us to get him to read thru the fine print of our Fixed Price Builder's contract, (there goes the money we saved on cabinetry!!), so we decided to put on our best legalese hats and wade thru that puppy ourselves! Suffice to say..... we are taking the plunge! Signed up and pegged out. PEGGED OUT!! Finally something to get excited over instead of stressed out about! Regardez-vous our gorgeous new home (to be)....
Isn't she a beauty? It was actually pretty fun to walk around pretending to hang out in the lounge, admire the view from our bedroom, and, Sam's favourite, pretend to be on the toilet! Okay, so this pegging out doesn't actually tell you guys much about the house-to-be. Maybe you'd like to see some of our inspirations?
In terms of overall form of the building, it's going to be clad in angular-profiled metal in a dark, dark grey. The shape is two long forms, connected by a "bridge" in which there will be the dining area (opening out to the central courtyard), the kitchen behind that (with two skylights above), and the walkthrough mudroom / laundry behind that. It will be monopitch with the higher end being the northfacing end (seen above in the distance). Inspiration for the shape / pitch is this styley place:
In terms of overall form of the building, it's going to be clad in angular-profiled metal in a dark, dark grey. The shape is two long forms, connected by a "bridge" in which there will be the dining area (opening out to the central courtyard), the kitchen behind that (with two skylights above), and the walkthrough mudroom / laundry behind that. It will be monopitch with the higher end being the northfacing end (seen above in the distance). Inspiration for the shape / pitch is this styley place:
It won't have that cool boxy bit along the side (can't afford it), but will have cut-outs into the shape which will be clad in cedar weatherboards, kinda like this:
So... it's different. You see why the general "find a house-building company and choose a plan" thing wasn't working for us?
Inside we're "keeping it real" too. Kitchen is white cabinets with ply box display shelves, old-school stainless steel bench tops, and the island is one big ply box with a white stone top. Flooring will be coloured concrete. Not polished, not cut, so it won't have the details of exposed aggregate and won't have the gloss look either. Instead, it'll be quite matte and understated. I've not seen a house with flooring like it, so it's a tricky decision. Will it look practical and calm? Or will it just look like a garage floor?? Eventually we'd like to lay down light wood or whitewashed bamboo flooring, but since we can't afford it yet, and since we have small boys who destroy everything in their path, concrete is the way to go for now. Luckily, this insanely cool Netherlands home has helped me embrace the concrete floor idea:
Inside we're "keeping it real" too. Kitchen is white cabinets with ply box display shelves, old-school stainless steel bench tops, and the island is one big ply box with a white stone top. Flooring will be coloured concrete. Not polished, not cut, so it won't have the details of exposed aggregate and won't have the gloss look either. Instead, it'll be quite matte and understated. I've not seen a house with flooring like it, so it's a tricky decision. Will it look practical and calm? Or will it just look like a garage floor?? Eventually we'd like to lay down light wood or whitewashed bamboo flooring, but since we can't afford it yet, and since we have small boys who destroy everything in their path, concrete is the way to go for now. Luckily, this insanely cool Netherlands home has helped me embrace the concrete floor idea:
We're thinking of having clear/stained pine skirtings and window reveals, to warm it up a bit with some wood. A girl can dream, right?
So now you have the inside word! Feel free to comment, but remember what yo' mama tole you! If you don't have anything nice to say, then just say it behind our backs!
So now you have the inside word! Feel free to comment, but remember what yo' mama tole you! If you don't have anything nice to say, then just say it behind our backs!