Monday, August 16, 2010

Prestart - Colour Selections

Well what we were thinking would take us a few hours and cost us about $10,000 in upgrades, ended up being an eight hour day and about $20,000 in upgrades. We were feeling rather shaky when we left our selection meeting, but some things we just couldn’t resist and it’s amazing how all those $100’s here and there add up.

One of our most expensive upgrade choices was the stone benchtops in the kitchen, ensuite, powder room and bar. But well worth it we think!

Boy did I have fun trying to match the benchtop colours with the cabinets and then make sure the tiles we selected suited too. I decided to keep the colours quite neutral, I wanted something that was simple but elegant.

Here’s a bit of a preview

Kitchen
Benchtop – Essa Stone New Cairo
Cabinet door under bench – Parchment (silk finish)
Cabinet door overhead – Oyster linea (silk finish/horizontal)




Ensuite
Benchtop – Essa Stone – New Basmati
Cabinet door – Licorice Linea (silk finish/horizontal)



Powder Room
Benchtop – Essa Stone – New Basmati
Cabinet door – Licorice Linea (silk finish/horizontal)



Bathroom 1
Benchtop – Natural Quartz (squareform)
Cabinet door – Licorice Linea (silk finish/horizontal)



Bathroom 2
Benchtop – Natural Quartz (squareform)
Cabinet door – Licorice Linea (silk finish/horizontal)



Laundry
Benchtop – Platinum Micro (squareform)
Cabinet door – Oyster Linea (silk finish/horizontal)

Washroom

Benchtop - Mineral Harmony (squareform)
Cabinet door - Parchment (silk finish)

Sunday, August 15, 2010

The Temporary Residence

Stone benchtops $8000, Timber floors $6000, Wood fire $5000

12 months in a caravan ….. PRICELESS

Yes you read right, while we wait for our dream home to be built we currently reside in a caravan on my parent’s driveway.

Think we’re crazy? Well to a degree you are probably right. It’s not for the faint hearted and there has definitely been many a tear in the months to date.

But the bigger picture.......

When we fell in love with our 3 acre block and sold our house we were faced with the decision of where are we going to live. Like most people our age we are a professional couple who both work full-time. Our options were limited we either rent, which over approximately a year and half during the build process would cost around $30,000 or we put ourselves out there and look at other options.

Believe you me when my fiance came home with the caravan idea, I lost it laughing, saying ‘Michael I’m not trailer trash’. But he explained it like any numbers man would. If we went down the track of buying a caravan, it would cost us this much, and caravan’s hold their value, so once the house is built we can sell it and we’d only be paying a quarter of what we would in rent. Plus all that money we’ve saved we would be able to put towards finishing off the home with those final touches.

Somehow he convinced me and the decision was made.

Now explaining the caravan plan to my parents is a whole different story.

So where are we now, well it’s been approximately six months since we moved into the caravan and so far we haven’t killed each other. Living with your partner is one thing but living in an area the size of a master bedroom with them is a whole different story. What personal space?

We both grew up in tough times, with parents who taught us if we worked hard for something and made sacrifices we would reap the rewards at the end. We are holding them to these words as we wait patiently for our development and building license.

The House

When designing our house, there were many things we had to take into consideration besides our budget. One of those the fact that we had only recently gotten engaged and therefore this would be the home we not only brought our little bambino’s into the world, but also where they would hopefully grow up and live into their teenage years. Therefore the floor plan and multipurpose use of rooms was essential. For example the office directly opposite our master bedroom would also make a great nursery for those early years when kids were young.
Some of the other key elements we wanted in the home were
- high ceilings
- large bedrooms
- a wood fire place
- surrounding verandahs and
- of course an inbuilt bar

elevations
floorplan
siteplan

The Builder

For us choosing our builder was one of the hardest decisions we had to make. A decision we didn't want to get wrong and hopefully in 12 months time we will still be happy with our decision on choosing 'The Rural Building Company'.

The Block

Our block is situated south of Perth, Western Australia in the suburb of Munster. One of the few rural properties left in the area, close to the beach and a reasonable distance to the city. We were extreme lucky to secure this piece of prime realestate.

When we bought it was pure bush, you could barely walk through it. Today you will see it with limestone driveways, parkland cleared and brand new fencing which all in all has cost us a fairly decent amount of coin, but needed in preparation for our new residence 'The Pietrariu Pinetree Ranch'.

The entire block is 3 acres of which there is an acre of pines, an acre of natural vegetation and an acre cleared for the proposed new residence, water tank and shed.

We both also loved the idea of having a driveway either side.

Hmmm who will be taking out the bin every week?

 

Welcome to the makings of the - Pietrariu Pinetree Estate

We are currently embarking on our journey of building our dream home on our 3 acres of pure heaven!


Join us on this journey that i'm sure will be filled with all sorts of good, bad and unexpected things....