Keys???? Has to be soon...youdidn't have much to fix!!!
So excited for you!

No handover date! But every time I go to the house, they've fixed up something else from the PCI list, which is awesome. Still have to replace the doorknob and clean the backyard but I can't see much more inside I want in!

Went and got paint samples today. Had a nice chat with the guy in the Solver store. Bought samples for Smooth Chocolate (feature wall - we were going with Warm Chocolate but it's discontinued and now has been replaced by Smooth Chocolate, exactly the same) and Smoke Pearl. I asked about having a feature wall every now and then, and he suggested one called Pelt. It's about 200% smoke pearl and it's a lovely colour. See below - left to right is Smoke Pearl, Pelt and Smooth Chocolate.
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He suggested using the Pelt as a behind-the-bedhead feature wall in the bedrooms, and also a wall in the living area where the TV is going. Which sounds like a good idea, cos they look lovely together

Haven't been posting on here much lately, work is SOOOO busy I got so overwhelmed on Monday with phones ringing and people and jobs and messages and faxes that I burst into tears and had to hide in the filing room to calm down. Ugh. The six months of the year that we are not busy (Jan to June) where I do nothing at all (Youtube browsing!), I know I have EARNED my six month break!

Ooooh pelt!!! I likey a lot!!!!!

It will look amazing!

I currently have smoke pearl on one of our walls. It's the perfect neutral! Not too yellow not too pink!

Awwww I hope work gets better soon! I have days like that frequently, I hide in the loo's though as there are men near the filing cabinets who are scared of crying females lol!

One month down though only 5 to go!

(you are lucky your work lets you access you tube. We are banned from anything fun!)

I love these colours, I'm going to use the sample pots tomorrow on some leftover fibreboard to try them out.

And yes, one month down, only six until I can relax My workplace is actually really good. I work with three generations - granddaughter, mother and grandmother. All of them tax agents (the granddaughter is two years younger than me) and the mother/grandmother are the accountants. Because they're family, it's an easygoing environment. Every now we sit around and chat, have cups of tea, and when the granddaughter's dog had puppies, we spent 6 months with puppies running around the office. Sometimes her cat comes in too and sits on my appointment book.

Bugger your workplace everyone deserves YouTube!!

Okay, so LOTS of samples for you to see today! However boring! (sorry in advance).

I bought samples for Smoke Pearl, Smooth Chocolate and 50% Pelt (all Solver).

So, this is someone's wall (apologies to whoever this belongs to, I just found it on H1 and saved it as an example...) painted in 100% normal Pelt.
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This is the small selection of the chocolate and pelt cards on my floor sample.
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Okay, so I have decided I don't really love Smoke Pearl enough to go with it. I still feel it looks a little pinky in the natural light... See below. This is after two coats - Smoke Pearl on the left, Smooth Chocolate on the right.
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This is the same sample board inside in the evening. It doesn't look AS pink but am still not thrilled with it.
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With the 50% pelt, I painted a separate board and put it against the other samples.
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To sell it a little more, this is the 50% Pelt against the white cornice/ceiling so you can see the contrast.
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I am really liking the 50% Pelt. It's not pink, it's not too dark, and it looks really nice in the lounge area and contrasts beautifully with the white ceiling/cornice. I'll take it outside tomorrow and have a look at it in the daylight.

I also checked out the limestone blocks at Bunnings that we'll be using for our retaining wall. There will be three levels and the bottom will be a double (back to back) to allow for holding all the sand back. A friend of my Mum's will be doing it for us.
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Thanks for staying with me all through my chatting

And I dropped Dave at the airport at 4.30am on Tuesday morning Very VERY long day but we survived. He's doing very well actually - the work isn't that hard (lots of time waiting for other trades to do things and then taking their time running cable), the food is apparently amazing (he had pavlova yesterday and then brownies tonight) and there's good internet so we chat each night on Facebook messenger. It's excellent money and he gets a good sleep each night. I'm almost jealous - I've had leftover spaghetti and beans on toast since he left! Haha! Plus I keep waking up hugging both his pillows

Awww. I would be doing the same if Daniel was away! I hope it gets easier for you!

And epic epic jealous of the pavlova and brownies! Sounds like Dave is having fun!!

I'm jealous too! His day goes: cooked breakfast, work, cooked lunch, work, shower, dinner & dessert buffet, internet browsing and then bed.
Wish my days were that simple!!
Mine are like that, only minus the breakfast/cooked lunch/dessert and then insert a BILLION other things that women do that men don't notice!

WWWOOOOOOOOO! Got a call from the bank this morning - everything is signed, sealed and they're making the final progress payment today!!! which means as soon as SPH has everything done, the keys are ours.....

Congratulations... it has gone by soo quickly btw i love 50% pelt haha

That's really strange.. We have smoke pearl all through our current house and it has never really appeared to have any pinkish through it at all! And we get heaps of natural light as the whole back wall of our house is windows so we only really use lights at night.
At night with lights on it looks a lot darker, almost like a very light brown.

Can definitely see it in your sample though which is a bit concerning as we are going to be using it all through the new house as well.

Crag grey is also a really lovely brown colour!!

Thanks marybond, I love it too

MissEm, I think it depends on perspective. Maybe if I hadn't found someone saying originally that it looked pinky, I might never have seen it looking pinky. It's a matter of opinion in the end. If you love it, you love it

Went on a bit of a shopping spree today. Not anything unnecessary, though! I've been so good!

I bought our Master bedroom curtains. Eyelet, plus the brushed chrome pole.
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I also bought a pole & spring bolt with lace curtain to put into the window frame as we... I wanted to make sure I had some cover for as soon as we moved in.

Also picked up our Rotary Clothesline (Daytek) from Bunnings. I got a slightly larger size (fits king size sheets) with 6 rows of line, in Iron Grey. Carried it myself to the car. I had three young guys ask me along the way if I needed help and I had to laugh and say no. I may be small but I can carry my own heavy things!!

Also... shame... I went to the house yesterday and decided to sweep the driveway. Just so I could see it properly! The section where the paving meets the red brick is a bit gross cos it's been wet sand for a while now but a good hosing will eventually clean it off.
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As of Friday, SPH has put the remaining two flyscreens into the two little kitchen windows, but still to go: replace the Bed 2 doorknob and clean the backyard. I can't see if anything has been done much more inside the house, so will have to wait and hope the keys come soon

OOOhhh goodies!!!!!!!

Curtains look gorgeous!!! Nice and luxurious!

And in that photo *ignoring the ugly red part* the driveway colours match your roof and gutters!

Have you seen the garage door down yet?

Surely by the end of this week? That would be 10 days from PCI which is normal isn't it?

House looks hot, well done!

Thanks Jen! And yes, *ignoring red bricks* the driveway does match. I am starting to like the border pavers now. They do match the front door and I see that they blend rather nicely.

I saw the garage door down at PCI (the SS put it down for me) and it's lovely Surfmist but I am DYING to put it down properly with the remote and see the house complete!

Yes, Friday will be 10 working days since PCI, so that's the date I'm aiming for. Hoping for sooner!

Thanks turtleschelle

Sooooooooooooo excited for you!

Thanks Chuffy!

I was looking over your timeline again the other day and your build (siteworks etc) started the day before mine. And look how many months ahead you are! I know it's not apples and apples, but still, a massive difference in completion time.

Love your new curtains and good choice of colours. I didn't mind the Smoke Pearl but we only chose that colour as it was popular and we were selling. Can't wait to see your house once all your furnishings are in

i have gone back over your time line too to try and work out when stuff would be happening! your time line is my barometer!

Although... I think someone somewhere was watching over your build to make it happen in lightning speed!