T-that view is gorgeous! Well done on the thought which has gone into your home..

The windows look really good!

Did you add the clerestory windows on the Eastern elevation later? I was looking at your elevation plans and didn't see them there but maybe I missed something?

I really like the sliding door and clerestory window above on the Northern elevation .. now I'm wondering whether we could do something similar We won't have a raked ceiling just a 2.7m flat ceiling at the back.

How high is your sliding door and highlight window on the Northern elevation?

hey buildingbee - you HAVE been studying my plans! I remember you asked some detailed questions a few weeks back too. You are right, the raked clerestory windows are a recent addition since I posted my plans. Our sliding doors are 2400 high and the ceiling goes up to 3.6m I think on the north. If you have 2.7 I think it might be tight. Your options might be to have higher sliders like we have (2400) and no clerestories or the usual (2000) with slim clerestories. Depends on your builder though, whether they will do that sort of thing, some of the bigger project companies don't like thinking outside the box much.

Better work or I won't be happy either! lol
How will yours open? We have gone motorised awning windows - sure hope the box doesn't look ugly..

greenfish - yeah, DH asked me that the other day (as it was my idea)!!! Ours are rather high. But my dad has done the same thing and he has this stick thing (well, not a stick, but a special thin pole for this sort of thing, for windows... I am not articulating myself well, am I?!). He has one of those, so that is what I plan to use. Note: just called dad and he said he got it from the window company. Hm, haven't spoken to the window company about that. Thanks for the query - will follow up on this!

ps: Just spoke to him again and he said just get a rod from Bunnings. Nothing special. Phew.

lol glad it's easily sorted

So looking forward to seeing these bricked and roofed (you know what I mean!) T, such a great design - very exciting to see it unfold. What did you think of the colours you got from bunnngs, happy with either? What's happening this week, anything?

Thanks nina! I was thinking of you particularly when I posted these pics as I know you asked about the views before. This week: Scaffolding went up, brickies turned up and played cards for an hour or so (no idea what that was about, they must have gotten the days mixed up - they have set up a neat little kitchen camp in our master though, where I have caught them playing cards a week or so ago. all good, they are fast and neat, I call them the A-team, so a bit of light leisure is well deserved I say). bricks delivered, met A on site, other materials delivered, carpenters back on site today to tweak some things, and... hopefully brickies back tomorrow!!!

As for Bunnings colours - got Swampy and Randall. Painted some bricks and cement blocks at the rental and in serious decision crisis. Even thinking of paying a colour consultant. Dropped in to my neighbour's place to ask about her colours (as we love her render colour with the Woodlands Grey that they also have). Such big decisions the outside colours!! (And inside too )

T - where are you getting your tiles and things from? Don't they have a colour consultant there you can meet with for no charge? The place we went through she has even offered to meet us at a curtain place, and once the polished concrete is completely finished, wants to come out to the house to reconfirm colours..all for no charge...

Wow, excellent progress for you this week then, nice one!
Can you post the colours you have at the mo T? And one of your neighbour's??

Glorious!!!!

The whole overall view looks even better in real life T! Was driving back from Northbridge this morning and needed to waste some time whilst somebody slept in the car, so came for a drive by. Love that huge rock you have in the garden too - what a great feature. You'll have a great garden/area for the kids - gorgeous!

hey nina - sounds like you and I are stalking each others' places now too! Thank you for the complement. yeah, we love those rocks too. Oh, and as for the colours, I will post up soon. But pretty much decided now on Swampy. Took a friend from work (who has an architecture background - she was the one that put us in touch with the architects we used - and great taste and she LOVED the colour. And the bricks. So that was enough for me!

kiwi - nice to see you back on my thread! you world traveller you.

greenfish - tiles are through Beaumonts. But I am very underwhelmed by Beaumonts at the moment. They did have a colour consultant there, but wasn't in the mood to speak to her (I went for a visit again this morning, spontaneous decision with mum here as she loves all this stuff) as I discovered today that ALL the tiles we had chosen have red stickers on them = extra laying charges.

OK, so I have been dying to post chronicle photos and I finally feel like we are at a substantial enough stage where I can. Here goes...

South East
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North East
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In this last pic, if you look closely you can just see the steps from the living room sliders down to the lawn. We love these although the intention was to have only 2 not 3, but Zen raised the height of the whole slab. The plan is to back fill with some earth to raise the lawn and make it level.

The brickies did a great job on Friday, but have been told to wait till Monday as Zen want to do some frame corrections. Fine by us (although I am getting excited about the bricks and had hoped they would be up while mum is visiting...). I was talking to the brick supervisor about how neat his commons are and he seems to take real pride in his work (he is 41 years old and has been laying bricks since he was 14.5 yro ). Fingers crossed for next week... Our frames are looking a bit tired and getting soaked in a few places so we hope the roof can go up ASAP...

Seeing as I am in the mood, below are our kitchen plans and a question I just posted in the Kitchen Corner:

Hi there - Just wondering what everyone's thoughts are on the optimum distance between kitchen benches and islands? We have 1320mm but I am wanting to cut this down to give more room on the stool side which then flows into the living. We are at frame stage and when I was in the kitchen today I felt like it was massive whereas the lounge area was cramped. I have heard some people say 1200mm is ideal. Is 1100mm too narrow?

Here are our kitchen plans:

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Thanks!

Looks good T
Good to see you have steps, we also ended up higher at the laundry and so now need steps, but we don't have any as yet
Maybe the brickies will still come and stack bricks, our guys spent a whole day just putting bricks up on the scaffold In preparation for laying, your frames are looking tired some of our are still exposed since Jan16th, cant wait to have them covered, they don't even look green anymore

I LOVE YOUR HOUSE!!! it was so good to see it in the flesh cos now it all makes sense. thanks so much for sharing it with us in march (and you too gogo, makes it so much more personal)

ok, we have 1300 between back bench and breakfast bar and to be honest (I AM SORRY) but I wouldnt go anything less. It is one step from back to the bar...so no extra steps are needed and therefore wasted..but the big plus is 2 can pass.

I would hate it to be smaller..cos I would get pushed into the bench by hubby or a kid..ALL THE TIME
this way we walk past each other no probs and one can be at the stove and get around them without someone moving forward so your crutch is touching the bench/ drawers and being squished. I know you dont want to hear it...but you will thank me and just get skinny stools..

your hubby aint small...he will need some space to walk past them both...
(as in not fat...!! just not a dwarf)

We have 1670, I think it might be too wide??

wow - between your island and bench?! That is rather wide if you are carrying food / pots... I just got out the tape measure and 1320 seems wide to me. (I hear ya though kiwi!). I read on another thread that 1350mm is advised to be the widest you go. DH being on the tall side wants as much space as possible, but I am tempted to shave it down to 1200mm...

ok, so mark out 1200 on the floor NEXT to something solid a wall etc ... or a buffet and move the table into an L shape... etc, so it is like the kitchen design and then you and dh pretend you are in there making lunch. Making your OWN lunch not each others and see how you go. so one has spag bol cooking, and one is a sandwich. use all the things you would and remember..you also need to include the stove as that is on the turn at 1320 on the plan and you have a tight opening if someone is at the stove and then you have the BB corner.

you need the fridge and each 3 seconds wash your hands..

if you can work around each other ok at 1200 go for it. if you bang into each other more than 3 times..FORGET IT
it will drive you insane.

as kids get older they bring kids back with them..who are tall and have vomit in their hair (from the custom design thread!!) they will drive you nuts as they go and get some water from the tap...to pop a pill....