After a long period considering houses we have decided on the Henley Sahara Q2. We put a deposit on a block in the Riverwalk Estate in Werribee back in December as well. We are not expecting titles until early next year. However in the mean time we have been getting everything ready with the builder.
We looked very seriously at the Fairhaven Homes Newport 361 but even with their leniency on changes we could not make the kitchen work for us.
We had already paid our deposit when we went to Williams Landing to look at the Sahara on display there and instantly fell in love. The downstairs is a great design with a beautiful kitchen. The master suite is stunning, we love the large dressing room and Ensuite tucked away behind the bed, but still an excellent size with the bath my wife really craved. The back bedrooms are a great size for our 2 little girls and the upstairs TV area should help hide some of their mess from the main areas of the house.
This is our second build, the first was with Simonds and really the less said there the better, I don't really have much good to say about them.
We are still finalising the details but these are the options we have selected:
1 - We are on a 16m block but with the garage being on the east side of the house we decided to extend the garage by 1.8m so we have extra space (~3.7m) next to our alfresco and a roller door on the back of garage
2 - Rather than just have extra space in the garage we have turned the front area into a 1.71 x 4m study with an opening into the front hallway
3 - The above change allowed us to turn the existing study into the downstairs guest bedroom we really wanted
4 - Kingston Facade, we have chosen alluminium windows instead of the included timber
5 - Refrigerated Air Con - This was a $2300 upgrade when we signed up, the wife was keen for it so a no-brainer at that price
6 - Double glazing to all windows
7 - Upgraded insulation (walls 2.5, roof 6.0)
8 - Square set cornices everywhere except robes, garage and alfresco
9 - Removed window from butlers pantry, we are just going to use this as a standard pantry
10 - Shower Niches, 300 x 600 in main bathroom, 300 x 1500 in ensuite
11 - Luxury electrical pack
12 - Spa to Ensuite
13 - Under Stairs Storage
14 - moved bed 3 & 4 windows to the rear of the house to take advantage of north aspect