{Dawn} SE Melb Build - Done and dusted!

Dawn... I do agree with JM, go for the second couch as your children have fur.

ohhhh.....I'm in love with two cane chairs...

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Your reading my mind! I think the lighter set is a better price and comes with the table... but there's something about the darker colour that I love.

With the couch, I too was thinking about cat hair!!! My cat is a dilute tortie (mostly white hairs) and I'm getting a ragdoll, so lots of light hairs again. I reckon I could get something similar but a little lighter, I was told there would be a lot of choices!!

I think couch colour is highly dependent on who will use it and what colour your soil is. No kids and sand go light. Black soil and kids go dark. Iykwim.

My suggestion:
Plan for the future - which colour could you live with for the longterm - ie the next 10 or so years, or however long you intend to keep the couch. Do you think you'll have kids within that timeframe? What other pets do you think you'll get in the future and will they be allowed on the couch?
My personal preference is the 2nd couch. I think it will disguise if not hide any stains.
I like the tv unit in the latest pics the best. And def go with the 2 dark chairs

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Just a tip with the tv unit, depending on what type of entertainment system you have, you may need to have adjustable shelves in the tv unit. Otherwise measure the sistance between shelves to see whether your equipment will fit.

Mine doesn't which means everything has to sit on the top which kind of defeated the purpose of buying the damned thing in the first place

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Oh, never thought of that Rosemi.. I have an xbox and not sure what else, probably NBN will need to go there.

Seems the second couch is popular XD I do have a lot of fur children...

Just doing the budgets (after a bit of a shopping spree)... OUCH!! Why doesn't money grow on trees?

I really like the tv unit. I would give the cane furniture a miss though, they never last.

Oooh. I'm still not sure about the chairs. I'm not sure they will suit the style I want for the house. I think I might move in first, and see how I go from there.

Did some numbers and looking at lists... I'm done!! Hehehe, I don't need to buy anything else for the house until I move in now.. only thing I need on moving day is a mattress.. but I can pick one up easily.

Unfortunately still need a lot of quotes... why is it SO hard to get a quote I need a quote on cat enclosure, shutters.. and waiting on concrete & fencing from builder. Stratco haven't been able to give me an exact quote for the fence.. *sigh*

Exhausting. I just want to be moved in now!! I bought a lot of little bits and pieces last night online, trying to go green XD

Off to the furniture store to look at some other pieces today

Was thinking about how awesome its going to be in my new home, nice clean spaces... brand new kitchen appliances that actually work to cook with, lovely hot showers with lots of pressure and not having to worry about someone else turning on a tap and burning me... ahhhh

If you're kinds handy I built my own cat enclosure from mesh panels. Only tools needed were a grinder, c clips and c clip tool. Hubby did pave the base for the enclosure but I had a small one and a big one. Like the one in the pic.
That is what I had in my while renting. At our house I'm thinking of building with cat netting instead. ???

Wow that's pretty cool!!! I'm completely non-handy, but thankfully my dad can handle anything (except timber). I'm trying to get a quote from a place called CatMax, I want one of their net enclosures down the side of my house, so will be about 16m(l)x1.34m(w). There would be netting from the roof of the house down to the top of the fence (which is 1.95m high), with zipper doors at both ends. That side has the laundry with the sliding door to outside,so the plan is to have a pet patio door in the sliding door so the cats can go in and out as they please. Also means if I do get a dog, they can be kept down the other end of the house and not annoy the kitties too much. I thought about my future pets quite a lot when designing the house..

I thought I'd do a little bit of reflection, since its NYE and all

This is my post from NYE last year:

Its NYE, so I thought I would reflect on my house building journey in 2015.

One year ago today I was feeling pretty stressed financially, as I expected my land to settle in April and I had very little savings. I also was earning a very average wage. I was though, looking forward to moving in around Oct/Nov. I was excited to shop in boxing day sales for the house and have air con during summer I was looking forward to spending this Christmas in my new house and having the family over. I was hoping to get a dog or cat for Christmas. I was also looking forward to getting a bunny friend for my little boy once we got into the new house. I was worried about the price of the build and about interest rates rising (as was forecast).

So how did 2015 go?

Well I'm still stressed about finances (mostly for after build things though), but I'm excited that I will be able to contribute a 20% deposit and not 5% like I was first expecting. This means my mortgage should be a lot more manageable, yay! My settlement did not occur in 2015. I also had a large promotion at work, which took some pressure off. I didn't end up doing much boxing day shopping, although I did order an Enjo set online. I'm still living in a house without aircon and I'm seriously melting where I sit ;-; Christmas was at a family member's house instead, not such a big deal, but still looking forward to hosting my own Christmas dinner. No dogs or cats, though I'm constantly on shelter sites.. I just can't help myself My little boy did get a new bunny friend by accident, but living with two bunnies at mumanddads has become very trying, as the quarters are quite cramped. I'm still a little worried about the price of the build as I'm STILL yet to sign a contract *stressed* but interest rates did very little this year.

So how does 2016 look?

Well the land is expected to settle mid-January, if its not settled by July then I've hit my sunset clause and I really don't know what will happen. My build contract is still not ready to be signed, which is stressing me out massively. I hope to have it all signed and building begun shortly after settlement, if not before. I'm aiming for another promotion this year at work, but we'll just have to see how that goes. I need to get serious about saving to ensure I have enough funds to cover all those post-build jobs like fencing, landscaping, etc. I'm still stressed about interest rates, though as I'm going variable I'm sure I'll always be worried about them! I am looking forward to finally moving out of my parents place and into my own this year, but at this point its hard to guess when that might be, I'm thinking sometime between May - August is likely

I'm sure for all my stressing, at some point in 2016 I will move into my beautiful new home. I will get my new puppy or kitten. I will get to enjoy decorating the house and meeting my neighbors. Fingers crossed next year turns out better than this one.


2016 has been an interesting year, where lots happened but little was accomplished. My land did settle! Yay, though in February not January. I did finally sign a build contract in March, and the price did not rise (much ). I definitely didn't begin building right away, but at least it did start finally. I got the promotion back in July which has been a big boost to savings. And I did continue to save hard, though now I'm burning through my savings.... but that was to be expected. I'm not so stressed about finances anymore, or interest rates..

Unfortunately 2016 was not the year I moved into my new home. It was a very mixed year, not particularly good or bad. I didn't move into my new home, or get my braces off...

This was the year I said goodbye to my dog Zoey and the year we welcomed our new puppy Jess and my new kitty Cassidy into our home.

It was also a year for self discovery and purging. I got rid of a lot of stuff this year.. and am more then ready to move into my new house now. I also learned a lot about myself and through those discoveries have changed some of my dreams. I'm no longer sure about becoming a rabbit foster mum, I may just adopt a few more bunnies instead...

I am no longer planning on two ragdoll cats (since I now have Cass). I've changed my mind about a big dog, and am now planning on a smaller dog...

So what is 2017 bringing?

My new house!! There's little doubt early 2017 will finally bring about the big move into my new house. I could not be more excited. Its been a very long build up, but its nearly here!! I'm really loving the way the house is turning out which is such a relief.

Hopefully the new year will also bring about my braces coming off (please please please).

In April, I should be bringing home my new ragdoll kitten... and by year's end possibly a new dog.

Mostly next year is unknown, I'm trying not to plan much beyond moving into the house, though their may be a trip to Hawaii for my 30th next November

Thank you all for your kind comments, thoughts and company over the last year. Big congrats to Charley and Cap for moving into their beautiful new homes this year.

A very nearly there for Rosemi, Charli and I!! Next year is so going to be our year

Have a great NYE all.

I really enjoyed reading that Dawn!!

I can't believe it's been so long for you, I really have no right to complain.

I am so hoping to host Christmas in our new house next year too!!

You have been incredibly strong through this journey, to last as long as you have, I have a lot of respect for you!!

A trip to Hawaii sounds divine, always some really good deals for Hawaii and it's a truly beautiful place! I am hoping to be able to save enough through out each year to be able to take my little on an overseas trip each year, 2017 is Vanuatu, hoping 2018 is Fiji and 2019 Hawaii but we shall see.

Happy new year Dawn, looking forward to 2017 for our beautiful new homes and our new furbabies


GJ Gardner Modified Coolum 277
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I've recently read through both your old and current logs (not a stalker, promise!) and am excited for you to finally move into your new house in early 2017! And get all your furbabies! It can't have been easy dealing with all the delays but the light is finally at the end of the tunnel I hope the last part of your build goes well & you are super happy with the finished home at the end of it

Thanks both

I've definitely learned a lot about myself during this process. There's been a lot of up and downs, but I think everything will work out well. As they say, its more important to finish well then to start well.

I've been lucky to live with my mum and dad, most of the time we all get along pretty well, and I have a house full of furbabies to keep me happy

Might be going to see the house today! Want to make sure that the recent storms/floods we had didn't do any damage.

I'm going to try to measure the windows from the outside, since apparently there's no measurements on my plans.. XD makes getting quotes on blinds a little hard.

How have other people gone with getting quotes on curtains, blinds and shutters? I'm finding it impossible, and may have to wait until the house is handed over... but that will delay my moving in, since the master does face the street.

There should be a page in your structural plan document that lists all the window measurements..if the arcs are in, you can ask your builder to let the curtains people in to take measurements.. (a lot of places do free measure and quote)

I had blinds included in my contract but i will be getting sheer curtains for all rooms (eventually) for added privacy. I'll be buying rods with spring-loaded ends from spotlight that will sit inside the window recesses to hang the curtains on.

There are temporary paper blinds that you buy which have tape at one end that will stick to window frame (the metal bit) . They are a concertina folded length of paper. You can have them as long or as short as you want by using the clips that come with them.

I used them in my previous place and they worked a treat. Looked quite nice too - hence they stayed up for about 4 years. The tape came off the frames easily too without leaving any sticky residue.

I got mine from bunnings but not sure they still sell them. I've heard Ikea sell them though. Can't remember how much they were but i think it was about $5-6 each one.

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I have all my window measurements and nobody wants to quote me it's really hard and I wanted them installed as soon as handover happened! I'm not sure why getting quotes is so hard!

That's weird.. I got 4 quotes just with the rough measurements...

I guess you are in Melbourne...try Victory blinds or Wynston blinds for quote and they do have good collection of blinds and curtains...