A new life...a family of 3

Well, in case you weren't already aware, we've had a MINOR change in our life recently, which has completely changed everything...for the better of course!
With some days away from work to help with the little one, Andy decided to take advantage of the time at home to finish off some of the jobs around the garden.

Since our last post, we had our new garden wall rendered by a friend, so Andy took advantage and got the wall painted. In addition, he got the garden bed planted and the seating area next to the house paved. So, the garden area out back is looking very good these days. We're looking for a nice wooden bench and some nice pot plants to fill in the paved area eventually. Should be a nice place to sit and watch the kiddos play :)

Andy also shifted some of the plants from the front garden to the garden by the pool, cleaned out the rest of the front garden and prepared for planting, and painted the terraces to match the rest of the house. So, it's now ready for planting as soon as we get time and the weather cools down a bit.

Plants in the raised bed were transplanted from the front garden, so hopefully they survive the heat wave!

The last bit of work that's been done over the past month was to remove the Cape Lilac tree at the very back of the garden. We had our neighbours behind us come around to complain about the caterpillars in the tree that were falling every day and night into their garden and to complain about the berries that the tree drops. Although we hadn't really had any issues with that, there was a nasty vine that had taken over the tree that was causing loads of issues, so we just had the whole tree cut down. It changed the view out over the back of the house as compared to last summer!

The next bit of work to be done will be for the pool fence to be installed, which should be happening this coming week. Yay! Then we'll have a kid-safe back garden! :)

14 January - Cleaned up for a party

We had our Baby Shower BBQ this past weekend at our house, so it was a good reason to get everything tidied up...so I managed to remember to take a couple photos of the house, just to show what it's looking like these days. The only room where there's really been any work done is the baby room, and there are a couple new photos of the back garden as well...

Upstairs open plan living area, view from the entry way.

Same area as above...opposite view. 

Downstairs living area...still need to get the TV and entertainment sorted, but it's nice to see the floors not covered in cardboard and carpet protective layers!

The boys room / pool room!

Downstairs guest bedroom.

Downstairs outdoor seating area, with our new comfy seats and our big, beautiful palm!

The side passageway, all finished after Andy's hard work...hardly recognisable from when we first moved in!

The baby room view from the doorway.

Opposite view of the baby room.

New Year Update - 5th Jan

It's hard to believe we're already in 2014! Looking back at old photos the other day, it's even harder to believe that we've already lived in this house for 2-1/2 years!
Enough on the reminiscing, though. Andy has been super busy lately working on the back garden. Unfortunately, I've been quite bad about taken progress photos over the past month, but there's been quite a change!
Andy and Rob, our gardening expert, laid new turf just before Christmas, which is still looking green and lush! They also built the curved wall at the back of the grass lawn, to separate our nice garden area from the driveway.

Andy and Rob finished the paving around the pool where they had been working on the deck. Andy then cleaned and sealed all of the pavers, which then resulted in a week of cleaning the pool to get it back to the nice blue colour you see here...so inviting now!

Just a ground level view of the garden...

And looking back towards the house...it's really coming together now!

The next jobs on the list are to get the pool fence installed and to get our friend back in to render the new part of the wall. Meanwhile, we'll start shopping for plants to fill the garden beds!

8 December - Garden Update

Well, we've had another couple of weeks of progress on the garden. Andy has been working his bum off lately trying to get the back garden ready so we can enjoy it for the summer.
The deck is about 95% done....only the edging around the pool left to do. This weekend, he and some friends did a couple hard days' work building steps up the side of the house....turning what used to be a sand pit dumping ground into a useful piece of real estate...and hopefully it will keep the neighbourhood cats from using it as a giant litter box as well!
Before I show you the back garden, I'll show you the hard work that Andy and his dad did on the front garden when they were visiting us a couple of weeks ago. Our plan for the front garden includes replacing a lot of the old plants that were there, so they went ahead and ripped out the stuff we're not keeping and gave the rest of it a good trim...it looks a bit different! Unfortunately, the priority is now the back garden, so it will probably be a while before we'll be able to show any more progress to this part of the garden :)

Now...to show you where the real work has been taking place!

Andy and his friend built the concrete footing for the new wall that will hide the ugly driveway from our entertaining area...quite impressive, I think!

The deck area and the pool area...still some paving to do before I can really make use of the pool, but it's coming along nicely! 

The pool again...

Andy hard at work shovelling rocks onto the new steps that he put in over the weekend...makes a big difference!

Just wait until the next installment! Andy's spending every waking moment he's not at work on the garden, so there should be some impressive progress over the next couple weeks!

19 November Update

Hi guys! I know. It's been a horribly long time since I've posted anything, and unless you've talked to us, you're probably wondering if we've fallen off the face of the earth. The answer is no, and even though I haven't posted anything, it doesn't mean we haven't been feverishly working away to try and get the house and garden done. The inside of the house is basically done now...I'll have to post some pictures of it next time. Today's post is to give an update on our most recent work....the garden.
Andy has been hard at work trying to get the garden finished so we don't miss the entire summer! The initial work was demolition to get ready for the main scope. It's amazing how quickly it comes down...takes a bit longer to put it all back up!

Our master plan includes extending the garden about 6 feet into the driveway, moving the brick wall that divides the areas back. So, Andy and a friend took a jack hammer and a sledge hammer to the wall and made pretty quick work of it!

About 15 minutes into the job...

Another hour later, it was gone!

And they also got rid of the flower bed along the house as well...good riddance!

The next job was to get a "professional" around to help with the earth moving and decking...so, there were a couple of weeks of slow/no progress waiting on the help we needed, but it all kicked off shortly after Andy's parents came to visit. Once again, we put them to work...I'm not sure if they'll come back again!

The pictures below show the progress that was made in less than a week! I was busy at work, unfortunately, and missed some good photos of the very beginning. It was quite impressive to come home each day and see how much progress they made.

The 16th November....

            

      

The 18th November...

              

 

It will only be a short time before the next installment showing much more progress, I'm sure! Stay tuned!

22 September Update - the light at the end of the tunnel

Sorry guys. It's been a wee while again since I've posted anything. The weekends just magically seem to run away with us. Then I look back, and it's suddenly been over a month since I've posted anything! Some good news is that we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel...at least for the house. The next project is the garden...I won't go into that here. I'll save it for another post :)

Since the last post, we finished the last major jobs on the house, and now we're mainly left with the decorating (wall hangings, curtains, etc), so it's an exciting time now. Hopefully we're done with the heavy, dirty work!

One of the last jobs to be finished was to sand and seal the treads on the staircase. Now, you may be thinking that doesn't sound like such a big job, but it was. First, you make LOADS of dust with the sanding, and then you need the room completely clean so the sealer doesn't get dust & dirt particles in it...anyways, enough of that...

 

Preparation for sanding and sealing the stairs...in an attempt to keep some of the dust and smell out of our main living areas...

The finished stair case...turned out quite nicely, I think.

The other big job that we finished over the past 6 weeks was to hang the wallpaper in our dining area. That was a bit of a nerve-racking project. We picked out a wall mural for the space...so we had a giant picture cut up into 8 pieces that we had to glue onto the wall...and one mistake would have ruined it all...no pressure!

Thank goodness, with a few choice words said, we somehow managed to get it done with no noticeable defects :)

The preparation stage...wall paper strips laid out, glue mixed, and ready to go!

And the last strip going on...I know we skipped a bit, but it went surprisingly fast...that wall only took us about 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

And the finished product with the mirror hung and the dining table in place...voila!

A couple other small things that have been finished in the meantime....

The kitchenette is stocked and in use. The first gin & tonic served last night!

 Pictures hung on the wall in various rooms...it's slowly beginning to look lived in!

And we've got blinds! 

One year on and we're still going!...10 August update

Well, you might think that it's hard to believe that we've been at the "major" renovation stage for over a year...it's not hard for us to believe! It's been a long haul, with more than a couple disagreements, breakdowns, and thrown objects. We can finally see the end of the tunnel, though...at least for the house! Next step...the garden, but we'll leave that be for now :)
It's been a while since I posted an update, but there's been a bit of travelling going on, and every weekend is fully consumed with house stuff so that we can finish as soon as possible. We have made lots of progress lately, though. You might actually be impressed!
Our efforts over the past month have mainly been focused around the kitchenette and laundry. We've also been finishing up the renovation of our ensuite bathroom and our bedroom/wardrobe.

For the kitchenette, we decided that we would do everything in this room ourselves. So, we've fitted it out with IKEA worktops & cabinets, which actually turned out quite nicely. We also decided that we'd be brave and do the splashback ourselves...so that was our project on one of our 3-day weekends...

Andy's expert tile installation...not bad for an amateur!

After installation of the tiles, but before the grouting.

The finished product with appliances installed!

View from the other doorway.

As I said before, we also have been doing a bit of work on the laundry room...or I should say that Andy has been doing a bit of work on the laundry room. He's done a really good job, I think. We actually managed to make use of 1 of the old kitchen units we had in storage for a year! But we also managed to get someone to come and take away the rest of them, so at least we don't have to pay to take them to the dump!

The almost finished laundry room, with shelving and worktop installed.

The other work we've been doing is to finish our bedroom & wardrobe and master ensuite.

Master bedroom with new carpet, fresh paint, and the furniture moved back in!

The second bedroom with new carpet...the painting still to come once we decide on a colour!

Andy hard at work glossing the door to our walk-in robe.

So, magically, Andy has decided he's going to keep the original wardrobes in our bedroom for his own, and I get all of the new wardrobes in our walk-in robe....featuring below, the framework for my new 3.5m of wardrobes :) Every girl's dream!

Wardrobe frames in the walk-in robe.

 The almost finished ensuite as well...only thing missing is a good clean and a mirror. I really like the solid glass shower screen.

 So, hopefully in the next couple weeks, I'll be able to show you a FINISHED ensuite, walk-in robe, laundry, and maybe even some stairs! Don't hold your breath, though! There's no telling what might happen between now and then! :)
Catch you soon!