Stormy sky

In a pause in last night’s storm

The view from the bedroom window with colours taken straight from a Constable painting.

Photos

Some images now we have moved in.

towards the main sitting area.

Decoration!

The wardrobes in our bedroom

View towards bathroom.

bathroom cabinets

Shower.

The land

We’ve recently been given some photos of the build from our neighbours.  Here is a picture of what the land looked like before the houses were built…

View from the living room

The sun rises above the church in the morning. (Just seen – church tower on hill)

Outside view

It’s a long time since I posted an exterior photo, so here goes. 

The next big task here is obviously to build a garden.  On the building all is left is the two lights.

We’re in discussion about which big table to get for the terrace.  

Paper cover off

The first set of cleaning has been done, in preparation for adding the flexible seals where they are needed for the floor.

The oak stairs have been revealed for the first time.  We think they go well with the tiles throughout the rest of the house (we matched the wood to the oiled oak we use for picture frames – the rest of the furniture will be in this oak).

Now the trees are in leaf the view from the main bedroom is looking lovely.  The sun comes through the window on the left in the morning and the final rays come in the other window.

The kitchen is ready (the blue key needs to be removed from the tap.  I can’t wait to cook in this.

Finished attic

The attic was the first room to be finished.  It will be an office

A hidden detail here is the cavity at the top of the small window to ‘hide’ a roll blind behind the plaster.

Almost ready

We move on 23rd May so we’re just finalising the details.  Here’s an image of the landing a week or so ago from the main bedroom looking towards the bathroom.

The two storage doors to the right were moved 15mm forward to be in line with the wall – it’s this sort of finishing that is taking the time at the moment.

Paper comes off soon?

Kitchen

Not quite the simplest kitchen possible, but not all that far off…

The image above shows one side of the kitchen, where the hob is central.  The work surface is 5cm thick stainless steel mounted at 95cm, not the usual 90cm (we’re tall, so the extra height is useful). The worktop that can be seen is 70cm deep to provide extra working space.  The splashback is in white Creanit – a Corian-like material – which gives a good impression of being the same as the walls, but is easy to clean.  The wall that the oven is on is in the same line as the wall defining the dining room, so as to create a single line.

Coming together

After almost a year’s planning and building, we’re within 3 weeks of moving in.  The house is almost there, with just the long process of perfecting the remaining rough bits.

All cupboard doors have been fitted (though a few are being moved to get better alignment.  This means the space is now as we planned, and we’re delighted with the result.  Planning every last detail on paper, as is needed in this type of construction is hard but we’re both really glad we spent as long getting it right as we did.

The house is still under a layer of paper and sheeting protecting the floor, and the steel kitchen work surfaces.  I’ve got a job coming up to seal all the grout in the floor – the materials are waiting for me at the tile-supplier.  After a few weeks of heavy rain the clay-soil is waterlogged and the gardener is trying to drain it before starting that job.

The bathroom waits for it’s etched glass screens and the bottom section of the sinks.  Apparently the wrong piece was ordered, so a new one is coming.  Sinks are from Duravit – the Bathroom Foster range.  Taps are Steel by Axor.

The photo above shows the almost-finished bathroom mirror that I showed in its raw state.  The builders have managed to do a good job of getting the mirror flush with the wall, and there are a useful set of shelves behind the door.