Monday 27 May 2013

Renovation Progress Report

I'm still here, but sadly there has been no progress on the renovation. In order to get a Building Application (approved plans), you are required to submit a signed building contract. But here's the catch - we don't have finance approved yet, because the bank wants a copy of the approved plans.

So we needed to either a) extend the cooling-off period on the builder's contract to allow time for finance approval or, b) include a finance clause into the contract.

We were supposed to sign the builder's contract last week, but unfortunately Harry became ill with asthma and he ended up in hospital for a few days. I'm happy to say he is much better now so the meeting has been rescheduled for Tuesday this week. Fingers crossed there are no more hiccups - I am getting desperate to get this project off the ground.

In the meantime, I have narrowed down the bathroom floor tile selection to these two marble hex tiles:



I really do love the one on the right (Carrara) but I think it might be too elegant, particularly in the boys' bathroom. The darker tile (Grigio) just seems more practical for the floors as it won't show up muddy little footprints, etc.

All the other fixtures and fittings in the house have already been selected. Here is a reminder of our kitchen finishes:

Main Kitchen


I've decided to go with an Oliveri Sonetto double undermount sink in the kitchen. I was originally going to put a small prep sink into the Scullery, but instead I've opted for a larger single bowl which can be used for washing up big oven trays, platters, etc which enables all the stuff that can't fit into the dishwasher to be taken out the back away from view.

Scullery
The scullery sits into the new section of the house. Two large high-level windows will provide loads of natural light in this space while ensuring privacy from the adjacent house.

As for the oven choice, I've narrowed it down to these two:

AGA or Smeg
The AGA's good-looks are winning me over, but I'm not sure whether the solid doors would bug me. I'm forever peering through the glass doors when something is cooking in the oven. Do you do the same?

13 comments:

  1. My pic - AGA and Dark grey tiles :)

    HLQ

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  2. Like the dark grey tiles, a great colour. I like where the knobs are on the AGA, so you don't have to stand back or stoop to turn them on. Are the doors wide enough for big trays ie if you were to cook a Turkey?

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    1. I've never personally used an AGA, but they tell me the oven is large enough to hold a 7.25kg turkey. Each of the ovens are 440mm (deep) x 320mm (wide) x 250mm (high.) We like to cook pizzas, so I would need to make them a little smaller than usual. However the advantage is you would save energy costs by not having to heat up one big oven if you were only cooking up a tray of muffins, etc. xx

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  3. I like the dark grey tiles and the AGA.
    My ancient oven has solid doors and it doesn't bother me...in fact until you mentioned it I never even thought about it!
    I guess you just get used to the way the oven cooks?
    I must have opened the door when we first moved in but now I just know when things will be done.

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  4. Oh and PS, good luck with getting all the approvals sorted!

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  5. Definitely the dark grey tiles with kids I think. I actually prefer the contrast of these with the white subways as well. I would probably pick the smeg, but if the Aga came in mint green it would be very tempting. What a pain about the finance, hope you guys can get it sorted soon. mel x

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    1. Guess what? It does come in mint green! xx

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  6. Forgot to add, great taste in sinks, we are getting the same one! mel x

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  7. Hi, just found your blog. I love the metro tiles you've gone for and I would have the darker tiles for the floor giving good contrast. We have the same tiles with orange and blue tiles on the floors of 2 bathrooms. The smeg looks better to me but the aga is very traditional and homely. I did have a smeg 2 houses and a range in the last house and I really miss them. Now i only have built in hob and oven separate - not so good for me. Anyway, I'll be back soon, renovations are full of ups and downs, i am still not anywhere near finished here yet. katie x

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  8. ps. I love the hexagon type tiles and had them planned for a new kitchen floor that is now not happening, the money is seriously dwindling now, katie x

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  9. Who makes the grigio tiles? I have been looking for this shade.

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  10. Hi Michelle, the grigio sample pictured above is from Bespoke Tile and Stone

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