And A Building Designer Comes On Board

Bit blurry because I was talking.

I for one can't really have a meeting of any sorts, with anyone, without food and beverage..... so my initial consultation with my Building Designer yesterday involved Justine's 'Haloumi Special'... and we made it a double.

We're on the same page, Mr BD (Building Designer) and me. He understands my obsession with eave returns and double hung windows. We finished each others sentences.... and said, "I agree, I agree, me too, me too", a lot. That's a good sign, I reckon.

Got side tracked off the elevations and floor plan and went into kitchens a bit.  Couldn't help it. I could see the kitchen appearing before me on the floor plan and things had to be said.

As my kitchen ceilings will be 3m high, I was thinking I need cabinets, floor to ceiling, like this:

 Greige Design

What do you think? I would almost forgo a pantry for those huge cupboards. I'm also thinking.... white cabinetry.... but a black island bench... with marble bench-tops? .....like this beauty that I pictured the other day:

Award winning Melissa, from Verandah Interiors, loves her marble bench-tops and spills things all over hers and still loves them to bits. Hmmm. Tell me. Yes? No?

My beautiful blog friend, Col, sent me this image (of unknown origin, sorry) as she knows how much I adore a good kitchen nook. I would love a little desk, and a nook for my cookbooks, thrown into the mix. We've already noted a need for the nook in the rough floor plan... sort of. There was lots of scribbling being done... the nook is in there somewhere.

My Design Chic

Digressing a little bit more....."Mr BD, this is more of what I was envisioning the pool house to be.... simple, open, casual." He had pool house grand plans.... and I have a budget! 

I'm going to talk to Mr BD through my blog as he lives over the other side of town... although I think I can lead him to my side with promises of haloumi and hot chocolate. It's my shout next time.

Anyway, back to the plans. We schemed each elevation (gables and porches and stuff) and the basic living spaces downstairs. We tossed around the idea of having a low L- shaped porch out the back (as well as the front), flowing off all the living areas, with a few wide steps down onto lawn this time... and positioning the pool and pool house, further out from the house. We agreed on everything, Mr BD and me. Thank goodness, because I can get a bit bossy, as I know what I want.... and I didn't want to scare him away on our first meeting.

Image Courtesy Houzz

We got excited about creating a free standing, gabled garage, on the long elevation with a beautiful windowed corridor/hall from the garage to the house....windows with lots of lights.... maybe some 16 light feature windows on both sides of the corridor. It was all sounding so good. We are going to create something really beautiful. I think we are going to work really well together. It's going to be great to have someone to collaborate with this time! Two heads are so better than one. 

I've started. It's good. And the house hasn't even settled yet.

Anyway, it's coffee time! The mornings are so delicious, now that it has cooled down a bit. I am sitting under a blanket on my back patio, enjoying the crisp, early morning air.

Happy Thursday!

PS. Hi Kelly! (blog fan, from the coffee shop)

Afternoon House Ponderings

Hello! Happy Easter! I hope you are having a relaxing holiday weekend. 

I am sitting drooling over house plans this afternoon....enjoying all the emails you have sent me, with pictures and suggestions of what I should do. Thank you!

Well, this is it. This is my block. The 20m frontage faces north.

I am looking for porch and gable inspiration. I plan to have an L-shaped porch, embracing both frontages, and a feature gable on each street elevation.....with double hung windows and eave returns on each gable (if I'm allowed....depends on who will be interpreting my plans according to the Brisbane City Plan).

I love the 2 feature gables in this one... with the 4 double hung windows in between. I am going to have to have eaves over my gables.... in keeping with the Brisbane City Character Code.

Architectural Designs

Here it is, drawn. No curves on my porch though... all square.

Here's the 2 feature gable idea... one for each street elevation.

Deeper eaves in this one...more chance of passing the code.

Image Courtesy Architectural Designs

I'm so excited about having a flat block... so I can create a porch with just a few steps up to it.

Image Courtesy American Gables

Should my gables have separate windows, like this, or a set of two double hungs?

Image Courtesy Farm Houses Of Australia

Here's a beauty Dianne sent me. Perfect for a 40 x 20! Maybe mirror imaged?

I only have a total height of 8.5m to work with.... so mucking around with roof pitch is where I am going to start.... then I will work the floor plan around the roof.

Image Courtesy America's Best House Plans

Oh to have greater than 8.5m height!

Yes, all that said, I have to abide by the 'Residential Character Code' set out in the Brisbane City Plan:

Brisbane City Plan

Part 5 is all about the roof form. Unfortunately, the pre-1946 roof forms in the area do not have gables. It will be interesting to see what I can have approved wrt roof form, according to the code. Dare I mention the dreaded box with skillion roof?.... yes there's one down the street. Surely if that can pass, then my pretty gables will get through. Both homes on either side of my block are pre 1946. I checked on the 1946 aerial photograph. I'm pleased about that. It means my home will fit in nicely and not stick out like a sore thumb.... like the box with the skillion!

Brisbane City Plan

Part 4 should be a cinch.

Image Courtesy Houzz

Or I could just do the total symmetry thing?

Delicious things to ponder over an Easter Sunday afternoon.

Have a lovely evening. See you tomorrow....... I have a lovely nook to share with you.

House Stalking

Oooh A-Mi did not want her photo taken. She's like me. Must be the name.

Now isn't that a cute photo? I made her laugh. 

I went 'real life house stalking' yesterday. Not just from a hire car with an iphone in my hand... no I actually got inside and took photos. Ok, so it was my friend Anne-Marie's home. We met through this blog.

Anne-Marie (A-Mi, as she spells with an i as opposed to e like me), and her hubby Neil, found this magnificent un-renovated 20 year old home up in the trees and have done a rather spectacular transformation over the past few months (boy they did it fast!... Neil is a 'handyman extraordinaire'. He's always doing something. Large-ish. Like yesterday he was knocking up a desk for the study.... as you do. He would give 'The Renovators' a run for their money let me tell you).

A-Mi removed the work boots so I could take this shot. I love the curves with the gables. It just works.

So, this house, it has lovely curves and corrugated iron exterior walls. Inside it has the most divine ceilings. There is a bulkhead in the front entrance so it feels nice and cosy and cottage-y when you walk in but then on either side of the entrance each room opens up with magnificently high ceilings.

This is in the 'pretty' formal room to the left of the front entrance. It's like the formal wing. The house is high up in the trees so the light that is thrown in each room is beautiful  ....mottled light due to the trees....it's just heavenly. Every window reveals greenery.

Check out those ceilings. Sigh. Yep, painting?..... Neil.... every bit.

I would have taken 'room panoramas' but A-Mi and Neil are still unpacking so I will save them for another time..... when I do the before ('1980's student den') and after ('gorgeous cottage in the trees') post.

Aren't they the cutest stools?

I did snap A-Mi's kitchen. Beautiful stone benchtops....white 2 pak cabinetry...rich wooden floors. Out of the picture is a whopper of a freestanding stove... induction top... I so want one of those before I die. Should have done a close up of the taps... a traditional accent in a modern space. Fabulous.

Another traditional touch..... so lovely! 

There are 3 of these lights in the kitchen/open plan living space. The others are out of shot.

Ok, so A-Mi doesn't know this yet (but she will after she reads this post ....... and changes her IE browser to Safari or Firefox so she can comment back on this post. Have you done as suggested A-Mi?) .... but she is going to look out some 'before' photos and we're going to do a 'Before and After' post on her home.... after we get the bathroom mirror up that we sourced together. It's on backorder so she has a mirror the size of a compact mirror smack bang in the middle of the bathroom. It's hilarious.

Thank you A-Mi. I had a lovely morning yesterday drooling over your little piece of paradise, up in the trees. Look out those 'before shots' for me and we will meet for cake again soon!

Well, thermos is packed. We're off to soccer this morning. No surprises there. They better have those bacon and egg rolls ready when we get there. They ran out last time. I did not know what to do. I dream about those things all week. Gotta love sporting club burgers... they're the best!

Happy Saturday!

A-Me xx