Pool next to the deck!

I finally got to use a pool next to our new deck, well paddling pool at least!

Today it was finally hot in Melbourne, the first really hot day since we have had our wrap around deck put in, so we finally got to use the deck in the way I imagined.

 

These photos were taken around 12ish when the Maple in the middle of our garden was giving good shade. A little later in the day the extension gives the shade to this area, so perfect place to set up a pool.

Our deck was finished in May this year when Winter had already set in, so all these months later we are now finally getting the chance to use it in so many different ways.

Tomorrow I plan to plant my new Olive tree you can see on top of the wine barrel here. I will share more photos in my Friday food and flower post.

Wrap around deck tour

Our wrap around deck is finished, well built at least and so thought it was time to share, so come along for a tour warts and all.

 

Now this deck was started late October 2011 and has only just been completed in that the roof on the pergola was put on last week. I can not believe how long it has taken but there have been reasons such as drainage issues, Christmas break and more. So considering it has taken so long and I have mentioned it in a few posts, thought it was about time I shared pictures, even though we still need: to finish oiling the deck, painting the pergola and getting some wooden trims put in. 

This is where we sat and had our coffee this morning while we watched the kids playing in the garden.

This is the view from where we were sitting.......

.

Now once I finished my coffee and got out of my chair and walked to the edge of the undercover area this is the view.....

 Then perspective from the garden....

And moving around the corner down to the laundry....

Looking back from the laundry door.....

So there you have it. We love our new deck and so do the kids. As you can imagine they love to run right around it out the sliding doors next to the dining area and right around to the laundry. I love the fact too that I can sit at the dining table or in the family room and watch them play.

Hope you are all having a great weekend as you can see from the photos, here in Melbourne it is a beautiful sunny one.

Also if you want to find out what Hubby and I spoke about over coffee this morning - A Coffee Chat - Too busy for child's play?

Sunday - a coffee chat

One of the things I wanted from our renovation is to create a house for entertaining. So now that we have finished our major building work we have started having friends over regularly for coffee, wine, dinner, or all three.

I love my coffee so much so that after my little boy was born, baby number two, we invested in an Italian coffee machine so that I didn't have to juggle a baby and toddler in cafes every morning just to get my flat white.


The coffee machine is now three years old and still going strong. It not only makes great coffee but has provided a good reason for many friends to pop in and have a chat. It is amazing how much can be talked about over a cup a coffee with the topics varying from 'wow I need this as the kids aren't sleeping' to a look through home mags together and a chat about latest design trends, to discussion on the latest political polls.


With this in mind I have now created a new blog - A Coffee chat -please check it out and join in.

By the way our roof is finally on the new pergola and the wrap around deck finished - photos to come soon.

Hope you are having a great weekend and Happy Easter.

G

The effects of rain

Now I am generally a real sun person and love blue skies and warm weather but after the few days of heat that Melbourne has had I have loved all the rain over the past 24 hours.

After it has been so hot, the smell of rain, the coolness it brings and the effect it has on the environment is wonderful. Last night as I sat in my kids room while they were going to sleep, I had their window wide open and just listened to the rain and sound of crickets. Very relaxing.

This morning my little boy and I walked my daughter to school and there were puddles everywhere, the Eucalyptus smelt wonderful wet and the birds were all calling out, all because of the Summer rain.

Also yesterday we got our rainwater tank installed so now have another reason to love the rain when it has been so dry.

Today now the rain has stopped the builders are working on putting in a deck down this side and around the tank. This deck will wrap around the house and meet up with the back deck. So I will be sharing lots of deck photos soon.

A holiday, New Year and new perspective

Firstly Happy New Year! it has been a while since I posted, as I must admit I was a little over renovating and talking about it. I needed a break from the house, Melbourne, work and the everyday routine.

After having two birthdays in the Christmas week, with parties at our house (my beautiful girl turned six and then two days later I had my birthday), then also Christmas day lunch here, I was a little exhausted and also frustrated with the fact our builder hadn't finished external work in time for all the parties. So this meant trying to ignore the outside mess and entertain around it (not easy with kids).

At least in these two photos you can see we got our L shaped deck done, just haven't yet got the pergola for me to hang my lanterns on and put all the fairy lights around I bought just for Christmas.

Well we have just recently got back from a much needed holiday in Adelaide, visiting family and old friends. Plus we spent lots of time going for walks in the stunning Adelaide Hills or along the beach and plenty of time near or in water. It was relaxing and just what was needed.

Coming back home I found I could now appreciate and enjoy the house again, look at it from the perspective of what we have done in the past year rather then what still needs to be done.

I have also come back online to find that the lovely Deb from Let's go Moerkabout has passed an award over to me:

Liebster is a German word meaning "dearest" and the award is given to bloggers with fewer than 200 followers. The award has a few stipulations:

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it you.

2. Reveal your five blogger picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.

4. Hope that people you have sent the award to forward it on to their favourite bloggers.

Now its my turn to pass this award on to five bloggers that I love to pop in and visit.

At home with Sam and I
Change of Place
B is Building a House
Ledamae
From Avenue to Boulevard

Thanks also to Deb, I always enjoy reading her blog.

So back to showing plenty of photos and sharing stories of what is happening around my place. I look forward to reading your blogs again too and finding out what you have been up to. Hope 2012 is a happy and good one for you all!

The hub of the home

In many houses the kitchen is the hub of the home and now with our extension and the new living space next to the kitchen we are no exception, though probably more exact for us it is the coffee table between the kitchen and family room.

This old table was put here quite by accident, just to get it out of the way but as soon as we did the kids gravitated to it. They do all their drawing and craft on it, play games and eat lunch and snacks. It is the perfect height for them and right in the middle of all the action.

The blue stools you can see in the picture above are great too as they are soft and the tops lift off with storage underneath. It helps that I got them for $10 each from Woolworths.

So we spent the weekend enjoying this space and Saturday watching our builder digging to prepare for installing the deck this week. So excited!

Deck to go in

We have been told that the building of our deck will begin in the next week. I really hope this is the case as below where the kids feet are in the picture above is dirt, which turns quickly into mud as soon as it rains. I have just noticed too that this picture shows the floorboards before they were sanded and polished, so it was taken a few weeks ago.

The image below gives you an idea of what the deck is going to be like, wrapping around the back of the house. Interestingly this image shows the old brick too but this has now all been removed to expose the weatherboard.


So we will be having a pitched roof covered pergola over the deck area outside the stacking doors (where the kids are sitting above) and around in front of the sliding doors will be an open flat roof pergola which we will be growing a vine on.

With the weather warming up and Summer fast approaching I really can't wait for the deck to be done, have BBQs and hang lanterns and fairy lights from the pergola for those warm nights.

Colour love

I am loving the cover of the latest edition of Home Beautiful, a range of blues that are so fresh and Summery and it goes with the look I am trying for in this area, right next to our stacking doors, which will eventually look out onto our deck.

Also will love these colours for our alfresco deck once we have it. Been told by our builder they will start building it in about a week, can't wait!

Trip to Melbourne Zoo and design ideas

Day three of Blogtoberfest and thought I would take a day break from before and after photos as today we enjoyed a sunny day at the Melbourne Zoo.

And who would of thought it would give me some design ideas both for the side of our house and our alfresco deck.

Starting with the elephant trail, love the bamboo and the idea of using this in big stone pots down the side of our house.
Then entering the orangutan enclosure love the wood slatted pitched roof and the amazing lights.