Showing posts with label House. Show all posts
Showing posts with label House. Show all posts
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linda
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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:
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.
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.
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)
Posted by
linda
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Next time, I am looking at an entrance foyer, rather than a hall.
I rather like this sort of thing... with the staircase on the right. It was originally in the formation below, but I mirror imaged it. I love the little staircase window, the wainscoting..... and the transom leading to 'beyond'.
Are you like that? ... needing to mirror image things? I am definitely a 'right hand side' girl for almost everything. Is there something in that?
It's Monday again. Doesn't the week come around fast?
We are catching up with my brothers .... and all our little cousins today. It will be great. I always seriously live in the moment at these events as I don't see my gorgeous brothers and my darling nieces and nephews often enough. Everyone leads such busy lives.
Happy Monday!
Posted by
linda
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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.
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.
I'm so excited about having a flat block... so I can create a porch with just a few steps up to it.
Should my gables have separate windows, like this, or a set of two double hungs?
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.
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:
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!
Part 4 should be a cinch.
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.
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linda
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I know. I have posted this picture a million times before......and it's probably nothing like what my place will look like....... but I have a 40m frontage so I keep coming back to it..... as I never imagined I'd be able to build anything this wide. It's a start.
Yes, I can think about elevations now..... now that I have moved on from the nightmare that is dealing with council codes. Looks like I will be going unconditional on Thursday..... which means the block will be officially mine.
Next task (oh, but it is soooo NOT a task!) is designing something beautiful to sit on the block. I am going to luxuriate in it!...the design process that is... not the mud, weeds and rats on the block.
You are not really reading me live this morning. I did this post last night while waiting for orchestra practice to start and scheduled it for this morning. I drove back to the coast last night at midnight just so I could wake up and go for a run with my little boy. He ran with me yesterday and loved it! Although the trip back was rather slow as we had to investigate anything that remotely resembled a pippy!
.... and we had to take the customary beach 'parkour' action shots as well.
...flying...
.... and karate kicking!
Boys... I just love their energy!
Ok, so my pseudo holiday resumes today with a big sigh of 'due diligence' relief. Sort of. If you are waiting for an email from me, I will action a reply today, between swims, house scheming and pseudo relaxing. Doesn't life get in the way of the inbox?
So, what to do? It's a corner block... 40m x 20m. I get to do two elevations... they're gonna have to be pretty good! Any ideas? I will be building under the Character Code.
Happy Tuesday!
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linda
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Image Via Pinterest
Sorry for my absence today. Have been running around 'due diligence-ing' my house block.
Due to a nasty 3 x 3 x 3 council truncation on the corner of the block, 2 little houses are just not going to be feasible. I could have made it work somehow, as there is always a solution, but there was also the issue of beautiful council trees on the footpath that could not be removed... making it impossible for me to put the garage of one house on the boundary.... to best utilize every square metre I have.
I went back to the house this afternoon and sat in the gutter opposite, chin on my knees... waiting for the universe to speak to me... to tell me what to do. I tried to picture the best outcome for this lovely block. I have a 40m frontage. In the past I have only dreamt of having a frontage this big to work with! These big double blocks, with city views, are as rare as hen's teeth..... so I've decided to go for the biggie. One big house. That said, more obstacles can still come my way. I'm still investigating council restrictions, services and demolition issues. Lot's to do before I go unconditional next week.
I found this message in my inbox tonight:
Fear, A-M, like joy, usually means that you're exactly where you should be, learning what you're ready to learn, about to become more than who you were. Whoohoo!! The Universe |
Back tomorrow.
Have a great night.
