It's time to live

Visitors to this site will notice that it has not been updated for a time. I know that this is a bloggers worst crime!

It is however time to move on and live the life intended in the Kaitoke Grand Design so I'm officially closing entries.

It's been fun to share our building adventure. If you're interested to know what we're up to now you can check out this blog.

New arrivals

A little earlier than expected we've got new arrivals to enjoy our Kaitoke Grand Design. Two Basset Hounds, named Fortnum and Mason. They are 10 weeks old bundles of joy. They've settled in less than24 hours after arriving and keeping a watchful eye as the landscapers, roofers and builders cruise past "their" veranda.

Mason
(8.6kg and very long ears)

Fortnum (10kg and very big paws)

It's mine, no it's mine......!

Dog tired puppies at the end of an extraordinary first day away from mum, brothers and sister

It's all in the preparation

I know from bitter experience of what can happen with a clay garden if you don't prepare well. We're not making that mistake again here so Paul Cameron Landscapers are hard a work spreading our carefully kept topsoil into the new beds. That is of course after the gypsom on the base where the clay is too.

The scary thing about this project (other than the fact we're digging close to rainwater collection drains and the house foundations) is the sheer size of the beds! I'll be mulching that pretty well I can tell you, don't fancy all the weeding that will be involved.

Landscaping under way

Landscapers start on site this week to get the basics in place and allow us to welcome visitors with something other than clay banks and metal drive!

For any avoidance of doubt, Jamie, our landscaper is labelling all the key bits to make sure that his vision for the garden becomes a reality!

Barn completion - well almost

After a frustrating few days waiting for concrete the barn is up and closed in. Now we're just waiting for Greg and the crew to stretch the power cables far enough so that the fit out inside can be completed and hey presto the doors to open. It's also important for the water pump system which we are running by extension cable from the house at the moment. It will be a relief to get it all finished so we can rest easy that the extension lead won't get unplugged, drenched or otherwise damaged and cut off the water supply!

At home

The Moss Brothers Team pulled out all the stops to get us ship shape for move on 2 November. 31 weeks into this project and it's hard to believe that that it's no longer a building site but our home. There's heaps still to do but the fun can really now start.

Here's the reveal............

The fledgling garden!

Room for guests - 30 days to tidy this up in readiness for our first UK visitors

Home office with Decade Furniture

The sunniest room in the house with a cool calm look

Kitchen still incomplete but hopefully finalised in the next week or so.

Family room for those laid back moments

The sitting room for those more formal moments - like tea with the in-laws!

My pride and joy wallpaper - aka Denver, the painter's nightmare!

Some rooms are more complete than other - ensuite reading room

Waiting for the floor - hurry up Versatile!

Week 30: periously close

Every day the basics get more finished and the finishing touches are installed. We are hours away from handover and the build team are working flat out to get us ready for handover and move in. It's hard to believe we've gone from dirt to the detailed furnishings. Now only the packing to worry about!

New home for shoes

Entertainment HQ (almost complete)

Electrician hard at work - there were plenty of others making it a real team effort.

Our pedestal and basin arrived in the nick of time

The tiling too!

And the barn is not far behind