Colours, Kitchen, Landscaping & Plumbing
Today is day 1 of our colour selection process....I have been looking forward to this day since signing our tender. For the past few months I have spent most nights on the internet researching and preparing for this day. Homeone has been an invaluable resource. There are so many helpful and knowledgable people that are happy and willing to share their expertise and experiences with you. I highly recommend this website to anyone whom is building their own home. There is a link to the website on my home page. The exciting part is knowing you have total control over the colour scheme and finishes in your home.
Our appointment was booked for 9am and we were on time and filled with enthusiasm and anticipation for the day ahead. Don't get me wrong, I was feeling a little anxious and uncertain that I was 100% prepared and ready to make the right choices.
First up, our colour consultant for the day took us through the exterior colours. Our selections went like this:-
Bricks: Gravel
Roof: Monument (Colorbond)
Gutters, Downpipes, Meter Box & Water Tank: Monument
Fascia: Dune
Garage Door: Dune
Cladding: Dune
Front Door: Dune
Eaves: Surfmist
Windows: APO Grey
Next we moved onto door handles for the doors throughout the house, including the front door, kitchen and bathroom cabinetry handles and WIR door handles. As we had increased the ceiling height to the entrance, we decided to upgrade the main bedroom doors. We also added a solid timber door and lock to our internal garage door (door added at tender stage).
Then it was over to choose paint colours. This was a little difficult. We knew what we wanted, but couldn't find the colour within the limited colour choices provided by EBH. In the end, after much procrastination, we settled on Kidskin for the walls and Crisp White for the skirting and architraves.
The last of the colour choices was the kitchen and bathroom vanities and bench tops. This took us some time as the colours in the brochures were not a true representation of the colour samples at HOG (It could have had something to do with the lighting). With regards to kitchen colours, we were planning upgrading but was advised by our colour consultant to choose a colour for the file and this would be over written once we had our kitchen appointment. So our colour selection was done and dusted.
From here we saw Jenni from Outback Landscaping for our driveway. J and I had come into this appointment determined we would have a cement driveway. But after listening to the pros and cons of each, and the general maintenance of both, we ended up choosing pavers. We chose the Baines Charcoal pavers, laid in a stretcher bond pattern. We opted to upgrade to have the council crossover paved as well. Outback were offering a $2 promotion where they would provide additional concrete/paving to the side of the house. I am not sure of the square meterage but it worked out that we would receive paving to one side of the house, the length of the garage.
Next we were off to meet with Alex from Kitchen Culture. Upon sitting down and sighting our kitchen layout that Alex had printed off, we were surprised to see that there were no overhead cabinets. Who builds a kitchen without overhead cabinets?? Turns out, all project builders don't, and it costs you an arm and a leg to include them! We were a little annoyed because we remember specifically asking our Sales Rep at Homeworld Kellyville whether the overhead cupboards were included and he confirmed that they were. So to be told that they weren't was a bit of a blow.
The kitchen is where you can spend a lot of money on upgrades. For example, here are our upgrades.
- Two sets of soft close pot draws either side of the oven
- Overhead cabinets with a 100mm overhang in lieu of handles
- A lift up door cupboard above the fridge space,
- A light shelf in each overhead cupboard for down lights
- Bulkheads to overhead cabinets, including flyover panel above rangehood
- Laminated panel behind rangehood
- Sharknose detail to base cabinet doors and drawers
- Gloss polyurethane finish to kitchen cabinets, panels, and kickboard.
- Catergory 1 Essastone - Crystal Chalk
- Glass splash back
If anyone wants to know how much any of the above cost, please let me know. I would be happy to share with you.
We also opted to have KC fit out our laundry rather than try and have someone do it after handover.
Here are our kitchen and laundry plans.
3D Kitchen Layout
Our appointment with Cooks Plumbing was next. We wanted to keep the costs down seem as we just went overboard at our kitchen appointment. Here is a list of our upgrades.
- Gallery Leonardo Wall-Faced Soft Close Toilet (main & ensuite)
- Caroma Classic 1700 Bath (main)
- Novelli Disc Shower 200mm Square Rose & 300mm Ceiling Dropper
- Dorf Enix Double Towel Rail - 900mm (main & ensuite)
- Everpure Water Filter Std Tap Starter Kit
- Everhard Benchline 45L Flushline Tub (laundry)
And some pics.......
Upgraded Shower Head
Upgraded Toilet - Leonardo Wall Faced Soft Close Suite
Standard Basin for Main Bathroom & Ensuite
Standard Mixer for Bathroom & Ensuite
Standard Mixer for Shower
Standard Mixer & Tap for Bath
Standard Towel Rail
Standard Toilet Paper Holder
Standard Shower Head for Main Bathroom
Standard Kitchen Mixer
Standard Kitchen Sink
Standard Laundry Mixer
Standard Laundry Tapware
Upgraded Laundry In-Bench Laundry Tub
Handles for Laundry & Bathroom Cabinets
Sophia Lever Handles (satin chrome)
Upgraded Feature Door to Main Bedroom
Upgraded Gainsborough Oblong Pull Handle for Front Door
Bathroom lights / ceiling fan
