The kitchen at House By The Water has been getting a good work out. Cake for 70 people last weekend and curries for 20 people this weekend. It has been such a pleasure to spend time in the kitchen, chopping, baking, stirring, all the while overlooking the family action going on in the living room and keeping an eye out for the dolphins herding salmon in the canal. The pinch-me moments continue.
Kitchen time takes from gardening time though, so the landscaping report is rather slim:
- More dirt shifted.
- 3 coastal banksias planted.
- 3 holes chipped in brickwork for step lights.
- And one day of tiling by the landscapers (sigh).
Banksia integrifolia.
DIY afternoon.
Assistant digger
The Nice Wolf has been wrestling with stone pavers trying to create steps, which has of course involved the purchase of new tools, and is most certainly a labour of love.
While we are outside, new home builders, please tell me about these sticky-out things:
What is going on here?
I thought they were weep holes. Maybe they are. Should they be trimmed? They look a bit ridiculous. I should put them on my 6 month maintenance list for the builders….
We are trying to stay focussed on working on the landscaping, though there are a zillion interior distractions. (Save picture of lovely rug option until later.) The front fence debate has been going on for quite some time. Railway sleepers versus rendered brick with decorative steel infills. Railway sleepers are currently in the lead, but before we actually spend any money on it, I thought I’d take one last hypothetical look at both options:
Steel infills.
Railway sleepers.
*Credit to Trixee at EcoHome Style for the blog title idea. (Trixee, post pics of your amazing gabion walls soon!)
That out of the way, who can resist dreaming about interiors? There is so much that could be done at House By The Water, and if I’m honest, so little that needs to be done. So for the sake of our finances, I’m trying to curb my interiors spending. It’s rather fortunate that this current resolution was made AFTER the purchase of our new sofa:
Lazio Daybed from Weylandts. Real living room.
but somewhat unfortunate that Armadillo and Co’s divine new rug range has been released after my self-imposed ban on interiors spending. Wouldn’t this rug look so good with our new sofa? It would lighten and soften the room.
Future living room.
Aaah! The butterfly chair, leather ottoman and a new coffee table would be nice too.
House by the water. 
Looking fantastic , and so homely . Love the ottoman , I have the leather one from freedom , super comfy
Thanks Leah. I’ve been eying those ottomans at Freedom too. I thought they’d make good extra seating. (Must ignore sales, must ignore sales….)
They may be overflow pipes? Is that from a balcony?
No balcony, Nat. There are others at the second floor slab level too.
Those Cakes! I just zoomed in on the cakes…amazing creations. Yum……. unfortunately the closest cake shop is an hour away and closed…..
I do like the steel infills. The sleepers would look good weathered and grey BUT I love ‘caged rocks’ and I think they would look good at your place.
OMG those cakes!!!! *drool*
Your living room is just drop dead gorgeous. Totally understand your self-imposed interiors spending ban – we have one too, though we just purchased some stools for the kitchen – woo!
The sticky outy things look a lot like our weepholes, though ours are cut flush to the wall.
Gabion blog post coming soon, we officially finished them today!
Railway sleepers. No contest. Pleased you’ve finally seen the light on the butterfly chair. And just buy the shaggy rug for Father’s Day, a stones throw away 😉
Xxx
Wow, looking sensational Jo. Can tell you are loving canal life.
Just a thought on the railway sleepers. They were very popular over this way some years ago for walls and walkways. However, they are a favourite picnic food for termites and over time they were all had to be replaced with inedible alternatives. X
Hmmm. So sensible.
It’s all looking great Jo! I especially love your sitting room artwork and sofa.
I love the look of those railway sleepers too – though I hadn’t thought about termites.
I know it’s not helpful to your resolution, but I see that Armadillo + Co rugs are on sale at Hunting for George and Cranmore Home at the moment…
We have a butterfly chair that we love – it was made by a woman in NSW, who had a big choice of leathers etc.(Muumuu Design).
And good luck with those annoying landscapers! I hope there’s lots of progress soon.
You’re a bad influence Miranda! (Payback for the Lujo chair?..which I’m still coveting by the way.)
I love that chair! Haven’t regretted it for a second…
Hi Jo. I loved this post. The dolphins!! I’d never get anything done in the kitchen. I’m surprised they come right into the canal system. We’ve spent a few holidays at St Francis Bay on our Eastern Cape coastline. There is a well established canal development there but I don’t think dolphins come into it. Perhaps the canals are narrower than yours.
For some reason, I get a real kick out of the fact that you have a South African sofa. Your living room looks absolutely fantastic.
Those little pipes sticking out of the wall? I would have also said weep holes.
And your garden fence, I’d definitely go with the steel.
I know exactly what you mean by “pinch me moments”. I still have them, almost a year down the line.
We have the rendered fence with metal infills option which I love (attractive, provide a point of interest but also quite a bit of privacy) but I have to admit the idea above (Joan55555) of the stone gabion fences really appeals given you have the stone feature on the front of your house. Plus probably something you could assemble yourself if the metal cages and stones were delivered to site so budget friendly perhaps. Our ‘budget’ died a long time ago and spending has ground to a halt!
Dont have those weep hole thingys that we can see so they are either flush to the bricks or not needed at my place?
I’m a bit late to the piece, but I would like to add another vote to sleepers, which I think would look lovely aged, but steel (rust) and render (rust stains) won’t age quite as gracefully. (I’m basing this on the gleaming steel in your mock-up).
I think Joan55555’s idea is fantastic and would complement the stone on your house. Maybe a sleeper/stone cage combo??
Have you made a decision?