Kitchen, Paint and Other Things

After my obligatory apology for being so long between posts (sorry guys!), where do I start...

The Good News

Balcony railing has been installed:

The kitchen is (mostly) in:

I cannot wait to see the floor complete. It will make the Kitchen sing!

Photo taken through door before main painting done

Photo taken through door before main painting done

Photo taken through door before main painting done

Photos can't do the bench top and splashback justice (Caesarstone "White Shimmer"). 

Appliances are yet to be installed and the microwave cabinet is missing. The reason the cabinet is missing is because the installer decided the Aventos lift system (click here to see it) we chose intruded too much, and instead installed a door that lifts up and rolls back into the cabinet. This is exactly the cabinet we wanted to avoid. There are already scratch marks on the cabinet from the rollers (and it will only get worse with use) and the door sticks out from the cabinet about the same length as the lift system does. So, we've told them to install the Aventos system. We'll see how we go! 

The front door and stair rails are stained:

The wardrobe walls have been corrected:

Bed 3

Bed 2

Bed 4 is not actually supposed to have had a change. We were happy with the size of the duct and, for the sake of symmetry, didn't mind it being concealed in the wardrobe (which is much larger than the other wardrobes as well). We've asked Fairmont to change it back, as per our original request...yep, they must hate us.

Skirting in the garage has been fixed:

What an improvement!

Garage

Glass has been installed in the bathrooms:

Ensuite

Main Bathroom

Powder Room

Tiling has been completed:

Niche above bath in Main Bathroom

Niche in Ensuite shower

Balcony

Balcony

The window company has agreed to make custom windows for our front facade. Here's a refresher on the window issue-

The windows we signed-off on:

Turns out the windows aren't to code as a child could fall out of the upper level windows (fair enough)

The windows we got (without consultation):

The main reason we dislike these so much, which you can't tell from this image, is that the sash's are all different thicknesses. This is because they are each comprise of two windows - one double-hung with a fixed centre pane and a fixed window with three sections.

Windows we will now get:

We like that they will complement the Ensuite window and that the centre pane is uninterrupted. Because each window is comprised of three vertical windows, there should only be two different sash thicknesses.

We ordered the carpet Thursday. We had a last-minute change on colour (not a significant difference) and are looking at a 12 week delivery date. If we're lucky and get keys before then, then we'll be living without carpet for a few weeks, but it is worth it in the end as it is the colour we originally envisaged. It's Smart Strand Silk Cosy Comfort "Pearl Glaze." It feels so soft and looks beautiful. I just hope we can keep it looking beautiful!

Cozy Comfort "Pearl Glaze"

Painting has started...which brings me to The Bad News (no post is complete without it!)...

The paint listed on our tender is "Wattyl low sheen acrylic." Fairmont now use Dulux. Aside from crossing our fingers that the colour matching works, we have recently come to learn a lot about "low sheen acrylic" - there are many different types with varying levels of quality. Would you like to guess which level of quality is builders standard..? It's a product called "Hadrian Contracter," which the Dulux brochure itself says is, "recommended for affordable housing...and pastels/white colours only," and, "requires frequent re-painting." Hmmmm... For anyone who has ever lived in a "builders standard" home that is more than 18months old, you will likely know the stuff. It's chalky and comes off when you wipe the walls. The person at  Dulux Mick spoke to on the phone even advised against it being used as an undercoat only (a suggested compromise by Fairmont).

Needless to say we have upgraded to Dulux Wash and Wear 101 (with Dulux One Step prep) where we can (it's too late for the trim and ceiling).

And, they painted the wrong feature wall in the Upstairs TV Room. Unbeknownst to Mick who took this photo while it was being painted (he is hopelessly colourblind and not really across the specifics of our colour choices). Doh!

TV Room with the colour intended for the Study

Coat 1 of 5 (maybe even 6) for the Main Bedroom feature wall (this is the reason we did not want to paint this wall ourselves!)...Loving the main wall colour.

Main Wall Colour - Bed 1 Wardrobe (the window is meant to be clear, it will be corrected soon)

Main Wall Colour - Bed 1 Wardrobe

Laundry Door

Next issue: The Spa Bath

This is a two-for-one deal, not only was our chosen spa dis-continued, the size we thought we were getting (which quite frankly was tiny to begin with) is too big for the space we have. This one we pushed back onto Fairmont as it goes against the plan, and they came through! They'll make sure the original sized bath fits and have substituted for a similar model to replace the discontinued one, it's the Decina Carina Dolce Vita 1675:

Next on our list: Order laundry cabinetry, order lights and deliver the vanity that is currently sitting in storage...