Friday, April 27, 2012

House Tour Here!

All week long I've been painting, cleaning and buffing for the  house tour today.

Front of our house. Photo: Frederic Neema

Front entrance: checking my resident "elves" have done their jobs
The tour runs two days and is organised by the Children's Support League. (Tickets on sale here priced $45 to VIP $85) More than 1500 people will walk through our house (and four other homes nearby) in the next two days and proceeds from the tickets sales will go to disadvantaged children in the East Bay. Last year raised $186,000. (BTW, I could not have worked with a nicer bunch of men and women to set this up - how do they stay so calm?)

No pressure then! Holey heck - the proteas must have known and put on their best yellows and oranges. And I might have sucked, er sipped a few Kim Crawford slushies to get me through...
Pincushion Proteas blooming in our front yard

It's been one step forward and three steps back. I "touched up" the bedroom walls, made a complete bloody hash of it and made an emergency call to the painters. "I heard the panic in your voice" said Eric the painter as he arrived 7am the next morn.

Okay, been thinking about this loads - Best things we did in the re-model two years ago: 
1. Artificial grass in the backyard. Stays the same all the time, impervious to sliding kids and weeing puppies.

Cy and Teddy play on our artificial grass backyard

2. All the messy stuff - fridge, freezer, oven, - round the corner on one wall. (Okay, yes, I know, not really the "classic triangle."  I am no longer a keen chef, I just like things to be easy to clean...)

Appliance "wall" in our kitchen. Photo: Frederic Neema

3. Folding door out the back. Even when you don't use it, it feels like you're on vacation...

Our backyard, doors open Photo: Frederic Neema
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Folding door from kitchen to the backyard. Photo: Frederic Neema

Three things I haven't had time to get to. Projects for next week then - could you help?

1. What colour towels would you put in our master bathroom? The orange ones are from the boys' bathroom so I need another colour!

Our bathroom. Photo: Frederic Neema

Photo: Frederic Neema

Photo: Frederic Neema

2. We rarely sit out on this front deck. Maybe because it's too stark and open to the neighbours? Does it  need some kind of roof - say, umbrellas or sails?

Our front patio. Photo: Frederic Neema

3. A friend reckons my line-up of aloe detracts from the water feature in the backyard. She reckons it would be better to bunch the aloe on the left hand side.

Our fountain with the aloe lined up behind


Sorry to give you homework over the weekend...but what do you think?

Architect: Dotter Soljeld
Builder: Steve Strand
Colour: Kathy Farley


For more posts on our house and garden check out Our House in "Topics" on the left hand side of my blog.

42 comments:

  1. Jody, as always the house looks gorgeous. I think orange towels are the way to go in the master bath. We love our artifical grass too. Have had it for six years and it looks like it did the day we installed it despite the best efforts of our 80 lb Lab to destroy it.

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  2. I want to sit on that couch on your front deck with a book and catch some sun....sigh........and I think sails are great, as is your house.

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  3. I have always loved your home! That's so exciting it's part of a house tour and for a great cause! I love the artificial grasss. Yay for not having to mow! :) For the bathroom, I like the look of plain white towels. They always look fresh and can easily be bleached for a brand new look, every time! And the front porch would look great with some kind of awning or umbrella. Especially when you want some shade time. Hope this helps! Have a great weekend, Jody. :)

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  4. It's just gorg!!!!! Love the comment, "sipped a few Kim Crawford slushies to get me through...". That would so be me. (I did a house tour at the lake, not as large as yours, and I was half drunk through most of it). I love a bright lime green or turquoise in the master bath. Bright for sure.

    Love your home. Good luck. What a good (stressful) deed!

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  5. LOVE your house .... here are my thoughts:
    1. towels - orange, navy, or monogrammed white
    2. Umbrellas on patio
    3. leave the aloe where they are :)

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  6. Wow. Your home is seriously amazing. Gorgeous. I would love to see more!!!!!

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  7. 1500??????

    i cannot even imagine. {i'm totally in love with your house btw :)} good luck!!!

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  8. Your house is amazing. My favorite picture is the appliance wall in the kitchen and the modern round tub contrasted by the angular and clean lines of the bathroom. I've always enjoyed big umbrellas on the patio. Have you considered putting a tall pot of horsetail grass on the left side to bring height to the fountain area?

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    Replies
    1. Great idea - I'm off to google horsetail hair now!

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  9. I really want a ticket for the tour, may take me a while to get there though!! ;) And maybe vivid turquoise for the towels?

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  10. So jealous of your house!! I have the same problem with a deck feeling too exposed to the neighbours. The I got a large plastic tree in the sale.
    No really. It fools everyone!

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  11. Your home is gorgeous. Magazine top-notch.

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  12. Gorgeous! Orange and navy look great together. You could put navy towels in the MB, but I love the orange too. So many clean lines and and love the kitchen. Enjoy your weekend!

    leslie

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  13. It's all perfect as far as I can see and I'm dying over your fold out back door--I want one so much!

    xo Mary Jo

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  14. Oh. Wow.

    I am NEVER posting up pictures of MY house. Not never ever.... the list of suggestions would be to the moon and back - and mostly along the lines of 'try cleaning' I should imagine.... HOW do you do it missus?

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  15. PS How's the cycling going? I've just been catching up a bit - I did a bike ride last summer (note the use of the word 'a') - still can't look that saddle in the face.

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    Replies
    1. Oh yes...the cycling. Off out just after this. Its the hills that get me, I've got knees!

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  16. The orange towels look fab - any bright colour would look great too - turquoise or lime green are favourites of mine. We've also thought about getting artificial grass - it's good to see it's. Even such a success for you!

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  17. Jody,
    Love your home. It is absolutely gorgeous! It must be so fun to live there. I bet your views are fabulous!

    I also think navy or a bright aqua would look good for towels if you couldn't use the orange. The colors in your home are lovely. I think if you added umbrellas, you would feel a bit more sheltered on your front and use it more.

    Good luck with the tour! The slushies sound yum!

    Kim:)

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  18. Jody the house looks gorgeous. I would go for really vibrant pink towels in the bathroom. I would get some umbrellas for the deck. I love the aloe Vera plants. Hope the house tour goes well.

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  19. Your home looks amazing! And I really like the orange towels in the bathroom. Sails would look nice on the deck.

    I soooo love those chairs in the room with the folding door!

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  20. I could live in the bathroom alone. *love*

    I like the orange towels, but maybe chartreuse?

    And sails on the deck - that would be amazing.

    Hope it all went fabulously!

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  21. Oh my goodness your home is just gorgeous!! Your kitchen is awesome! You have it decorated beautifully!

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  22. Oh wow, I'd love to live in your house. BEAUTIFUL!

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  23. oh lucky you!! what a fabulous home!! have fun with the tour!

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  24. I can't even imagine living in such a fantastic place!!! I am literally head over heels! Hope the tour goes well :) xoxo

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  25. Amazing! you have a beautiful home!! xx

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  26. I must've paged up and down at least a dozen of times going "Oh my God" while gawking at the photos of your beautiful house. It's absolutely massive! I love the space and minimalistic decor (I'm deathly afraid of clutter). You've done an amazing job (still paging up and down and gawking)!

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  27. this is amazing! i would immediately feel like on vacation in your house. Bathrooms are fantastic. I think orange towels go well, but if you have to try another color, how about lime green? Sort of like the outside wall of your house.
    xx
    maya

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  28. Wow, wow, wow. You have amazing house to say the least!

    How about bright aqua towels for the bathroom...? Or else something neutral like white or grey.

    And I can't believe how you *don't* use your front deck that much! I would - it looks too good not to!

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  29. Seriously, let me move in with you. You have one of the most stunning homes I have EVER seen - love it! :)

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  30. You house is so beautiful......

    xo
    m

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  31. You have a beautiful house, I love it!

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  32. Great pictures! Your place is really amazing. xo style, she wrote

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  33. wow, you have such a beautiful home! I LOVE the kitchen. Hmm, maybe cream towels for the master bathroom?

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  34. I absolutely love your bathroom and garden. Do you guys use shade sails at all like the ones in this article?

    http://www.practicalhomeandgarden.com/sun-canopies-shade-sails-and-sun-awnings

    In the UK Im using them to keep the rain off rather than the UV!!

    I am thinking of the artificial grass though - is it hardwearing when you have kids running all over it?

    Lynn

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    1. Thanks Lynn, really cool article and love how the shades are so fabulous looking too. Wonder if it would create more shade inside?

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    2. The artificial grass was the best thing we did in the whole house. It takes all sorts of beatings and stays exactly the same

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