The finishing is fun, but excruciatingly slow....

I have looked forward to this part of the project so much, but was not prepared for how excruciatingly slow it would be to get all the finishing completed. It feels like everything, kitchen, bar, tiling, bathrooms, painting, landscaping etc. is 95% done, but getting each of the trades to get it to 100% is like pushing a herd of elephants up a very steep hill.

Equally no one seems to have noticed that it is no longer a building site!! I think we are very close to putting up the sign that say's "take your shoes/boots off before entering" or beware of my wrath....

The good news is progress does continue and the Master En-suite has been getting it's finishing touches. Our lovely matt stone bath has yet to be installed. I think everyone is putting off bringing it up from the garage. It weighs 140kg and being matt stone will not be very forgiving to scratches, so they are quite rightly cautious about it getting damaged. I have all the lights for this room, but we will wait until the very end before we install these. Really pleased with our vanities, handmade by Parker & Howley.

Unfortunately the mirrors (below) I purchased from a "luxury" brand turned out to be "made in china" and of atrocious quality. Big lesson here for me. I wrongly though that because I had bought them from a luxury brand and at a high cost I didn't need to check them when they arrived. I didn't want to take the protective packaging off as they had to stand in the garage for a few weeks, wrong decision. When we did take the packaging off and hang them we were appalled by how bad they were. I did write to the supplier, several time, but because we were outside of their 14 day return policy they would not entertain doing anything to rectify the situation, even though what they had sold us was such bad quality the only place for it is the dustbin!! New mirrors were purchased and I checked them within 5 mins of their arrival.

If you have been following along with the blog from the beginning you will remember that back last year we had called in a Gardener to sort out the back garden. They thinned out the planting, put down membrane and installed half a brick boarder. The original plan was to bring them back to finish off before we moved in. However, the more I thought about the landscaping as a whole, I realised that I needed to have a plan that covered all the areas of planting and that the work we had done to date just wasn't going to deliver the garden we really wanted.

I contacted Kim from Landscapes of Distinction and asked her to put together a planting plan for me and quote for completing the work for me. I did consider, for about 5 minutes, that we might follow the plan and do the planting ourselves over the spring/summer. I soon came to my senses and asked Kim to complete the prep and planting she had proposed. And, boy, am I pleased I did! Within a couple of days Kim's team had completely cleared everything, mulched it on site and got all the areas ready for planting. The planting will start within a couple of weeks, as soon as all the plants have arrived.

Even though we knew all the plants were coming out we were still stunned by how exposed we are without them and are now praying that the new plants are of a decent size and will grow quickly!

All electric and plumbing services are in the "Bootility", that's short for Boot Room/Utility. The builders have had the power running through the window for the last 12 months, so this room, despite being fitted out, has been like a dumping ground. So much so that we had almost forgotten how lovely it looked underneath all the rubbish. It's still not quite finished. We have bamboo shelving and a clothes rail to be installed. In the part of the room that you can't see in these shots the boot room bit will be built.

The Bar. So pleased with how this has come together. We drew up a design and our Kitchen Company, Duchy Designs, created this for us. Unfortunately because it is Matt Black, one for and doors and the draw fronts got a bit scratched, which means those pieces, along with a couple of handles still need to be installed. I am really looking forward to seeing this filled with lovely colourful bottles, beautiful glasses.

The staircase is finally coming together. It's still not quite there and yes it's taken a while, but it is really starting to look just how I imagined it would. Carpet will go on the stairs and up into the lounge.

Probably the biggest transformation, since we finished the back of the house, is the front landscaping and the top of the garage.

Much to Mr H's delight the garage has at long last got its waterproofing and it's transformation is now well underway.

Bedroom 4's ensuite was the first to get it's tiles, but the last to get its shower screen. Definitely a masculine theme in here, which I think Tyler will love as he has claimed this room as his, even though he no longer lives at home!

The manifold cupboard which hides all the mechanics of the underfloor heating. As it is on the way to the guest loo which is off the main open plan family room I wanted it to look as beautiful as possible. I had the doors custom made from a company online and the handles are from Dowsing & Reynolds. Plan to put a small coat hook in here so it can also serve as a coat cupboard for guests coats.

Bed 3 Ensuite, which has been firmly claimed as her own, by Tasha, again despite not living at home anymore. With Tasha in mind it has a feminine feel, set off by that lovely pink sink. The light in this room, because of the three skylights, is fantastic. Just a few finishing touches in here now.

Approximately 200sqms of the 300sqms of external porcelain slabs nearly laid! But wow they have already transformed the outside space.

Now the "Cribb Hut" container has gone this side of the garden has been repaired and levelled ready for seeding. Praying it won't turn into a mud bath if it rains!!

Well that's it for now.....

Until next time, stay safe X