Sunday 27 April 2014

Villa Cilla

Hi There,

I had a post in the pipeworks reflecting about ANZAC day and how happy and lucky I feel.

I can precis it by saying I feel happy and lucky.

If (God forbid) I was given a dire prognosis tomorrow, I would be satisfied with what I have done in my life, and where I am now. I have (mostly, barring the odd meltdown) made peace with my past, and I feel calm about my future. I have all I need, and most of the things I want. My relationships are satisfying, and that with myself has improved over the recent years.

plus, on the weekend, we met Tig, the French Bulldog. How can this little fella fail to put a smile on your dial. I cannot even deal with how cute he was...


That's that, really.

Sooo, there's been a bit going on around here. I am trying to get chapters 1 and 2 written before I go away in June. Hence my sporadic and sometimes less than meaty posts.

My job arrangements are changing. In a good way, but there is a bit to get my head around there too.

Preparations for trying for a little 'un are being attended.

And the fella and I have been looking for a house.

That's quite a big thing, I think. Our ideas of what constitutes a good dwelling overlap mostly, it's just working out the nitty gritty that can get us occasionally bogged down.

We have looked at a few houses, and researched the market via the real estate sites. We have an appreciation that the going price of the house is about $100K above the upper end of the estimated sale price - give or take! Cheeky devils.

There are some houses that are immediately attractive, plug and play, gussied up. But I realise that a lot of that is smoke and mirrors. A good interior designer. Use of double beds instead of queen beds to make a room look bigger etc.

What I am starting to appreciate is the house that is a tarter-upper. One that is serviceable, liveable, but not recently prettied up. Not something that needs major alterations to.

I know! I have had no particular interest in interior design before! I look with awe at Heidi's and Naomi's blogs.

Today I actually PICKED UP a home decoration magazine!

And....and.... I made my first trip to Ikea! So many ideas there! It was overwhelming! The cool things you can get there! The choice! We even had the meatballs!

I like the idea of changing some floor coverings, putting a lick of paint on, gussying up the kitchen to what I would like. If the place can be lived in for a few months to get a feel for what would work, before gussying, so much the better.

It would be good to make a place very much our own, with our own stamp on it. It's not something I've done before. I'm excited.


12 comments:

  1. Cilla! You've posted that many meaningful thoughts of late and I haven't commented. Shame. But, seeing that Frenchie puppy has spurred me on! I have only ever bought one house, it was a dog to look at inside, but had a very good street appeal. Try to get that combo. For me as a single person it meant I could sell it a bit quicker (if I suddenly had to) than say one that looked ....errr a bit hideous, which described many of the houses in the bracket I was looking at. I bought just before auctions became all the rage (back in day). I gussied up smoke and mirror style the inside of that house like you wouldn't believe. All sorts of stuff from flea markets etc. I loved it. I am excited for you; such good times ahead. When I met Mr Fascinata and I moved in with him, he helped me move and was astounded at home holes, cracks and dents I had covered with hangings and other bits and pieces. It was funny. Great cracking on those chapters you clever and gorgeous thing. :D x

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  2. Ohh that puppy is so cute!!! We are looking at buying a new house soon too, it's exciting but scary! I just started following a whole bunch of interiors/style etc blogs for some inspiration (will also help with styling our house when we put it up for sale - little tricks like you mentioned above eg using smaller beds hehe)

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    1. ally I think you can hire a designer through the estate agent to gussy a place up. My good girlfriend did that. But welcome to my blog x

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  3. I have been involved in building one house and renovating two. (Oh and a mini reno on our shearers' quarters.) I would strongly recommend buying something passably habitable then inhabiting it for a while before you do anything. Gives you a much better idea of what you want.

    I agree with SSG - exciting times.

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    1. Habitable is Key. I like the idea of putting my own considered touch on things.

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  4. How exciting that you're house hunting!!! The pricing thing is v. frustrating though. The first place that we bid on was in North Fitzroy, and went for $150k over asking. Given that the house was uninhabitable, and priced at $220K, it was a big jump over the estimate. Guess it would be rare to find a place in that price point these days in North Fitzroy!! I think your idea is perfect - I always say the best value is the place that is renovated, in good condition but a little lacking in taste/ dated. Not the flash place tarted up for sale or the renovators delight. They both have people going silly with their bidding.
    Well done on your first trip to IKEA. Can't believe you've managed to get this far in life without going there!! If bub arrives in the near future, I can see many more trips there too (excellent for kids stuff). xx

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    1. $220K.!!!!!.... multiply that by five or 10 and then you are talking. North Fitzroy is near equivalent with Toorak in terms of property prices - the place we rent would be about $1.6Mil to buy - hence I laugh uproariously when visitors say "nice place, is it yours?".

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  5. we are outbid at every turn it is beyond frustrating! Good luck with the search x

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    1. I don't like Auctions- there is a disingenuity about them. Just say what you want, and see whether people cough that up.

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