Our overall colour scheme - including our inspiration ...

One of the very first things we did when we realised we'd be building our house from scratch (ie. it quickly became apparent we'd have to go custom build because our land was simply too small to fit an existing floorplan from any of the volume builders) was to consider both the general look, as well as the overall colour scheme, of the house we wanted.

In my previous post you will find pics which show examples of some of the various inclusions or features we're hoping to have in our house - which I think gives a good overall reflection of the clean, contemporary look we're trying to achieve.

This post, on the other hand, covers some of the considerations that happened before that - looking at the colours, textures and materials that I find that I'm most drawn to!


what I love ...

Basically, when it came to deciding on a colour scheme for our new house it was pretty easy.  Whilst in a way it might've been nice to reinvent myself a bit and try out new things, I just really couldn't go past the colours and tones that already make up my current surroundings.

I love nature and have always tried to surround myself with plenty of greenery. I don't doubt at all that my Mum's love of gardening has been an enormous influence on me.  Ooooh, I really can't wait to create a garden in our new place! I've never ever had one before - just LOTS of indoor plants and potted plants out on the balcony (can you believe, in our small 2-bedroom apartment there are 16 plants inside and 18 plants outside, plus a water bowl ... but that's only because we're lucky to have TWO balconies!)

Why so many? For me, aside from injecting some life into a home - making it feel fresh and alive (and if I'm not mistaken, I believe it's also good feng shui) - I  basically just adore the shapes of the foliage. At night especially, each plant I own has it's own beautiful and unique form that creates stunning silhouettes and shadows on the ceiling and walls. So it really makes for a nice atmosphere - whilst also cleansing the air!

So yeah, anyway ... for that reason, it was certainly a must to include some fresh GREEN into our colour scheme.

The rest of the colours we have chosen are also fairly natural ... dark and medium GREY, dark BROWN, as well as BLONDE wood and WHITE to counter-balance these darker tones.

Here are some pics I took out and about when we were first started to consider building our house. Aside from the colours I've mentioned they also show the textures we are keen on: a mixture of 'hard' materials such as stone, concrete render, metal and glass, with timber and green plantings to soften the look.

and yet, I don't at all love this ...

Funnily enough, however, I've noticed that whilst some places we've seen have in fact adopted the basic colour scheme we've chosen (ie. green, white, grey and brown), the end product of that combination doesn't always work for me.  

The example below, for instance, does not at all tickle my fancy.  Too flat, I think ... a definite lack of warmth or real interest - perhaps it's just a bit too masculine or something.  Dunno, I'm no expert on these things - I just know what I like and don't like ... and this definitely falls into the latter!  

 

what colours are going where ...

dark and mid GREY tones

• brickwork for ground floor, including garage
• concrete render to 1st floor and porch
• bathroom floor and wall tiles
• laundry floor tiles
• carpet (study and bedrooms only)
• balcony tiles
• roof tiles
• outdoor paving
• driveway (perhaps)
• aluminium windows
• guttering, downpipes etc

 WHITE accents

• stone bench tops in kitchen, powder room, bathroom, ensuite and laundry
• tiled splashback in laundry
• laminate for upper kitchen cabinets
• laminate for lower living room in-built cabinet
• ceiling and wall paint throughout
• 1st floor concrete render 
• garage door (perhaps - or otherwise an almost white VERY pale grey)

a splash of GREEN for colour 

• glass kitchen splashback
• perhaps a feature wall to downstairs study/sitting room/guest room* 
• perhaps a feature wall upstairs somewhere, either in the landing area OR in the master bedroom

* ie the downstairs "study" is not really a study at all ... it will basically just be an additional room to sit in, read the paper and lazily soak up the sun (it's north facing) - and, when needed, it will act as a guest room (with an attached 'ensuite' - as the powder room has two entrances)

dark chocolate 

• woodstain to front door
• treads to stairway
• timber lattice on the "Shoji Screen" sliding door to study
• timber treads to staircase
• laminate to lower kitchen cabinets
• laminate to front of island kitchen bench
• laminate to upper living room in-built cabinet
• laminate to bathroom cabinets

blonde wood

• bamboo flooring throughout (except bedrooms and wet areas)

The look we hope to achieve ... imagination vs reality!

Imagination is a funny thing.  Just like seeing a film after reading the book, or meeting someone face to face with whom you've only ever spoken to on the phone, the images we conjure up in our head rarely correspond to reality.

And this can often - though not always - lead to disappointment.  In which case, I guess one can only hope that such disappointment is mild enough to be soon forgotten once our eyes become accustomed to what we're actually looking at, rather than remembering the ideal that was merely a product of our imagination.

Why do I mention this? Well, because for just short of two years now I have been trying to imagine myself in my new home.  I've been staring at our plans on paper for far too long, seen too many display homes, showrooms, real estate listings and magazine and web pages that my sense of what's actually achievable, rather than simply what's beautiful, has been all messed up!

It's the first time I'll have ever lived in a place that was entirely of our own creation - not just the decor, but everything!!! So naturally, once you dive into a project like building a house it's all too easy to let your imagination run wild - and way off course - not to mention becoming completely obsessive over such seemingly small things you would most certainly never otherwise notice. I mean, who knew one could actually get excited about toilet cisterns (or in our case, the lack thereof) and kitchen sinks - or even window frames and downpipe colours! Of course, for the most part it's been a fun and exciting experience (so far) ... but at the same time, it's a very VERY daunting and nerve-wracking one too.

You see, unlike moving into an established house where you can blame whatever faults there may be (eg. that shonky renovation, bad tiling, concrete backyard or those dark poky rooms or whatever) on some previous owner or landlord, there are no excuses you can hide behind or someone else to blame in terms of anything that might be dated or wrong - or just plain ugly - when the house you're moving into is brand-new and custom-built. A new and custom-built house is all about YOU! And whilst that might be great in theory, it's a thought that makes me tremble with fear and trepidation.

Sure, to some degree there are always going to be limitations (for us to be able to point the finger) within which we all have to work - eg. to do with the site, the orientation and the size of the land you have; and of course let's not forget budget limitations which will affect everything from the layout and size of your house, right down to the types of fixtures and decor you can afford .  This inevitably - and invariably - leads to compromise; some big and some small.  So, in my case it's bye-bye spectacular void (in addition to perhaps a small handful of other things which I've already forgotten about since making those compromises).

Of course, I try and remind and reassure myself that one can't expect to have (nor is it even good to have) everything one's heart desires ... Besides, if I think about it, I've never actually seen - outside of display homes and glossy magazines - a REAL person living with an expansive void towering above their heads!! ... so I'll try not to feel too hard done by with that wish-list item not having been met.

Which means, I guess my need to inject a bit of drama and atmosphere will have to come from something, and someplace, else ... Humph, if I'm really lucky, I might find just the right thing in Ikea (?!?!) or better yet, more likely from one of those fab vintage and/or industrial stores, which I love to explore. Who knows, if I'm feeling a bit creative, possibly even Spotlight or Lincraft - but I doubt it!

Ok, so then in terms of the overall look we are hoping to achieve (ie.the one that is still in our heads, yet to be realised) I guess you'd describe it as ... contemporary, with clean lines.  Certainly not 'hard' or cutting-edge modern. Just a regular, very liveable, and everyday kinda modern, which - down the track - I hope to be able to add my own flair and personality quirks to. Hopefully, too, it will look a bit fresh and crisp, and light and airy (this will be a bit of a challenge, given the back part of the house, which is where the main living and kitchen is, faces south) ... and, ideally, I suppose a little bit sophisticated also.  Gosh, this is all starting to sound a bit wanky isn't it! Sorry.

Like I said, imagination is one thing ... Only time will tell if all this eventuates.

Meanwhile, so this post has at least a few nice pictures to look at - and not just my late night rambling musings - here are some shots of various interiors and exteriors that have caught my eye, captured my imagination and sparked some inspiration (mostly of houses, but with the odd building, cafe and even office, thrown in for good measure). Hopefully as a collection they offer a glimpse into the sort of look we're going for.

The backstory ...

At some point, I'll find time to fill in some of the details on how we actually got to this point.

Meanwhile, here are some* of the MILESTONES thus far (some of them major and not-so-major milestones) ...

• 10-Aug-2009: land contract signed
• 15-Aug-2009: started visiting display homes
• September 2009: approached building designer
• 30-Sept-2009: last day of full FHOG ($32,000) came and went
• 31-Dec-2009: last day of reduced FHOG ($25,000) came and went
• 30-Jun-2010: last day of further reduced FHOG ($18,000) came and went
• 01-Jul-2010: a slight increase to the FHOG introduced (now $20,000) ... yay!
• 21-Sept-2010: contract with builder signed
• 10-Nov-2010: construction commenced

* Other milestones to be inserted as time - and memory - permits.