New Home Tour

We found out yesterday that the home we wanted is ours!  We have been on tenterhooks the past couple of weeks not knowing if we would get it or not (we placed a back-up offer).  I feel sad for the other people (they hadn't sold their house) but happy for us.  Now we have somewhere to live next month when the new owner takes over our current home!

I am so excited to take you on a tour of our new home.  These are the real estate agent's images, so the furnishings aren't ours - yet!  I can't wait to see it with our furniture installed and I know the cats will be so happy with their new country surroundings.  Where we live now is a built-up area in the city and most homes have cat(s).  One of ours is not a fan of other cats so she spends most of her time indoors, nervous nelly that she is.  I am hoping they will become rosy-cheeked country cats with plenty of fresh air and sunshine on their fur when we move.

This property ticked all the boxes for us - low-maintenance materials, new-ish, good quality, rural setting where you can't see or hear the neighbours, a stunning view across the vineyards below... We have four acres and this includes a paddock which we can lease out or graze.  I haven't seen them yet but apparently there are plenty of fruit trees established - plum, feijoa, mandarin, orange, lemon, loquat, fig and apricot.  How glorious does that sound?  I really want to get some hens for our own eggs too.

I love the palm trees; I think they give it a resort feel.  The house and grounds are so neat and well-maintained which will be lovely to move into.  I know there are people who love a doer-upper to add value... I am not one of them.  It would just bring on a major depression in me.  I'm so glad my husband and I agree on this.

This is our main living area.  I love the double doors.  Whenever I see someone opening double doors into a room on a movie I swoon.  Now I can do it myself :)

The dining area is in the same room.  I will never tire of that sweeping view across Hawke's Bay.

Our kitchen has a sitting area off it, and there is a woodburner already installed.  Having a woodburner was on our wishlist too.

The door below goes through to the living room.  See the vent in the ceiling above the woodburner?  Warm air is taken in there and circulated around other rooms in the house.  Nice!  And there is a wetback too, which means the woodburner heats our hot water when it's going.

This is our front door entrance area.

And the master bedroom below.  There weren't photos of them, but we have an ensuite with twin basins and a walk-in closet off this room.  A walk-in closet!  Two basins!  So exciting.

This house is big.  It's twice as big as our current home and there is only my husband and I and our two cats.  You might wonder why.  Well, I've always dreamed of living a minimal life in a home with lots of space around me, both the house and the surroundings.  Same with a walk-in closet- I desire to have a curated minimalist(ish) wardrobe within a luxurious space.

Plus there are many uses for our 4-5 bedrooms:  our room, 1 or 2 guest rooms, a sewing room, wine room for my husband, office, gym.  We will work out which room is for which, such fun.

Just in case you think we've won Lotto (we haven't, plus I don't buy tickets); having moved out of the hot housing market of Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, we have traded a very average 3-bedroom home on a half-section with neighbours so close we can hear their television, for a high-quality much larger home on four gorgeous acres in our desired wine region of Hawke's Bay.  Hawke's Bay is certainly rising in price just like anywhere else, but not to the extent of a big city.  Our new and old properties were very similar in price.

We aren't just moving because our money will go much further though, although that is a big part of it.  We also want to live a slower, more peaceful life without daily traffic congestion, too many people in too smaller space and all the sorts of things you get with big cities.  As with most smaller towns, there is much more of a laid-back vibe in Hawke's Bay and everyone we've met is so friendly which we think is down to having less daily stress.  It is noticeable.

The front part of our new home below; our view is to the left of this photo.

I hope you have enjoyed a tour of our new home.  We move next month and I cannot wait to share photos with you once we move in, showing how well our sofas go here, and how happy the cats are!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend.  I think we will celebrate; what are you up to this weekend?

Fiona

PS. Listen in to the first interview I ever did here.  I recorded it almost three years ago with a lovely Canadian lady.  I had a lot of fun even if I did feel that she was far more savvy than I was.  I didn't know to ask for a list of questions so that I could at least make some notes.  It was an hour of pure terror with questions thrown at my stage-fright brain, but I survived!

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