 |
| My favourite 'room' in the house - built-in bookshelves in the hall |
We have been in our new home for just over two weeks now, and I wanted to share with you how we are settling in so far. All boxes are unpacked and have been collected by the removal company for recycling, so things are getting back to normal for us.
It will take time to get everything looking the way we want it too, and I have already started a wishlist of items to hopefully tick off over time.
First up is the master bedroom. It is lovely and roomy, and has an ensuite bathroom off it as well as a walk-in wardrobe (I took a video below).
 |
| Spot the leopard-print cat caves just beyond the bed :) |
 |
| Fresh Daphne from my mum's garden - have you ever smelt Daphne? It has a gorgeous scent. |
I recorded this one-minute video of my new walk-in wardrobe. Having a wardrobe space like this is a dream come true for me. I can't wait for it to evolve into my own chic bijoux boutique over time. Ooh la la!
In our main living area, it is sort of an L shape, and has the sofa area as well as the dining area. It is beautiful and sunny and looks out to our open Hawke's Bay view. I won't lie; it's a magnificent view :)
 |
| This little nooks gets the sun from sunrise to sunset; if you can't find the cats, they will be here sunbathing their tummies |
 |
| Non-staged living room :) |
 |
| When we ordered our new sofas (a few years ago now), the store owner told us to get a scratching post for the cats. We listened to him and we don't have a single hole in our sofa (unlike our previous sofas). Having a fluffy scratching post with a bell on it in the living room is a small price to pay! |
I love our kitchen; it looks out over the same view as the main living room. It has a big pantry as well as plenty of cupboards, and a roller-door space you can see on the right. I love having tea and coffee and our cups in there for easy hot drinks.
 |
| Like the house, the kitchen is 17 years old, but it feels brand new to me being ten years younger and and of a higher quality than our last kitchen. I feel so lucky! |
Facing the kitchen is our second, smaller sitting room with a woodburner. It is empty at the moment because we have run out of furniture! I don't know about you, but this is a problem I have never encountered when moving house. Usually it's a problem fitting everything in. It is so nice having plenty of space that I don't even mind.
We are going to go shopping to choose a sofa and two chairs perhaps, to make a winter snug/casual sitting room.
 |
| That's Nina-cat in the photo in case you were wondering (my little photobomber) |
Fiona
You can find me here too:
YouTube
SoundCloud
Amazon
What a beautiful new home you have, Fiona! Thank you so much for the virtual tour and I love your walk-in wardrobe! How luxurious to have so much space! Our homes in the UK are so much smaller, but there again, for a tiny island (when much of it is mountainous, such as in part of Scotland) and a population of around 66 million, space is at a premium.
ReplyDeleteI have now added your blog to my blog list on my own blog, which as undergone changes (hope you can still access it) as the old one had a virus. I like the layout of the new one, and hope you will, too.
Margaret P
www.margaretpowling.com
Please forgive me, Fiona, for doing so but I have no other way of contacting Margaret as her website was down for some time.
DeleteMargaret - I'm still not able to read your posts. Do you have a new website ? I rely on you and Fiona (and Jennifer L Scott aka Daily Connoisseur) to write regular beautiful posts to keep me sane :))
Isn't it funny Margaret, that I moved away from Auckland to have less people around me when other places like the UK would not consider a city of 1.5 million people to be crowded - it is all relative! 66 million people is a lot...
DeleteI'm so glad you got your blog mess sorted out, and it looks beautiful too - love your header :)
Lara, not at all. It makes me very happy that you can feel this space is like a living room to converse with like-minded friends :)
DeleteYour new home looks lovely Fiona and beautiful views. My husband and I are going to have the opposite problems with furniture as we are going to be downsizing soon.
ReplyDeleteGood luck Pieta! Read lots of minimal books and blogs to get you inspired about living beautifully with less :)
DeleteLoved the tour of your home; it looks so sunny, spacious and serene! I especially like all the wood accents. Your kitchen has so much room to move about and work; if the two of you are preparing a meal together you'll never be in each other's way. It really looks like a wonderful house, full of potential to arrange it just the way you want. More space than furniture is rare and so nice.
ReplyDeleteIt would be so interesting, after you've long settled in of course, to read a post about what it is like to move back to your hometown area. How has it changed? Will you run into people that you went to school with as a child? Do you have many family members still there?
Anyway, thanks so much for sharing the photos during such a busy time!
Erina
Hi Erina, that's a great idea for a post and I'll definitely conjure something up :)
DeleteYour new home is just beautiful, Fiona -- I can see why it spoke so clearly to you ["choose me! buy me!" LOL!]. I downsized fairly dramatically 3 years ago & am STILL trying to shoehorn everything in, so must admit I'm envious of your open spaces; I keep reminding myself I downsized voluntarily so can't now complain about things being a bit tight. I really like your home's openness & the fact it's all on one level, making it so airy & spacious. The older I get the less enthused I become about stairs. And all that sunshine will have your kitties thinking they're in heaven (Nina is gorgeous; I love tuxedo cats).
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize until you mentioned visiting your mum that you were from here originally (I think I missed some of your posts this spring & must rummage through your archives to fill in the missing bits of your saga). I second Erina's suggestion of a post about how you find returning to your roots (after you've been back long enough to know, obviously). Thanks for the great update!
Susanne, 'single level, no stairs' was one of our requirements for our new home. We immediately discounted any home that was on two levels. Life is too short to vacuum stairs, go up and down stairs, move furniture upstairs...
DeleteThe cats love the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living/dining area and can mostly be found there during the day. It's nice to have our dining table back as we'd often come home at our old place and find at least one of them sprawled out sunning themselves. So hygienic!
Love all your space! esp the kitchen and dining room, and the closet too. All the windows are great! Yes, please share about coming back to your homeplace. Kay XO
ReplyDeleteWill do, Kay!
DeleteLove your new house! The view is simply amazing, you will never tire of it. And all that storage throughout. And a whole new space to fill. Oh what a happy bunny you must be!
ReplyDeleteAmazing too getting quoted in a U.S. newspaper. That's hitting the big time!
Thank you for our second tour. I once moved into a larger home and unfortunately rushed out to buy extra furniture. The older and wiser me would now definitely live there for a while to get a better feel of what is - and what is not - needed. Much like clothing, really !
ReplyDeleteThank you, too, for including a photo of Nina. I am also a cat mum and love seeing photos of other peoples' pets.
Congratulations on your article. How fantastic for you.
I also think Erina's suggestion re potential topic(s) is great.
Lara xx
This place looks like you! No, not large - airy, elegant, beautiful, with a decor that fits who you are here. I loved your other place but this one is even better - and love large windows. Keep us in the loop as you learn, grow, fit, adapt, and figure out what you want the house to say!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! I am in love with the wide open spaces you have now and the beautiful windows and views. You have planted yourself in such a beautiful place!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! Love the open space and all the light! Enjoy your new space and getting it all set. A little jealous....we move one week from today and I am surrounded by boxes!!! Seeing your beautiful home makes me see a light at the end of the tunnel!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your beautiful new home! And also the interview for USA Today, how great is that? It's really funny, because when I was on the couch the past couple weeks with bronchitis, I was looking at your Thirty Chic Days, where you said "I know someday I'll have a walk-in closet." Dreams do come true!!
ReplyDeleteps Can't wait to see how you style it. Hope you'll show another video.
ReplyDelete