The Pool and Living Areas

Okay, so I'm a day late. Had to take DD6 to the doctor's yesterday and give her lots of cuddles. Anyway, as promised, here is the pool...

It's about 8 metres by 3 metres and totally private. Absolutely gorgeous to swim in all summer long! The girls hop in almost every afternoon when they get home from school (just don't tell their teachers that is the real reason their homework doesn't always get done! lol!)

It is at the end of the lovely big verandah which runs the full length of the house at the front, opening up to gorgeous views of the valley and the gently hills behind. We also have a gazebo just near the pool where DH has built the wood fired pizza oven, a tandoor oven, a charcoal grill and a brick bbq. Yes, we LOVE our food!

Inside, the living area is enormous. Originally we only had the lounge in here, but after the kitchen renovation, we moved the dining table and buffet with hutch in here too. As you can see, there is HEAPS of room even though the table is massive.

There is room up near the kitchen for a regular sized dining table if you prefer to separate them, but I have my big 6 foot fish tank there! Also, if you look in the corner behind the table, you can see the wood fire place. It heats the house up beautifully in winter and so we don't have to spend a cent on electric or gas heating! Very economical!

The house has 4 bedrooms, 2 of which are almost twice the size of a regular double bedroom. One of the normal sized rooms has an ensuite with shower,

and the upstairs one is so cute with it's pitch roof. It would make the most adorable little nursery!

Our room is ridiculously big. I use the nook by the door for my office and also have room for a sewing table. We also have room in there for a recliner couch, 3 chests of drawers and a shelving unit! The views out the front window are positively gorgeous. I've taken down the curtains because I love waking up in the morning to the view of the mountains with the mist hugging them with their peaks poking out the top. It is positively breathtaking! (Can you tell how much I love this house???)

And yes, all 3 photos are of the one room. Needless to say, we didn't pick the colour scheme, we just never got around to repainting!

The girls share a bedroom downstairs as they share all their toys and love to be together. We have tried them in their own rooms a couple of times, but it never lasted. As you can see, despite all their toys, there is still plenty of room!

So all in all, you can see what a lovely family home it is. We will all miss it as it has been a wonderful home and the girls have loved having the cubby house, chickens and ducks! At least we are taking the birds with us! The gardens are stunning too. DH has done a wonderful job with all the native landscaping and we have put in a plethora of plant trees in addition to the 2 large veggie patches.

For further details, please call our agent Katherine Faircloth from The Edge, Coffs Harbour.

We're Up For Sale!

We finally bit the bullet and put our gorgeous home up for sale. It will be sad to say goodbye as it is certainly the most beautiful home we have ever lived in, but it is just too far for DH to travel to work (120km) with the price of petrol going up so much.

Here is a little glimpse...

I'll start with my favourite room in the house - the kitchen! It is only about 18 months old as we put it in when I started Orara Valley Cakes. Compliments of my crappy shoulder, I've had to give up my dreams of a super yummy cake business, but now the kitchen is there for someone else to make their own. I love, love, love the induction cook top. I am DEFINATELY putting one in my next house! For someone who absolutely swore by gas, I never thought I'd like an electric stove, but they are truly amazing. No more double boilers, yep, I can melt chocolate straight in the pan, and water comes to the boil faster than in the kettle!

The big work bench is awesome, and having the tempered glass panel on the benchtop is great. I can cut straight on it, roll out dough and use a dough scraper, use metal cookie cutters and not have to worry about making any scratches or chips in the bench surface. Pretty important if you had of seen the mess I made to my last counter top! It also doesn't stain if you spill food colouring!

Down the other end of the kitchen I have my double fridge space - big enough for 2 full size fridges, 2 full size wall ovens so I can be cooking 2 things at different temperatures at the same time, more bench space and storage, and best of all, 2 pantries!

I am REALLY going to miss my big walk-in pantry!

The glass splashbacks, I have decided are an absolute must too! No more grout getting gungy, and it is so easy to keep clean. Everything just wipes off without staining - even bolognaise sauce! I chose the red because DH has planted waratahs all along the front of the house, so when they are in flower, the red colour carries through from the kitchen out the window and into the garden.

Tune in tomorrow to check out the swimming pool and the living areas....