A Modern Country Escape - from drab to fab!

I have been very quiet on the blogging front as of late - my two little twinnies keep me very busy and I don't want to miss a moment of watching them bloom and grow. So my darling blog has taken a back seat. It feels good to be back here today though!

I loved my regular Feature Friday house stalking posts and I do miss them (I hope you do too!), so even though its not Friday, I was just too excited and have to share this beautiful home with you. 

My sister Serena has a fabulous eye for detail, style and a wonderful knack for seeing the potential in something and carrying through with her vision. You may remember her Palm Beach home I featured here on the blog in 2014.

Well she is now onto her third and hopefully final renovation. 

A beautiful sprawling modern home in the Gold Coast hinterland. 

From drab to fab - a sprawling modernised farmhouse that is virtually unrecognisable from its former state!

The home is a beautiful retreat, with its luxurious kitchen, bathrooms and sweeping views. 
Here are some of the before and after photos for you to swoon over...

BEFORE Dated and drab, the kitchen's layout was flipped to optimise the valley views from the island bench and make the kitchen more open plan

With a beautiful 160 hectare block, she feel in love with the valley views and peacefulness. The house though, was not what they wanted. After moving in, they put a pool in, but didn't start the renovations until a year later. A smart move! It gave them time to ponder on their ideas and plans and perfect it, before jumping into it.

BEFORE & AFTER  The newly renovated ensuite is timeless and classic with the subway tiles, shaker style cabinetry and classic round mirror

BEFORE & AFTER  The living and dining room is a perfect twist of modern, industrial farmhouse. With a grey washed timber look floor, warm fireplace, black accents and timber furniture, its relaxed and homely.

This is the second time Serena has chosen to work with James Kitchens, also referring me to the wonderful team and they did my new kitchen just recently! They totally nailed the brief Serena gave them, with classic shaker cabinetry, a prep pantry, extensive walk in butlers pantry and lots of smart storage. Which we all know is so important in a kitchen - you can never have enough! 

How fabulous does the black Belling oven look? I am so glad she chose a classic black, it just sets off this room I feel. 

The master bedroom before and after - how inviting and divine is the simple palette? How amazing would the hinterland views be to wake up to each morning. From every window and door in the home, there is a beautiful outlook.

The main bathroom is similar to the ensuite, but features a luxurious free standing bath and views out over the ridgeline. 

The pool area is something special. With so much land, they decided to install the pool a little further from the outside entertaining area to show the opulence of space and not crowd the home. With over 160 hectares, it would have looked very bizarre I think to have it squished right up at the back door step as you do see with many residential homes that don't have the luxury of this space.

I am partial to a hanging chair and the one that hangs by the front door here is a beauty - it overlooks the drive and is the perfect place to catch the afternoon breeze. A hanging chair is on my wishlist for my new home!

A jacaranda lined driveway...ahhhh this is what country house dreams are made of. Could it get any more perfect? Imagine driving home through that sea of rich purple!

Outside is truly spectacular too. Not only have they spent alot of time and energy into making inside look fabulous, but they have spent considerable time outside too. They have spent many months clearing sections of land and opening up the escarpment and views. What was a very scrubby block is now green rolling hills and only established trees. It is postcard worthy!

A birds eye view of the 'house yard' as they call it when living rurally. The great Australian dream, a white picket fence, pool and lots of room for the dog and kids. It truly is the perfect country oasis. When I visit, the peacefulness captures you straight away and how homely Serena has made the house feel. The warm throw rugs, textured rugs and cushions - it all is the most wonderful combination and makes you feel so welcomed when inside. She has done an incredible job styling it and following through with her vision and the potential she knew the home had.

The home and renovation has really created quite a stir and Serena and her husband were recently featured in The Gold Coast Bulletin sharing their renovation stories and tips. So exciting!

If you have any questions about the home - 

Paint colour? Flooring? Tiles? Appliances? Styling?

Do leave a comment below, I know Serena would be so chuffed to hear from you and happy to tell you more.

You can see more of the home here on Realestate.com 

Happy house stalking

x

Ashlea

Oh babies! Double the love...

So it's taken a while for me to sit down and write this post. Finding the time to sit at a computer is a rarity these days!

But I wanted to share this overdue post...

Introducing...

Maveric Hudson

+

Tallow Harper

21st December 2016

Maveric Hudson

14:31pm

1820 grams

4 pounds

47 cm

Tallow Harper

14:33pm

1860 grmas

4 pounds

45 cm

 Its been just over four months that these two precious little boys have been earthside. What a beautiful journey its been. A whirlwind, a learning experience, but so rewarding. We are truly blessed to have two healthy boys.

We have concrete & frames! A house update...

So much has been happening with our new house build, I thought I would do an update as a bit of a wrap up for the end of the year.

Here is a little recap:

++ The house purchase settled in early July and we spent about 8 weeks drawing up and finalising the house plans. See the before photos here.

++ Plans were then submitted to the Engineers and Certifiers to make any needed adjustments

++ Plans were submitted to council and we were sent the big approval tick about two weeks ago

++ The house demolition was approved and the house has now been demolished, ready for the new build.

But whilst all this paperwork and planning was happening, we have been busy working on the landscaping, studio building and demolition of the existing home.

So the house started off like this...

- a tiny two bedroom brick home

- an existing concrete slab that had approval for us to build on

before

 Nathan has been solidly working over at the house for the last four months now and has completed:

- a boundary fence

- front retaining walls

- a liveable garden studio

- tree removal

- demolition of the house

Here is some of what that looks like!

House before demolition

Roof was removed - then the excavator took over! It was demolished within an hour!

Pool is in - notice the boundary fence too?

Acreage style fencing so we can still see the bushlands and views from the rear of the home

The finished garden studio

The retaining wall progress and before the front fence was built (above) and after (below)

Foundation blocks being laid, ready for the concrete slab pour

Levelling the ground ready for the concrete slab pour

Saturday's concrete slab pour - where the house used to sit!

For anyone who has built before - you too know the most exciting part is the pouring of the concrete. Finally you can see an outline of where the house sits on the block, get an idea of room layouts and the overall vision. On Saturday afternoon we went and stood and took it all in - it was so exciting!

Yesterday the framing for the walls, ceiling and roof trusses were delivered to site. Today I couldn't help myself, I had to do a drive by and some walls are up - yipee! By the end of the week we should have some serious progress. Hopefully by Christmas all walls will be up and when the New Year comes, we will be ready to start roofing.

Piles of framing and we have progress with some walls

Coopar the site 'foredog'. Can you spot him in this picture? He thinks his job is to sit in the shade and guard the new delivery.

So that's a wrap from me and likely my last blog post for 2016. With our babies due any day now, I am madly ticking things off the to do list and throwing last minute items into my hospital bag. I am so worried about over packing now, I have so much jammed in! You can never know though what you might need. Literally everything is jammed into my bag, but the kitchen sink :P

So thank you, each and every one of you for following along and another year of Glamour Coastal Living blogging and adventures. I truly appreciate each and every one of you who pops in for a read, leaves comments and says hi via my social media. It truly is the best!

I wish you and your family a wonderful festive season and hope 2017 is your best year yet - I know I cannot wait! Merry Christmas and see you all in 2017! xx

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Christmas Gift Guide (+ Giveaway)

Note - giveaway now closed

Christmas and the festive season is well and truly in full swing now isn't it!

I am seeing lots of beautiful pictures of Christmas trees and elves on the shelf across my social media feeds - such fun!

We celebrated Christmas day a little early this year, with a ethical Christmas lunch. Did you see all the details here?

I am super excited as today I thought I would share the ultimate gift guide for those summer lovers who enjoy a day at the beach and turquoise blues...

Plus I have a giveaway in the spirit of Christmas thanks to Sodastream (worth rrp $249!).

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Christmas is about celebrating with those we love.

Entertaining, turquoise beach days, summer breezes, BBQ's...

Icy cold drinks, shady beach umbrellas, floppy hats and sandy toes.

I hope your Summer will feature some sunshine, cheer and lots of merry memories.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

If I was to write a Christmas wishlist, I know some of these beauties would feature!! If you are looking for a perfect Christmas present for your friend, a loved one, or maybe a treat for yourself then this list is for you...

1. Jungle canopy beach umbrella $249 

2. Shipwrecked straw hat $59.95

3. Power Sodastream Sparkling Water $249

4. Uberkate cocktail ring $195

5. Rattan beach bag $70

6. Escape cushion $29

7. French blue sunglasses $89.95

Today you can enjoy a more sparkly Summer - Thanks to Sodastream you can win yourself a new Power machine (rrp $249). Enjoy refreshingly cold drinks, perfect for those hot days on the beach or summer BBQ's - it truly is the ultimate entertaining sidekick. Make fruity flavoured water, cocktails and much more.

Note - giveaway now closed. Congratulations to Anne of "Let me be free blog"

to win:

lEAVE ME A COMMENT BELOW. super eASY!

tELL ME, WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT SUMMER?

For an extra entry, visit me over on Instagram and leave a comment on the competition post.

terms and conditions
1. This is not a game of skill. Winner will be drawn from a random number generator.
2. There is one prize: 1x White SodaStream Power machine valued at $249
3. Entries open Tuesday 6th December 2016 to Sunday 11th December 2016
4. Open to Australian residents only.
7. Entry into any giveaway or competition is deemed acceptance of these terms and conditions.

Linking up with the wonderful Aussie Bloggers at #IBOT - come and have a read at some fab Aussie Blogging talent!

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An Ethical Christmas

have yourself a very ethical christmas

This Christmas, consider buying an ethical Christmas gift, to help shape and better the world we live in.

If just one in four Australians made one ethical Christmas purchase, we’d raise more than $2.2 billion for people living in poverty. That’s enough to provide clean water for every family in Zambia. Incredible huh?

Read on to see how we had an ethical Christmas...

Lunch at the Broadwater

Yesterday I did something very spontaneous.

I skipped half a day at work and convinced Hubby to as well (perks of having your own business I guess, you have to do it sometime!).

We had a long lunch on the Gold Coast Broadwater, thanks to Coles Supermarkets and their Coles Food Truck which is currently on tour around Australia. Look at the view of the Marina Mirage and parklands we were able to enjoy, it was the perfect day for it!

Oh Babies! My Baby Shower

On Sunday we celebrated the soon to be arrival of our twin boys with my baby shower - read about how we revealed their gender, if you missed that post!

I wanted a simple 'do, one that wouldn't be too much fuss. I was concious when setting the date to ensure I wasn't 'too pregnant'. I wanted to be able to still move around with ease, not have kankles and enjoy myself. I was also concious, that carrying twins, being 28 weeks pregnant that I am equivalent to the size and weight of carrying a singleton baby at 34 weeks. So the date was perfect, I was able to still get around with ease and the day was a perfect with blue skies, not a hint of rain as forecast. It was terribly hot though!