After many requests our last home tour of the week features my own home! A mix of Hampton and Modern Country style its a home that has my heart. A beautiful family home featuring high ceilings, loads of light and a stunning exterior its definitely our forever home
Who lives here
Luke ( Plumbing Manager), Louise ( Photographer - Owner of Louise Treacy Photography) and boys Lachlan (16), Cooper (14) and Jack (11). Fur babies include two King Charles Cavaliers Millie and Charlie, and cats Leo and Maggie.
Style of home and location
Hamptons Modern Country - located North East of Melbourne on half an acre
We purchased our land early 2013. Plans were designed and then building started in December of 2013. By October 2014 the house was finished and we enjoyed moving in.
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| Our gorgeous block of land with views to the city |
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| Final plans - it was seriously love at first sight |
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| Back elevation |
Tell us a little about your build journey
We actually used to live just a few blocks away from the land and I would always walk around the neighbourhood admiring the gorgeous big houses on the hill. This particular block was vacant and I used to think 'Wow I would love to build our dream house here" One day a for sale sign came up on the land but by the time I rang the real estate agents it had already been sold. Fate has a funny way of working though as a few months later a 'for sale by owner' board was erected - I rang the owner and made him an offer. He actually declined and so I thought that was that. Four months later the block was still for sale so I made him an offer again ( a lower price then previously) and he agreed! It was just meant to be ours!
I started to put together the design of our home using magazines and pinterest. Hampton style back then really wasn't mainstream so I knew we would have to design and use a custom builder to get the look we were after. We worked with a fabulous architect - I pretty much showed him everything I loved and he came back with the design. We hardly made any changes to it at all he was that good!
We then signed up with a custom builder who had a reputation of doing a really solid well built build. We started building in December 2013 and it was ready to move in by October 2014.
Did you enjoy the process of building and designing your home? Any hiccups along the way or things you would do differently?
Yes and no to be honest. I loved the designing aspect - it was probably my most favourite part. Choosing every element and then watching it come to life. Building as many people will tell you can be stressful - its a long process with many decisions required.
Luke being a plumber meant he was in charge of all the plumbing, drainage, roofing etc - it was a huge undertaking but gave us a little more control on our build being on site alot of the time. Working with our builders was also a very strange relationship - all I can say it that they did a great job but their customer service wasn't a high point and unfortunately I will never mention their name or recommend them.
The only thing I probably would have done differently is make some areas a little larger such as our deck and rumpus room. On paper the spaces look large but once built they look different - just a few extra square metres would have made all the difference.
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| Lounge area before |
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| And after |
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| Master bedroom |
Favourite room in your home?
Hands down it would have to be my kitchen. Designing this space was a labour of love and I have to say I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Its definitely the hub of our home and its a pleasure to cook in. We also have a huge butlers pantry with extra sink, coffee area and wall to wall pantry space
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| Kitchen before - featuring 10 feet ceilings, shaker style cabinetry, ceaserstone benches and marble splash back |
A room you couldn't live without?
Would have to be my amazing photography studio. Its a dream come true to have my own dedicated space. It features its own entrance and driveway and is a huge beautiful room with 10 feet ceilings and the most amazing natural light. It also has a full bathroom and access to my office so my work and home space is separated. I specialise in newborn, baby and family photography - you can see more of my studio and work over at Louise Treacy Photography
Any further plans or areas you still need to complete?
Landscaping and lots of it still to go! Considering that we started with a bare block of land we have come along way. We still need to finish our second driveway, a huge retaining wall running along the second level and some landscaping around the pergola area. I still have plans to keep chickens which hopefully be completed by Spring time along with some veggie gardens too. We are on half an acre so its a rather big and expensive job!
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| Winter time - Our backyard is split into two levels - a work in progress at this stage! |
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| Pergola area off garage - gravel needs to be put down and a retaining/ seating area with screens to be built. Our ornamental grape vines were planted this year so hoping over the next 5 years or so this will cover it. |
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| Hubbies huge modern country garage was built last year - my only requirements were that I designed the facade and the colour scheme so it matched the house! Driveway and paths still to be finished plus two large embankments that need massive retaining walls and garden beds |
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| Garden looking very wintry this month - all of our neighbours ugly fence screens have now been painted thanks to my dad! |
Is this your forever home?
Well you can never say never but I will say its definitely our forever home for the foreseeable future. Being a lover of renovating and interiors hubby and I do tend to get itchy feet so we may look at flipping a older home in the future. We have our eye on older style homes in Ballarat - I would love to bring one back to life! Fate had a way to bring this home to us so you never know what will eventuate - will just have to trust in the universe x
LINKS TO LOVE
Instagram accounts: @ourhamptonstyleforeverhome
Photography Louise Treacy Photography
Colours used on our Exterior HERE
Any further questions on our home please contact Louise at ltreacyphotography@bigpond.com
