It's been 3 weeks now and we have set up a couple of the bedrooms, Nick's office and the main living area ... everything else is still in need of unpacking and arranging but all in good time :-) Last weekend was spent laying 200m2 of turf - our strategy for simple weed free gardening this year. We can tinker around with flower beds etc in the months and years to come.
And, the verdict so far:
The heating system is taking a little getting used to, we already managed to lock ourselves out of the hot water controls by putting it into holiday mode accidentally and we've decided we'll get the extra hot water loop hooked up (it was installed but not connected) - hot water will be constantly moved around the loop so it is quickly available at all the taps. At the moment we are having to run the taps in the kitchen and main bathroom for some time before the hot water comes through.
The spaces feel great, the light is just fantastic and all the natural finishes look and smell fab (shame we have to mess up the clean lines with all our clobber but we're not really the minimalist sorts).
Being able to open up the folding doors to the greenhouse, the sliding doors from the main living area and the back door out to the patio is amazing and really blurs the inside/outside divide. Temperature-wise on the scorching hot days when we first moved in, while the house didn't feel exactly cool we opened up the rooflights and a few of the downstairs windows and the air moved through the house very nicely keeping everything feeling comfortable. Since then we've had a lot of dull and rainy days, some even rather cool and the house has stayed warm into the evenings and we've been able to throw open the windows during the days.
The oven and hob are very good to use although I still need to buy a couple of new pans for induction cooking. The larder is working well and I have plenty of space in the kitchen for everything except all my herbs - i'm still thinking about that one. Our old dining room table works very well as a kitchen table and we just need to fit a shelf above it for the microwave. The yellow kitchen got a last minute re-paint and is now a more mustardy, rather than lemon yellow.
Still loving the hall and landing with our gorgeous wall, and all the beautiful views from the house, and the feeling of privacy with all the mature trees and hedges.
... I can safely say WE LOVE IT.
Lucky you can't smell the newly dredged pond! The back garden looks great with turf down with the 2 fruit trees provide the perfect place for a hammock and some good shade.
Bewley lives in the field just over the road. Chris who owns him is on holiday this week so I took him out for a hack today. I really did feel transported back to my teenage years in so many ways - weird!
Fabulous family, right on our doorstep. Mum, Lawrence, Rachel, Iris and Jasper with Nick this afternoon.