Culburra House: Hit The Deck 25 Nov 2013 12:20 PM (11 years ago)

If you had to pick the top 3 most important must-have features to make a beach house great, we’d guess them to be: a fabulous beach? Check. A glorious view? Check. And a jaw-dropping entertaining deck with an almighty, custom-made, built-in, 5-burner Beefeater BBQ on which the menfolk can carbonise to their hearts’ content? Check. Our newly laid veranda will not only have all that jazz but also be decked out (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun) with a built-in bar fridge, huge, low-slung timber dining table, and a harlequin set of vintage wicker chairs in which to sink with a sun-downer after a hard day’s …swimming, fishing, surfing, crab-trapping, lobster-diving, tandom-biking (you fill in the blank).

And to sit gently, beautifully and conveniently overhead is a custom-made, bamboo awning, to allow dappled shade and soft sunlight to filter through to the relaxing scene beneath… B.L.I.S.S.

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Culburra House: Moosic To My Ears 21 Nov 2013 6:05 PM (11 years ago)

Under the watchful eye of lofty ‘Moo’, Troy and his team have at last turned their careful attention to the playroom and boy, is it going to be a ‘play’ room (and we don’t just mean for the kids)! For those who haven’t made it onto our Culburra House website yet, this exceptional room will be fitted with 2 x sets of triple bunk beds (currently being made to measure as the images show, each with its own bedside power and bendy light) and a first rate Queen sofa bed (rigged up with a commercial grade mechanism and 6 inch inner spring mattress for a super-comfortable night’s sleep!). But, most importantly and exceptionally excitingly, this room will also include ‘the toys’: a 7-foot slate pool table that can convert into a ping pong table, a monster 70” TV, blue ray player and a selection of DVDs and other games. Now, don’t say we haven’t got your best interests at heart!

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Culburra House: Chock-A-Block 17 Nov 2013 6:48 PM (11 years ago)

Oh happy was the day our shipment from Bali arrived, chock-a-block full of fixtures, fittings and furniture. Unpacking and unwrapping each piece, from hulking timber tables to strings of tiny shells, felt like Christmas had come early and Santa was being very, very good to us!

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Culburra House: Bathing Beauties 15 Nov 2013 4:42 PM (11 years ago)

Since arriving by ship from Bali, these palattes of crazy pavers, stone tiles and enormous 2-tonne stone bath tub have sat in the garden, patiently waiting for their turn on the merry-go-round. And sure enough, this week saw the stone tiles eagerly unpacked and whisked into place by an expert hand: lain across the laundry room floor, shower wet room, spreading to the bathroom floor and extending seamlessly up one wall, neatly positioned behind some beautiful tapware. But it was the bathtub that had the most fun at the fair with a ride on an enormous crane, all the way along the neighbouring reserve, over the garden fence and in through the bathroom windows (which had to be specially removed for the performance), before being snuggled into pride of place!

By next week, the final elegant fittings from The English Tapware Company will be installed and plumbed in, rendering these beautiful rooms primed for luxurious ablutions.

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Culburra House: Reaching New Heights 6 Nov 2013 9:18 PM (11 years ago)

We’re pleased as punch with the vast, high ceilings, newly created by Troy the wonder-boy. Throw in some fabulous chandeliers, auction house treasures and towering palms and we’ll have ourselves one super-sized, mother of all front rooms!

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Culburra House: On The Home Straight… 27 Oct 2013 5:52 PM (11 years ago)

And it feels like we’re at full gallop! The house now boasts external AND internal walls (!) as well as a roof, doors and windows, a floor and an enormous new deck, complete with awning! The gyprockers have whirled in and out again, and what a difference it makes having the walls in place! The plumbing and electrics are roughed in, and all other trades are lined up like ducks, ready with tools in hand. Now’s not the time to mention all the custom made furniture that’s also currently being built across Sydney, so more about that in another post.

It’s been a very busy 21 weeks since exchanging contracts: starting with the all important search to find a builder, a draftsman and all other advisers and permissions involved to make sure the house remained standing on the edge of a windy cliff. The main mission was to get plans drawn up AND the DA in and out of council within the 8 weeks between exchange and completion: it took 10 (not bad… considering!) We’re now in week 13 of the build and have only slipped behind by one week, which, given all the variables, is to be expected. Especially since as we gave the boys the tightest of tight time lines to work within, which luckily includes a 4 week buffer.

We’re now zooming towards the finishing line and could not be happier with the way things are going; everything’s looking bigger, brighter and more fabulous than expected. And although we’ve said it before, we’ll just have to say it again: Troy and Pete from Benchmark Building, YOU’RE THE BEST! So glad we found you!

Even though the project has been a lot of work and a colossal amount of organising (that’s the understatement of the century!), it’s been so much fun. For us, it’s like visiting Disney Land every week to discover another amazing new ride, but with an incredible beach as a beautiful backdrop.

Stay tuned: updates will now be coming thick and fast!

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Culburra House: Troy & Moo 27 Oct 2013 5:48 PM (11 years ago)

We thought this shot needed a post all of its own. Troy positioning our Moo (a full scale, Norwegian moose-head light!). Where else could Moo go but centre stage of the playroom, to overlook the pool table. I think he needs a hat!

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Culburra House: Scaffolding 23 Oct 2013 9:57 PM (11 years ago)

This week a network of scaffolding was put up to enable assembly of the new roof, and with the bones of the structure in place, there’s now something to frame the view and it’s beginning to look like a house again! It’s much easier to visualise the size of the soon-to-be sitting room and the glorious height of its ceiling. The builders have been toiling day by day for 12 weeks, and with work due to finish in 5 weeks (lets call it 6!) there’s plenty of time to finish Santa’s landing strip!

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A Clatter Of Platters 17 Oct 2013 8:41 PM (11 years ago)

I’m not sure what the collective noun for a series of decorative plates is, but I feel it should be a clatter of platters! Especially since the arrangement of which was not an entirely noiseless affair! We recently helped a client produce an alternative to the conventional headboard for their newly refurbished guest room. Having sourced a few additions to their previous assortment of china platters, we set about first scattering them on the bed, then aligning, arranging and re-arranging them until a pleasing disorder had been made from the chaos, and our trusted art hanger (with a steady hand) could hang them in place. I think it turned out rather well!

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Culburra House: Fabulous Flora & Fauna 17 Oct 2013 8:39 PM (11 years ago)

Just in case the spectacular view, the sound of the lapping waves and the dulcet tones of children playing on the sand aren’t enough to transport you into instant holiday mode, we thought we’d add a little botanic va-va-voom to both the interiors and the landscape, in the form of some lush, oversized palms and vibrant bougainvillea. Now, you’d be justified in thinking that indoor plants can come off a little…let’s say, ‘Nanna’, but the right plant in the right pot and in the right proportions, can add a huge amount of contemporary Je ne sais quoi! And of course, as any visitor to our Debra Cronin Design website will know, conventional treatments of furniture, decorative pieces, or indeed paint colours are just not our style. So in true DCD spirit, we’ll break with the anticipated white backdrop (so typical in the Mediterranean) and layer our bougainvillea over a contemporary and cool grey exterior.

I can feel a pina colada coming on!