My stuff is in, the basic stuff is in place where I can find it; the exterior is going to do the job (keep the weather and wildlife out) and the climate control is going to do it's thing (heating, cooling, water, plumbing).... my bed is clear and the shower and stove and toilet and fridge work. I LIVE here. That's what makes it home. I agree Chooky, my last move was past a nightmare and took us two years to physically recover from. I'm not moving again. One high point about it being ours... is planting a lilac tree if there isn't one there. Last place before this, we bought a little lilac in a pot with one flower stalk; and it was going to snow right after so we put it in the living room for the few days, and it BLOOMED and smelled up the whole living room. It got planted 10 feet away outside and when we left there it was well established and doing purple majesty every spring. We planted lots more trees before we left there. Here we planted trees too. So maybe that's it. It's home when we can plant trees. A legacy for after us. (giving flowers, fruit, shade, shelter...) Putting the roots down, literally.

Hi Sally, not sure where/how to message you other than here. LOVE your house! It is going to be beautiful! - Looks very much like you are going to have to do the same sorts of things that we have too. ( BTDT with the lifted floorboards and view to the ground!) Is your house on sandstone piers too? In our case we did not have to do anything with the internal piers but we did need to lift one side of the house by about 20 cm. We haven't had to remove all our wall cladding as you have done. And we were lucky - the only remnant of lathe and plaster was a small part of the hall. And we are lucky with the ceilings too We haven't had to take them our as you have. And as they are so high we can plaster over where we need to repair - even in the hall where the fist sized crack in the ceiling has closed as we hoped it would. Your boards look magnificent - will you be able to relay them once the restumping is done? I would imagine that they would be hard to replace. Your place is the total opposite of ours though for all that they areboth old country homes. Ours is a cool climate house - located in the Huon Valley (Tasmania) - and big - 24 squares (with an additional 6 squares in deck). Not sure off-hand how big our block is, - but certainly not 1.25 acres! Large block by today's standards though. Tucked into the back of the block since it was originally part of the larger church grounds. So, as is unusual for a house of it's type, the front yard is much larger than the back. There are other similarities between us it seems. (It is just us at home too ...though in our case the pet is a rather senile feline! ...and as to how we came to be restoring the largest house that either of us have ever lived in at a time in our lives when most are downsizing, - well that is another story!) Our latest project is the repair of the bay window in the lounge...(when I say 'we are doing this' - I actually mean that HE is doing it, and I am providing help in the form of lots of encouragement! Must get my act together and post some of our pics. Will you keep putting yours up? I would love to see what you do with your house.

Bit late now to comment, I guess, but would like to share that we are contemplating the plans on a government website for a sustainable home. Have actually got to the point of getting prices to build. It is 3 bed and study but we have changed the front bed, making it larger for a separate media room. The study is large enough for a bedroom and we plan to install a wall bed with desk. Have changed the kitchen to incorporate a walk in pantry. Love the master bed suit which has a passage to the en suite which contains the only bath so could be used by anyone. Guests usually only shower and they are provided with a shower and toilet in their area. Works for us! The plan is free and changes are allowed.

Hi This house has recently been built and I love it. Would anyone know what you would call this style? I am thinking Hamptons.