Alfresco flooring

I've always loved an alfresco with timber decking - the look ah-mah-zing! But, the logical part of me says NO. Lots of maintenance (for Joe hah!), more expensive than tiling or pavers.

The timber decking is going to tie in really nicely with the wooden Karndean flooring inside. And it's actually going to make the interior seem longer, as it will look like it's flowing to the outside as we continue the wood onto the alfresco.

We've asked around a lot, and have researched the buggery out of the issue online... and we are definitely doing the timber decking! Quite a few of our mates have it, and said as long as you oil it every 6-12 months (and have chosen a decent wood), it will be fine. We don't have a huge alfresco, so we think it's definitely manageable!

Now for the next issue... WHAT WOOD. We are using the Karndean Merbau inside, which looks amazing. So you'd think the logical choice was to use Merbau outside.

BIG BIG NO!!!!

Why? It's actually now listed as a vulnerable species. The beautiful tropical hardwood species merbau, once so abundant throughout the Asia Pacific region, is today hovering on the brink of commercial extinction due to the increasing demand for luxury hardwood timber products. Unless current trends are reversed, merbau will be largely logged out within the next 35 years. (If you want to read more about this issue, you can check out the Greenpeace article here).

I like to think I do what I can with recycling, looking after the environment and all that. We're going to plan a WaterWise garden for this house, and will eventually have a rainwater tank for watering the gardens. I'm not the best greeny, but I try where I can! So I think Australian sustainable wood is the way to go here.

So it's going to be a no to the merbau. But what are our other options?!

I think the best bet is for us to head to a local timber supplier, along with the Karndean sample, and see what comes close.

Here's some of our options:

Joe's definitely more of the expert with this, so final call will be with him! But from the looks of things, it will be between the Grey Ironbark, Red Ironbark and Jarrah. But now to figure out the costs!!!

I think it's going to come down to us heading down to a timber mill and checking things out, and haggling on the costs.... as we will definitely be building the decking ourselves! (*cough* I mean, Joe and our two dads, with me supervising and providing refreshments, of course!! haha!)

Karndean flooring

I'm an impatient person.... Poor Joe. I'm so keen to drive out to the block every week. Nothing new there, it's still all sand, and titles won't be released til April. But it's nice to look at it and dream! (Until you step out of the car and into the sand while you are wearing thongs or sandals... sand all in your feet, YUCK.)

So I've been ordering heaps of samples! It's like Christmas everytime they arrive. It's FAB. Usually it's just bills or junkmail you get in the mailbox.... now we get presents! FREE presents!

Anyhos, onto this "Karndean" business. It's flooring. And it's VINYL.

Yep, I said VINYL. And guess what! The Karndean stuff LOOKS NOTHING LIKE VINYL. Seriously!! Mind you, the Karndean stuff is way more expensive than the cheaper stuff (you're looking at $25 per sqm versus $70 per sqm, minimum). But, for a fake wood, geeeez it is good!

So, here's the lowdown on why we chose it.

• It doesn't look like vinyl... it actually looks realistic!
• Easily replaced as it uses planks.
• Better wearing than laminate or vinyl - doesn't scratch or mark.
• Better than your average vinyl - doesn't indent with heavy objects on them (planks are super solid)
• All the Karndean ranges have fab reviews (not so much the Knight Tiles but I think they've improved them)
• IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE VINYL!
• More cost effective than wood
• More hardwearing than laminates and bamboos with high heels!

We went into Trevors Carpets to check out the range on Christmas Eve Day. I just couldn't envision vinyl looking decent - it was driving me nuts! (Seriously, poor Joe didn't hear the end of it!)

But, when we went and saw it alongside the laminate, bamboo
and wood flooring...

You could not tell the difference unless you were on your hands and knees,
with your face near the floor!

So we ordered a heap of samples from the Karndean site. And there's an fantastic interactive floor viewer, very handy! Also works on iPads / mobile if you want to sit in front of the TV with a wine or whatnot.

From everything we looked at on the website, plus everything we looked at in store, plus choosing from all our samples.... we ended up choosing.... *DRUMROLL*

The overall effect with larger areas is pretty schweet!

As a side note, we're finding "Karndean" quite difficult to constantly say... so we're renaming it "Kardashian". Has a nice ring to it - "Kardashian flooring". I'm sure Kim Kardashian and Kayne would approve!

Essastone and Laminex samples

Hoorah! First lot of samples have arrived! I was jumping for joy when I saw them in the letterbox, it was like Christmas had come again!

All teh samples!

The high level idea I've got for the interior colour scheme for the house is based around greyscale, with the dominant colour being white, with accents / pops of black, supported with various shades of warm greys and textures. We're looking at the Karndean vinyl wood floors throughout the kitchen, hallways and living areas (slightly dark Van Gogh, probably the Christchurch Oak?).

So, here's the initial colours / textures / materials for the kitchen bench!

Bench top: Essastone Galileo

Bench base & doors: Laminex Chalky Teak

Floor: Karndean Christchurch Oak

Kitchen cupboard doors: Laminex Polar White Crystal Gloss Clear

Huzzah, here's everything together!

Note: I had to colour this a bit to reflect the actual colours, the photo turned out a bit naff.... but, I didn't do a fabbo job recolouring, bit of a rushed job!

So, here's hoping we don't change our minds! Waiting on my Karndean samples to arrive so we can confirm the floor choice (and, go back into the shop to confirm!). We'll also grab some colour swatches to match up the wall paint. At the moment, we're thinking light soft warm grey, with pure white ceilings and skirting boards (and any other frame type pieces, like doors etc).

Wahooo samples!!!!

Our house

Finally thought I should pop up our elevation and floorplan!

Original elevation

The shiny new elevation

Quick note: I've re-done the original elevation in Photoshop!

We're looking at a light Colourbond roof, 'wooden' garage door, two-toned gutters (is that also the fascia thingo?!). We're also adding a strip of slate brick things to the portico as well. (There's a lot of 'things' replacing actual words there, yeeesh).

And, here's the new and improved (read: scribbled) floorplan! We've only had the initial one done and will be getting the new and improved ones soon, where we will chat to our lovely sales rep about what changes we want done. (As a side note, Michael Bartier from Commodore Homes is an absolute legend - we love him!)

The crumpled, well loved initial floorplan

Apologies for the quality - it's looking a little like a dog's breakfast at the moment (I had a sudden fit of inspiration with the landscaping hah!!).

You can view the original here at the Commodore Homes website. I've fallen in love with our amended floorplan - Michael was a real help here with some great suggestions that really suited our lifestyle and future plans.

I'm keen to know your thoughts on these (assuming you can read through the scribble?!!).

Handy links!

I'm a bit of an interweb addict, and loooove checking out everything online (and offline - display homes, samples and the like!). While we're going through this crazy journey, I thought it would be handy for everyone if I pop some useful links in the site!

Check them all the handy links here!