Landscaping - Part 2

So as I mentioned in Landscaping - Part 1, we used Example 1 provided by Eco Design and told them the changes we wanted.
Mainly we wanted some shrubbery against the back wall so the backyard didn't look so plain, and a path from the driveway all the way to the backyard to make it easier to move things like bins from the back to front of the house easily.
We initially were thinking stepping stones and pebbles for the side paths of the house, but we'd need to deal with weeds and it would be difficult to move things from back to front.

Landscape Plan 1

We are pretty happy with the plant choices they made for us, however there were some changes with positioning that needed to be made.
I didn't want the tree at the front so close to the driveway after bad experiences in the past where the roots damaged the driveway and cost a fair bit to fix up, so we moved it to the right side of the frontyard.
We ended up removing some of the shrubs from the very front of the yard, make it a little more open instead of being so closed off, and extended the shrubs at the back all the way from one side of the fence to the other, as well as putting a few of the smaller ones infront of the tree.
As we removed the watertank (forgot to provide the amended floorplans to Eco Design), we instead made the pathway go around the corner and finish near the AC unit so we could store the bins there instead of along the side (we removed the side door from the garage to give us more room for storage along the wall)

Amended Landscaping Plan

We are a lot happier with the changes made, we hope to spend around $12,000 for our landscaping needs, as we knew doing the concrete paths along the side of the house would be around $5,000 - $6,000.

Outback Landscaping & Paving are doing our driveway already through Eden Brae, so we decided to go with them to do the paths. After looking at other peoples driveways, we ended up deciding on doing a stencil border around our driveway, costing us $525 (exc GST).
They showed us what stencils they have available, and selected "Edge Brick Header 225 x 105mm"

The path on the left hand side of the house (with the bins section) is $2,700 (exc GST), while the side on the right hand side of the house (next to the alfresco) is $2,160 (exc GST). The total for all this lovely concrete and stenciling is $5,923.50 (with GST).

Landscaping - Part 1

We were contacted a few weeks ago by Gavin from Eco Designs in regards to our landscaping design.
The first phase is to discuss what we want and have it drawn up for counsel approval, then we move onto pricing and any smaller details we missed.

It costs $800 to do basic plans through Eco Design - its rather pricy but landscaping is not something we know anything about, so far our experience with Gavin has been positive and helpful learning experience.
They offer sit down appointments and other packages to discuss and draw your landscaping plan, this might be useful for some people:

Landscaping Design options through Eco Designs & Eden Brae

Gavin told us on average the price of landscaping can be anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 depending on the design and features you want included. We are after something rather basic and easy to maintain, so we are hoping to be on the lower end of the spectrum.
The part we think that will cost us the most will be adding concrete paths to either side of the house. We'll be contacting Outback Landscaping & Paving to see if we can have this match our driveway and the predicted costs involved before making a decision.

We were providing with 3 example plans with plant details after our initial phone-call discussing what they can do for us and the process involved. These are the 3 examples:

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

We used Example 1 as our base for our plan as it was the most simplest, currently still working on it so I will post the different variations in another post once we receive approval for our plan :)

Colour Appointment 1

This is where the fun begins! Our first colour appointment was pretty exciting and very time consuming, even though we came prepared and knew what we wanted - we changed some things around From 9am to 3.30pm, we went through the following:

• Plumbing & Appliances (1hr)
• Kitchen, Laundry and WC (4hr)
• External Colour and Driveway (1hr)

Due to our custom kitchen, we weren't able to do much on this day - the kitchen is my special project so I had to make it perfect! After finishing at Home Options Gallery, we visited PGH Bricks to take a look at some other choices with the mortar, then a quick visit to De Lorenzo to see the standard tile and carpet range.

This post will be as in depth as possible with lots of photos to give others looking to build the Livingstone 22 likes ours :) All prices I've listed include GST, to save confusion!

I'll be making another post after our second appointment with all our final colour choices instead of in here, we are still in the process of deciding these - only our bathroom benchtops are 100% confirmed!

Plumbing & Appliances

Supplier: Cooks Plumbing Supplies
Time taken: 1 hour
Consultant: Joanne
Total: $3,972.37

Upgrades

• 2 x CAROMA PROFILE 4 DELUXE BTM/I CC 4.5/3 S-TRAP WHITE S/CLOSE (922413W) - $142.54
  
  
  Looks like the standard, but with a soft close lid
   
• 3 x NOVELLI CARA DIABLO SQUARE INSET BASIN WHITE 1TH (N203W1TH/P) - $127.44 (upgrade price for bathroom and ensuite) and $268.33 (to add to WC)
  
  
  Closest choice to an undermount sink without the price point ($500+ each)
   
• 3 x 32MM C/P PLUG and WASTE (POP-UP PLUG) OVERFLOW (21702.01) - $57.76
  
  Definitely recommended! The standard plugs are very flimsy
  
  
• 1 x BOUNTY POP DOWN 32MM/40MM WASTE (SUITABLE FOR BATHS) (21801.01) - $62.29
  
  Once again, definitely recommended! The standard plugs are very flimsy
  
  
• 2 x NOVELLI MONDO 6 RAIL SHOWER CP (1914/1) - $404.74
  
  
  We wanted something with a larger head and to help clean the shower.
  We asked them to remove the soap holder
  
  
• 3 x DORF ENIX TOWEL RING CP (2295.04) - Swapped out 2 x soap dish holders from the bathroom and ensuit for these, $28.54 for WC
  
  
  There is a straight towel holder available, its about $15 more onto of standard
  
• 1 x BLANCO 400/400 DOUBLE BOWL UNDERMOUNT ANDANO400/400UK5 (ANDANO400/400IFN) - $593.41
  
  
  We originally went with the Pete Evans Double Sink, but it had a lot of bad reviews, so we switched
  
  
• 1 x BLANCO STAINLESS STEEL PERFORATED DRAINER (ANDDRAINSS), 1 x BLANCO GLASS CUTTING BOARD (SILVER) (ANDCUTGCB), 1 x BLANCO STAINLESS STEEL COLANDER (ANDCOLSS) - $363.58
  
  The Drainer and Cutting board are cheaper to buy from powerland.com.au, saved us $33 - better than nothing!
  
  
• 1 x DORF VIRIDIAN SINK MIXER PULLDOWN CP (811012C4A) - $244.62
  
  
  This is the cheapest type of this mixer available from Home Options Gallery
  
  
• 1 x STUDIO SOLARI BSGH95 900MM 5 BURNER GAS COOKTOP W/ WOK (BSGH95) - $294.45
  
  
  Comes with a 3 year warranty
  
  
• 1 x STUDIO SOLARI BSO99 900MM PROGRAMMABLE 9FUNCTION OVEN (BSO99) - $1090.22
  
  
  Comes with a 3 year warranty
• 1 x STUDIO SOLARI RGT9 90CM CURVED BLACK GLASS FRONT RANGEHOOD (RGT9) - $294.45
  
  
  Comes with a 3 year warranty

Kitchen, Laundry & WC

Supplier: Kitchen Culture
Time taken: 4 hours
Consultant: Courtney
Total: $ 16,871.39

Included (as per promotion):

• 800mm wide kitchen benchtop with 200mm overhang
• Eden Brae's BEST EVER KITCHEN, ENSUITE & BATHROOM Smart Living Kitchen, Ensuite & Bathroom Upgrades Kitchen, Ensuite & Bathroom Luxury Stone Benchtop's & Stunning Suite of Stainless Steel Appliances
• Portrait Style Overhead Cupboards either side of Rangehood
• Provide 1No. AFW0636 aluminium fixed window to Kitchensplashback in lieu of ASW0618

 Kitchen inspiration with our type of splashback

Upgrades

• 2 x Bank of 3 drawers to either side of oven in lieu of standard cabinet. Includes Hettich silver soft close full extension 30kg runners. Configuration to be 1no cutlery drawer and 2no pot drawers below (Total 6) - $1,040.40
  
  
  Goes on each side of the oven
  
  
• Provide additional run of base cainetry to extend cooktop run. Colour to match kitchen - $800.80
  
• Benchtop extension overhang to island far RHS to finish around nib wall and near pantry door wall run. Provide 20mm stone benchtop - $152.46
  
  
  Our rough kitchen plans from the day - highlighted areas were covered in this consultation
  
  
• 1 x Hettich Soft Close Drawer Front Hideaway Deluxe 2x40L built-in waste bin (9141828) - $897.60
  
  
  Expensive upgrade from the standard
  
• Swap standard bank of cutlery drawers and single door cabinet on island bench (bin closer to WIP) - no charge
  
• Open base cabinets with shelf, to kitchen/alfresco wall run cabietry to finish 200mm before end of wall to ligh with island bench cabinetry - $1,490.10
  
  
  Didn't have enough room at the entrance of our kitchen to have full cabinetry, so we reduced its width and put shelves
  
  
• Craftwood bulkheads to overhead cupboards readyfor paint. Includes flyover panel above rangehood. Builder to provide plaster, paint and cornice. Joiner to provide sub frame - $646.80
  
  
  We didn't want to deal with dusting the top of our overhead cabinets, this is the best solution
  
  
• Hettich silver soft close full extension 30kg runners to standard bank of cutlery drawers in lieu of standard - $173.40
  
• 20mm Group 1 Essastone benchtop to cabinetry extension to cooktop run & kitchen/alfresco wall run. Stone to be 400mm wide along kitchen/alfresco wall run (above open shelves) - $3,193.19
  
• Polished edge to suit undermount sink, includes 1x tap hole - $520.00
  
  
  While under-mount sinks look amazing, all the little details are pricy
  
  
• Integrated dish drainer: 5 x grooves with recessed drainer - $1,386.00
  
  
  Personally, the grooves look odd on their own, so having the recess makes it look proper
  
• 2 x Hettich Silver OrgaTray Professional cutlery tray to either side of oven - $208.24
  
• 1x Hettich Silver OrgaTray Basic cutlery tray to standard bank of cutlery drawers - $56.10
  
  
  Customizable and cheap! You can get metal ones, but they aren't customizable
  
  
• Additional run of base cabinetry to pantry/exteriorwalls in an 'L' shape - $2,205.28
  
• 20mm Group 1 Essastone benchtop to Pantry cabinetry - $1,606.22
  
• Provide additional vanity cabinetry to WC where existing plumbing is. Provide 20mm Group 2 stone to vanity. Colour - Galileo - $1,047.20
  
  
  Something similar to this will be in our toilet room, see the little nook in the plans above
  
  
• 20mm Group 2 Essastone benchtop to vanity in bathroom and ensuite. Colour – Galileo - $154.00
  
  
  Similar colour to this is Black Truffle, slightly lighter
  
  
• Additional tall cabinetry to far LHS of washing machine/ tub wall run. Internal cabinetry to be split in 2, RHS to be 500mm wide with no shleves. RHS to have standard adjustable shelves - $1293.60
  
  
  Similar to this, could of made it taller, but decided to keep the space above to store laundry baskets

External Colours & Driveway

Supplier: Eden Brae & Outback Landscaping & Paving
Time taken: 1 hour
Consultant: Amy & Shane
Total: N/A

Current Choices

• Monier Horizon Roof Tile: Sambuca
• Gutter: Night Sky
• Front Door & Garage Door: Night Sky
• Moroka & Alfresco Post: Bristol Colonial P196-N4
• Main Brick: Surrey
• Fascia: Surfmist
• Aluminum Windows: Bond Off-white (Surfmist)
• Driveway: Colour on Concrete (Bluestone)

We plan on changing the front door and garage door to a cream colour, the bricks we are tossing up between are Mocha and Gibson (non standard, cost around $650 to upgrade) and with off-white mortar (around $200 upgrade).
Amy suggested we play around with colourtouch.com.au, and take a look at it all together before making our final choices. I added the moroka finish and changed the driveway colour myself, but everything else you can do on the website :)

 Original choice

Garage & Front in "Ironstone"

Garage & Front in "Monument"

We are thinking of doing a stencil for the driveway, something plain with a border, or with a stencil pattern all-over, depends on the cost difference.