Welcome back to Casa Almora! I hope your holidays were filled with blissfulness and blessings, and that now you're ready for an update on the house.
Planning took a hiatus over Chirstmas and New Years. Surprisingly, I haven't missed constant progress on the plan's evolution over the past few weeks because I've been busy designing and making costumes for my school's annual drama performance. I have to create about 150 costumes and execute a set, along with my co-designer. Only within the last few days has there been any Almora progress for 2014.
The architect emailed my mum her consolidated version of my design that I drew up (a combination of all the favourite elements in the original propsoals), and good news, my sister and I get walk-in-robes! I was really pleased to see them becuase it meant my input was being appreciated. The overall look is quite similar to what I drew, but I don't want to take credit for their own design. The architect incorported 90% of my version (which was basically their work just recompiled) and added her own touch to a few places. For example, a screened balcony, a reconfigured laundry, and open-tread stairs.
However, I changed a lot of it. Surprise, surprise. We measured out all of the plans inside of Almora to gain an understanding of the space and layout. It helped doing this inside the house because it created a more accurate vision. We also measured out potential changes to make. So in conjunction with my parents, I rearranged the laundry from being next to the kitchen to being adjacent to the downstairs bathroom; the bedrooms now have built in desks in alcoves to avoid crimping on floor space; I made the separate WC have natural light; the stairs are "closed-tread" and, reluctantly, against the boundary wall; the balcony was removed; and the middle living room which we dubbed "the library" (only becuase it had built-in bookshelves) is now a smaller reading nook to gain more garden space.
These alterations are still in keeping with the bigger picture, and aren't so drastic as to offend the architect. To be fair to her, the ensuite bathroom layout is spot on, and I had trouble getting that right. As well as the ensuite, so is the main living/dining space, the windows in the lightwell, and the way the existing structure is being used to accomodate a new room with a new purpose.
I've said this before but I want to reiterate that the design has to be right. The house must work for you and support your lifestyle. It pays to plan the nitty-gritty details now in an attempt to prevent hiccups later on in the process that could have been avoided.
Later in the week we hope to meet with the architect and discuss the changes, but also say, "This is it." My family is very happy with the latest plans and would be willing to call them the final option. Hopefully they are, I really want to see them go to council and be approved!
Right now, as I wait for that day (actually, I'm waiting for my Real Housewives of Beverly Hills epsiode to download off iTunes) I am going to design the kitchen.
Ciao!
Xo
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