It’s pretty exciting to be talking about finishing details now after so many weeks of discussing structure and foundations. This week we had our first electrical fix in the bedroom pod and while a tad brain-bending at times confirming exactly where we wanted every light fixture and powerpoint, it was cool to be thinking about all of these finishing details.

We’ve got Matt Slater and his EAV team on board as our electricians, but they’re far more than that – they’ll be doing all of our home security, covering off our AV needs and ensuring our home is a ‘smart one’ with oodles of future proofing and automated features.

We actually found Matt while watching The Block NZ as he was working on Maree and James’ house. We loved what he had to say and the work was of such a high quality that we asked if he’d do our house too.

Next thing you know he’s on site and we have a pre-wired pod!

The cedar started going up on the house today and we fell in love with it. How good does it look!? Pretty cool to see the house finally putting its number ones on and all of our design decisions coming together. We simply love how natural the pod looks tucked into the bush and the combination of cedar, ironsand coloured joinery and lush green foliage is absolutely perfect.

There’s a bit of a wait till the rest of the pod gets clad as need to wait for the window flashings to be fitted and the structure of the glass bridge to be put in place.

Joinery – Fletcher Windows + Doors’ Matt Ironsand Architectural Suite
Cedar Cladding – Rosenfeld Kidson – RKA766 ex200x22mm (161×18.5mm finish)

We got back to Auckland this week after a couple of weeks holiday in Matarangi. And there had been lots of progress when we dropped by the section on the way home. All the internal wall framing was up in the bedroom pod, defining every room’s dimensions.

When we walked into our master suite, we were treated to the unobstructed views from our bedroom for the first time. The builders had removed all the temporary supports in the room and had tacked our huge Rylock windows into place, perfectly framing the outlook. It was so incredible it’s hard to put into words.

We stood there speechless as we absorbed the 180-degree, floor-to-ceiling bush views. The lush tree ferns were illuminated by the late afternoon sun, the giant kanuka trees towered above us and the tui flitted between branches. We had to pinch ourselves that this will be ours to wake up to every morning. EVERY SINGLE MORNING!

It took us back to the first day we set foot on the section more than 12 months ago. On that day, we stood among the bush and envisioned exactly what we were looking at – a tree-filled bedroom and an entire home embracing the natural assets of the property. Such a satisfying feeling to see it all coming to life.

We had so much fun hosting our first ever party at the house on Boxing Day. We built makeshift tables, erected market umbrellas and set out chairs in our garage area. Then in our bedroom we set up the BBQ Kylie’s parents gave us for Christmas – no doubt the first and last time we’ll have a barbie in our bedroom!

Then our families converged and we had a glorious day under a cloudless sky. The drinks flowed, bellies expanded and we conducted numerous tours around the section, explaining what everything was. It was the first time it felt like the home we’ll soon be living in. Which was like five-unicorns-running-down-a-giant-rainbow awesome.

Here’s the latest video update which shows the bedroom pod being built too. So, so cool!