So we had our colour appointment and electrical appointment during the week. I thought it would be stressful, but it actually was rather enjoyable. We got through it all much quicker than expected, and I think that was due to the fact that I went in prepared. I had been to visit the showroom twice, so was well aware of what was available. We also had most of the extras we wanted included in our quote prior to the colour appointment. The main area that caught me off guard was the staircase stain. Nothing matched our Spotted Gum floor… We really didn’t know what to do… We ended up going a really dark stain (think chocolate brown) so it’s a total contrast. We have dark tiles in the wet areas so I’m thinking it will tie in with this, and blend with some of the dark parts in the wood floor??? I guess time will tell….
Bricks and Roof
These bricks are from Category 3. We have taken the front render off so went a nicer brick. The tin roof is by Colorcote and the Off White is similar to Colourbonds Surfmist. We (well maybe 1) wanted a light coloured exterior to the home.
The render around the front door, and the feature over the window will be in Limed White Quarter. The cladding/weather board look will be in Lexicon. Windows are in White, and gutters etc in Off White.
The garage door is in Surfmist. I’m very excited for the front facade – very happy with our choices. It’s funny how all the colours start to look the same when you stare at them for so long.
The front door lock was an upgrade. But we went with the above handle.
Carpet – The middle colour – Ocean. Again an upgrade. This is the same carpet as the display in Wollert which we loved!!!
Tiles in all bathrooms and the laundry. Cat 2. We went with very dark grout… Hope it looks good!!!
Laundry – Floor tile, Polar white cabinets (above and below bench), counter top in Moose. Which is a greyish colour. This is laminate, not stone. If we change to a front loader down the track we will replace with stone and extend to run the length of the room.
The downstairs powder room and children’s bathroom has the same polar white cabinets but with a stone bench top in Urban stone. (grey)
Our daughter is after a pink room, so we went for a pale pink – Wisp Pink (second from the top) She had a pink room at one stage in Sydney and she is after it again.
The long pull down sink mixer will go in the pantry, and we opted for the standard on the island bench. We will replace that one with a black mixer after handover. Boutique don’t offer the black tap range. Urbanedge do, and they look amazing!!!
This is the selection of stone… we went with Frosty Carrina (4th from the left, bottom row) (Cat 3) for the kitchen counter tops. Polar white cabinets.
The electrical part went well, it is kind of crazy how quickly it adds up though. We focused on getting downstairs right as that will be hard to change later. We weren’t as concerned with upstairs. Our electrical and colour consultant were fantastic, they were very easy to deal with and have kept communication going which is great.
So that’s the bulk of our colour choices. Now the waiting begins again…
Boutique’s showroom is very small when compared to Urbanedge and Metricon. Metricon have a massive space – it really is huge!!! Everything is on display. Boutique pretty much have a choice of two items. More are available but you have to ask prior to your appointment and then go and check items out yourself. (if you want to see them in person) There are no doors on display, only small samples of stone, brick, toilets and sinks etc. On a positive there was no “up-selling” but at times I thought it would have been really nice to see the options available. As an example: with our staircase, we could choose round or square as the finish on each step. There wasn’t an example or even a picture to show us the difference of how each style would look. No bath or, staircase options on display either. It probably saved us money though!!! 
If you are building, did you find it easy to pick your colours? Or did you fight with your partner? Did you find it easy to stay within your budget, or did you want every up-grade available???
Hi!
So excited to find you’re building the Airlie – we’re looking at building the 33 in the outer East.
Will be following closely
Do you have a breakdown of costs for the additions/upgrades you’ve made? We have a ballpark on the big items we want – big island bench, facade etc, but I’m interested on the ‘smaller’ upgrades!
Thanks
Hi Dom
Was there anything specific you were after? There are literally so many upgrades you can choose from, small ones like the size of a handle to upgrading the stone and cabinets. We pretty much had everything included with our sales consultant, so we weren’t “surprised” at the colour appointment.
Thanks – what stage are you at now?
Jo
Really enjoyed reading about your colour selection. I go through this process in June!! Exciting but vey nerve racking!
It is very nerve racking – I still question many of our choices, but it’s too late to change now. We just had to sign for a hob to now go in the showers (basically a little step) We signed it, but I’m really annoyed as it ruins our ensuite feature tiles which were fairly expensive. But as our house hasn’t even started there wasn’t much we could do. It doesn’t hurt to have a good idea of what ‘extra’s’ cost. As an example, the black taps with Boutique cost more than RRP with Caroma. I always thought that due to their buying power you got a better a deal, but this isn’t the case. Good luck – what house are you building?
Hi there. Love your colours. I’d be really interested to know approx upgrade costs for the tin roof, carpet and bricks. Thanks
Hi Emily
The tin roof was a bargain at $990 (additional)- it isn’t the brand Colourbond it is a different brand called Colourcote. From our research it is still a great brand of metal roof, and didn’t have the $$$ price tag. (Everybody knows Colourbond, but it is just a brand). The bricks were CAT 3 and was $1560 additional.
The carpet was very expensive – it is the display carpet, which is industrial. Not to everybody’s taste, it’s not all that soft from memory but both my husband and I liked it, and we like the idea that it should last for a long time. It was an additional $6500 – a pretty expensive addition come to think of it. On reflection, I certainly hope it lasts a long time at that price.
Hope that helps!!! Good luck. Which house are you looking at?