Build Diary 14
It’s now mid November and we’ve been back in Bali for around 8 weeks after taking a well deserved break from the build. Leading up to July, we experienced probably one of the most stressful times in our lives so far. Our tickets to Europe were booked, and we had a hard and fast date to work towards in oder to make the house liveable for our house sitter who was going to look after our place and three dogs while we were in Europe.
Coming back refreshed and well rested, we’re now ready to tackle the remaining things that need to be done, especially before the start of rainy season. In the last 8 weeks, we’ve been able to make some really good progress on the main entrance and garage. The hallway is now tiled and we’ve clad the internal wall structures between the garage, the office and the hallway with plywood. Having visible walls, even in their raw state, finally creates a sense of space.
After a massive storm last week, we also reassessed our priorities and started work on the covered walkways with a little more urgency. Hopefully putting a fully enclosed walkway with a sealed roof in place will mean no more rain coming into the kitchen, no matter how heavy the storm! The decision to fully enclose the walkways wasn’t an easy one, seeing it will block the breeze on hot days. At the end of the day though we’d rather be dry and protected form heavy rains than be cool on hot days. This was just one of the (mostly) weather related trade-offs we’ve had to accept so far. Living in a topical country is not always just sunshine and cocktails by the pool!
With all the rain we get in Ubud, the grass blocks that we had laid in the driveway only 6 months ago, have mostly become soggy and mossy. As we weren’t quite happy with the look of the blocks anyways, we’ve decided to transform the entire front entrance area into a huge pebble garden bed and it now looks amazing! The next step is to rework our share of the access road and lay some nice pavers on top of the existing concrete. Hopefully this way, everything will look a lot neater and it will be easy to keep the road clean with a pressure washer.
Inside the house, it’s also getting a lot more comfortable. Sean put his magic skills to the test once again and put together a beautiful bed head, which will also form the back of the wardrobe. On top of the bedhead, we have planned for a timber and rattan screen which will allow the air to flow though but block the view into the wardrobe. We’ve ordered some nice furniture and rugs, and put up some more lamps. It’s safe to say that the entire house is really starting to feel like a home now and we’re in awe every day at how beautifully everything is coming along.
What’s really been amazing since we came back to Bali is that we can now continue the build at a much more relaxed pace, without having any more deadline to work towards. This changed dynamic makes everything so much more enjoyable, as on some days we feel super inspired but then on other days we take time off and explore the island or simply sit around doing not much at all.
We hope that even after 6 months of silence, you’ll feel inspired to continue reading our blog posts and follow our build journey as we come closer and closer to the finishing line.
As always, thanks for reading and supporting us.
Unit next time!
Anna & Sean