DreamtoDwell

DreamtoDwell Our home Reno journey. Documenting our home redesign adventure.

15/09/2026

And now we’re onto internal paint!

This is only the primer coat inside, but already I’m loving how much more finished the house is starting to feel.

We’ve gone with Natural White throughout the entire interior and I’m really happy with how seamless it feels across all the different spaces.

Outside is also coming together in Monument, and I’m loving seeing the different textures of the cladding and blockwork work in the same colour.

We’ve used Bromley Decorators for our professional painting and the finish so far has been excellent.

Still a little way to go, but paint is making a BIG difference!!

14/09/2026

Well… that was closer than I would have liked 😅

We ordered 110m² of our engineered timber flooring, including the recommended 10% allowance for wastage. Then, as the build evolved, we decided to carry the timber into a couple of extra spaces.

Turns out those “little” additions add up.

Thankfully we had enough — because when your flooring has travelled from China and been custom stained for your home, ordering a handful of extra boards isn’t quite as simple as popping back to the supplier.

Now that it’s all down though… I’m SO happy with it. The custom colour was one of those decisions I was nervous about until I could finally see it across the whole space, and it has turned out exactly as I’d hoped.

02/09/2026

Painting wasn’t the plan for this week… but at least we can tick this one off the list..

It’s amazing how different a colour feels when you go from one small wall to almost the entire exterior. Three coats later and I still love the white, but WOW there is a lot of it right now!

I’m trusting the process though. Once all the landscaping goes in and we start adding the other exterior elements, I think it’s going to completely change how this side of the house feels.

And if you’re painting old textured brick — learn from us and get the right roller from the start. The difference was huge!

24/08/2026

Sometimes clearing one job just reveals another one 😅

We finally got our side access back… only to uncover a wall that needs some SERIOUS prep before we can paint it.

So we started with the easier one instead — and finally committed to Dulux Feather Soft for our existing brick.

One coat in and I think we made the right call 👏🏼

24/08/2026

Day one of our DIY week didn’t quite go to plan 😂

But we weren’t wasting a day onsite, so we changed direction and finally committed to an exterior paint colour.

We’ve used Dulux Australia Natural White throughout the house and on our new render, but wanted just a little more depth against the existing brick.

Feather Soft was the winner 🤞🏼

First coat is on and I’m already feeling VERY relieved about that decision.

Tomorrow in daylight will be the real test…

14/08/2026

Turns out, choosing fewer paint colours can save you more than just decision fatigue.

Using one colour throughout our interior significantly reduced our painting quote — less complexity, less wastage and less labour changing between colours.

For us, that’s Dulux Natural White throughout, with Monument doing the same job across the exterior cladding and blockwork.

Add in a few strategic DIY areas and we’ve managed to bring the cost down without holding up the build.

Another little build decision I didn’t realise could make such a difference.

12/08/2026

Importing from China is one thing. Working out what to do with it all when it arrives is another.

We’ve had our joinery sitting in the garage waiting for the build to catch up, and now we’re finally getting close to installation.

Some pieces arrived assembled, others are boxed and labelled back to our CAD drawings — which I’m very grateful for looking at this garage.

Plaster this week, then it’s time to start putting it all together.

10/08/2026

Another building lesson learnt — timing is everything.

Last weekend I thought we were officially finished with insulation. Turns out the aircon ducting had other plans.

Some of the ceiling insulation I’d just paid to have installed now needs to be installed again. Great.

On the upside, our fully zoned Daikin is going in and we’ve kept the vents in the main living area as minimal as possible.

Between the insulation and zoned aircon, we’re trying to make the house as energy efficient as we reasonably can. Solar and a battery are part of that plan too — we just haven’t tackled that decision yet.

Plaster starts Wednesday and I’m still racing the clock on one last timber decision before then.

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Newcastle, NSW
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