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Living to Scale Sharing warm, earthy interior design ideas, new build tips, and home styling inspiration.

⭐️ The final kitchen reveal⭐️ Swipe to the end to see what it looked like without the walnut panelling from Woodspace 🤎 ...
19/09/2026

⭐️ The final kitchen reveal⭐️ Swipe to the end to see what it looked like without the walnut panelling from Woodspace 🤎 And yes, this is a volume builder kitchen! We just did the flooring, lighting, open shelving, curtains & panelling post handover. We also chose the alternative kitchen layout from Boutique Homes’s Ascot 36 floorplan, which gave us this return with the farmhouse sink, and more bench space for family life. All the little details matter & I really love this space now.
Kitchen design | Australian home | Walnut Kitchen

09/09/2026

I had deep regrets about not doing walnut under our kitchen island bench, I really should have committed to walnut all over in our colour selections as our kitchen didn’t feel as warm as we wanted when we moved in. But we were quoted $950 to change it via a cabinet maker, which is a more than reasonable price but not exactly in our budget. So imagine my excitement when I found a product that was half the price of that and matched our Polytec walnut florentine perfectly? Enter the Walnut (Lacquered) on Black Acouwood® Wood Wall Panels from . For around $400 we were able to get the look we wanted, and even better, add texture, which was what our kitchen was lacking. This has the black acoustic backing so it also helps with sound in our open plan living room and the black makes the paneling pop, matching in with the darker grain of the walnut. This before and after is unreal. I couldn’t love it more!

Also shoutout to our tradie Andrew from Responsive Handyman & Carpentry on the surf coast who helped us out as life is too busy at the moment to be able to do it ourselves. If you need a tradie in the local area hmu and I can give you his details.

Let me know if you have any questions about this one because this is such an affordable and simple way to bring warmth back into your home, and you can use this panelling anywhere in your home. I’m eyeing off our mudroom as a place to install this next!
& genuinely loved
Warm cosy kitchen | volume builder tips | new build | Australian home | kitchen inspo | interior design & styling

These are the build decisions I’d make again without hesitation (number 3 is the one everyone always asks about)Building...
01/09/2026

These are the build decisions I’d make again without hesitation (number 3 is the one everyone always asks about)

Building The Wattle House taught us a lot, but these are the calls that I feel have paid off the most. Higher ceilings changed the whole feel of the house, and the warmer white walls stop it from feeling stark or cold. Our alternate kitchen layout with the large farmhouse sink was one of the best upgrades we made, we use this kitchen so differently because of it.

Doing our own lighting and mirrors meant we got way more choice for the price. Splurging on tiles instead of going cheap made such a difference too, cheaper tiles have so much more height variation once they’re actually laid. That’s why they never quite look as good.

Changing the floorplan to fit a proper mudroom is one of those small tweaks that makes a daily difference. And the facade, while it cost more, is the reason this doesn’t feel like a volume build. Mind you, some days I do question how much it cost 😭

Save this for your next selections appointment so you can budget for some of these extra items. They are worth it, I promise.
Volume build | new build tips | home upgrades | new build journey

At home with my new Kip&Co goodies. The Portofino swirl vase, the blue robin water carafe & the sweetest spotty candles ...
31/08/2026

At home with my new Kip&Co goodies. The Portofino swirl vase, the blue robin water carafe & the sweetest spotty candles 🕯️

Build regrets incoming! Lucky I don’t have too many, but if I’m being honest there are a few decisions that still bug me...
29/08/2026

Build regrets incoming! Lucky I don’t have too many, but if I’m being honest there are a few decisions that still bug me. The taupe behind our island bench instead of walnut is a perfect example of sticking to your vision! Somehow I still talked myself out of it during the selections process.
Some of these regrets are small (like why didn’t we add an extra water tap outside?) and some were more about us not specifying the exact measurements we wanted (so important). Also cream carpet with three boys and landscaping in winter? That one makes me laugh the most 😂
If you’re mid build or about to start one, save this post for your selections appointment 🙌🏽
New build tips | Australian home | new build regrets

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Geelong, VIC

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