When comparing oranges with apples.

Time ticks away incredibly fast. Before we knew it we'd been with Pete's mum for a couple of months, and we were no closer to finding our next home. At such an early stage in our search we were frustrated with the state of the market and the speed at which prices were continuing to skyrocket. What we wanted and thought was totally achievable, was in fact becoming further and further from our reach.

Chatting over a coffee one day, we realised that we were in fact living in the middle of family, and that it was ok. In fact for the most part, it was better than ok! Our earlier reservations of being too close to family had been real, but we began to realise that the family needed us. With ageing parents, we could be right in the middle of them (literally), but have our own space, our own beautiful little energy efficient home, in the heart of town. It was truly a wonderful lightbulb moment.

Now let me explain a few details about the geographics. Pete's dad's house, where we hope to build, is in Newtown and it's the home where Pete grew up. Down the lane, is Pete's mum's house, which was previously his grandparents house. That is where we currently live. So when we look out the kitchen window, we look up the lane to see that huge fig tree and those silvery olive trees, standing in the backyard of the site that will hopefully one day be our future home. So there it is. And here we are, 5 months down the track.

So our imagination ran wild! :)

It's a very exciting prospect to build your own home. It's also incredibly daunting. The enormity and scale of the project. The decisions that need to be made and the fact that, unlike a volume build, you're completely on your own, to navigate each stage. Making sure you engage skilled, capable people to help you on your journey, and ultimately create a finished product that is a direct reflection of your values, your dreams, your lifestyle and your budget. That's a lot in itself.

Then you have to consider layout, orientation, materials, professional services, and the list goes on. Luckily for Pete and I, we have very similar taste in what we want for our home and share a passion for energy efficiency, sustainable materials, healthy low VOC paint products, soft and hard furnishings and a quality, well built product at the end of all of this.

So what about those oranges? Well... in all honesty, I couldn't think of a catchy title so I went with oranges, and as you're actually reading this, I'm assuming it worked! Now that we're on the subject of comparing oranges with apples, I wanted to touch on the Volume Build versus Custom Build topic. Now without sounding too judgey, Pete and I have both had personal experience with volume builds and custom building. Pete being a tiler and having worked for a volume building company some years back, and myself being a builders daughter. We have seen how the different processes works. The amount of time it takes to build a volume build homes is record. With such speed, ultimately something will suffer, corners will be cut.

Of course I understand that a custom build isn't possible for many people due to budgetary limitations, and in all honesty, if we didn't our little block of land gifted to us, we would be in that same boat.

There's no doubt that volume builds are a fantastic option for many Australians. They are not only affordable, there are literally hundreds of companies to choose from all over Australia and thousands of house styles for all tastes and budgets.

But above all, quality is our number one priority. So engaging a builder and designing our own home was a non negotiable.

So here we are, seven months down the track, navigating the road to our very own new home. And the hard bits have already begun. I guess when you are striving to achieve something this epic, difficulties will inevitably appear and are just part of the process. But I feel I should add - we're definitely up for the challenge! We are a united team, we have our strengths, we're on the same page and we have that goal firmly planted in our hearts and in our minds. So let the fun begin!

Excited!