CANDICE: LIFE IN THE DREAM HOUSE
Move over Barbie and Ken, it’s time for Candice and Drewe’s turn for life in the Dream House!
Candice was well into planning the renovation of her family home when we started looking for a block on which to bring our Three Birds Dream Home to life and, after much deliberation, put aside plans to ‘pop the top’ on her charming (albeit too small) family home in favour of building our very first Three Birds Dream Home on her block.
Now that Candice and her family of five are all settled in their new home, we sat her down to ask her the most FAQs from our followers…
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE FEATURE OF YOUR BEAUTIFUL HOME?
That’s easy, it’s the butler’s pantry for sure. I love how it’s so pretty but it functions so well. We use the dishwasher in there every single day. I actually alternate cycles between that dishwasher and the one in the main kitchen, who knew that two dishwashers would be life-changing?!
I can throw meat in the sink to defrost and it’s out of sight from the main kitchen, I’ve got my coffee machine set up ready to roll at all times and there’s SO much storage. I love how the pantry items are all tucked away behind cupboards so that it always looks tidy. It’s amazing how a butler’s pantry actually allows you to have a clean kitchen all the time.
WHAT HEATING AND COOLING IS INCLUDED IN THE THREE BIRDS DREAM HOME?
Our home comes with ducted heating and cooling. We’ve got three zones, one for the living areas, another for the kids’ bedrooms and the third for our parents’ retreat. There’s also the gas fire in the great room. We’ve been toasty warm all winter and I’m sure we’ll be nice and cool all summer too.
WHAT SIZE BLOCK IS YOUR HOME BUILT ON?
Our block is just under 600sqm. The Three Birds Dream Home is suitable for a minimum size 13.5m wide x 43.0m deep.
IS THERE ENOUGH STORAGE?
We find there’s plenty of storage for day to day living. All the bedrooms have built-in wardrobes and there’s loads of storage hidden behind the cupboards in the butler’s pantry and in both the bench seats. There are three cupboards in the downstairs hallway that we use as a combined mudroom and mini-office. I’ve popped baskets in one side for each child to drop their school bag, shoes and sporting equipment - anything they need to access regularly. On the other side, we keep all our paperwork files and laptops and iPads when they’re not being used. There’s a basket for chargers and everything fits perfectly in here. There’s also space for the handheld vacuum to sit on its charger inside the cupboard.
We’ve added shelves in the double garage for bigger items, like boxes of Christmas decorations and we’ve hidden our shed behind the curved wall in the backyard for even bigger items like surfboards.
DO YOU USE THE THIRD SINK IN THE BAR AREA?
We do! We’ve got three sinks in close proximity in the kitchen, the butler’s pantry and the bar area and we use them all frequently. The bar sink is super handy for washing wine glasses or grabbing a glass of water when you’re sitting outside on the side patio.
DO YOU HAVE CARPET UPSTAIRS?
Yes, we do and I love it! The upstairs hallway is engineered timber floorboards but the bedrooms and media room are carpeted. I’d always choose carpet in the bedrooms, it gives such a nice cosy feeling to the space.
The carpet is called ‘Quinn Street’ from EC Carpets, and is a solution-dyed nylon carpet that makes it hardy enough for family living but it’s soft and lovely underfoot.
HOW OFTEN DO YOU COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR KIDS THROUGH THE VOID?
ALL. THE. TIME! The void doubles as a great intercom system… oh, and it’s a brilliant laundry chute too. I’m always yelling at them to throw their dirty clothes down to me.
WHAT WAS THE BUDGET?
The Three Birds Dream Home that we built in Sydney is priced at $895,100 but it’s best to speak to Rawson Homes, and they can help you with a detailed quote for your block. As with any new build or renovation, there are SO many variables. We have a relatively flat block and built our home around our existing swimming pool. We also added additional landscaping that doesn’t come as part of the package.
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU HAVE CHANGED SINCE YOU MOVED IN?
To be honest, I’ve only changed one very minor thing and that’s just for preservation until we can entertain in our home. I’ve doubled up the rugs in the great room to protect the gorgeous Miss Amara cream and gold shag rug from three kids and a black Cocker Spaniel puppy. I’m in love with the rug so want it to look its best when we can finally have guests over. When that happens, I’ll whip off the top rug and enjoy the beauty of the clean rug underneath.
Other than that, our home is exactly the same as the way it was the day it was handed over. Even the greenery in the vase on the kitchen island is the same, albeit a little less fresh (don’t tell Bon!).
We do a quick vacuum each evening and wake up to a beautifully styled home each morning.
HOW ARE YOU GOING IN LOCKDOWN?
We are feeling totally blessed because there’s nowhere we’d rather be than at home right now. I’m in full nesting mode, unpacking and organising and just taking it all in. We’re loving spending time as a family getting to stay home and hanging out in our dream home together.
WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR GORGEOUS DRESSES FROM?
The dress in the photoshoot is from Zimmermann, one of my favourite Australian designers.
