Showing posts with label Home and Living. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Home and Living. Show all posts
So, as someone that has just bought my own Taylor Wimpey house (yes thats right yippeee) I was searching everywhere for information on optional extras, the choices you get as 'standard' or on top, and of course how much is it going to cost me.

I couldn't find this information anywhere, therefore after my options meeting, I made a few notes and took a few pictures to be able to show you what I bought and how much it cost me! I hope this post helps you in some way!



First of all, I want to say that please don't take my word for it. Prices change and vary apparently across the different developments. Different developments have different incentives, so I am simply talking about my experience of buying a Gosford property - 3 bed semi-detached and the extras/incentives I was given.

The Beginning of my Taylor Wimpey journey

So, I rocked up to one of the Taylor Wimpey developments as it was half way being built. Apparently this was a good move as I have heard when they first start building, house prices are at their highest due to demand!

credit source: https://www.taylorwimpey.co.uk/


Once sitting down and having a chat with the sales manager, she listed 5 'Gosford' properties (the house in my price range and 3 bed) that had been released by the project developers and therefore up for sale. They were still building the rest so don't release them to potential buyers until certain dates. All of these 5 properties were the exact house I wanted, however one small downfall they had north facing gardens and received very little sun light. This was a priority for me - sad I know, but I really did see how important it was when living in my previous property with no sunlight.

However, I thought i'd go and meet the developers and have a look round anyway. When I met him, I told him my thoughts on the north facing garden and he shared with me the whole plan for the rest of the development. He shown me all of the other 'Gosford' properties he will be building, when they plan on being finished, and which ones had the best plots/south facing garden.

Well, this was extremely nice of him and something I would recommend you ask to see. Because initially they aren't supposed to show you this. At the end of the day, they want you to buy one thats already been released! However, I was happy to wait for the perfect one!

Well, he pointed out that if I waited just another 3 months I could have what he recommends to be the best Gosford 3 bed property on his development. Not only did it have a South Facing garden, but it also had a bigger garden area as it sits on a corner and a double drive along the side of the house. This is something that not all Gosford houses have, therefore for the same price I knew it was something to go for. Immediately, I put down my £500 deposit and reserved that plot!

Credit source: https://www.taylorwimpey.co.uk/ 


Note: When it comes to reserving the plot you have to put down a £500 or £1000 deposit immediately. For those buying through help to buy (like me) it is £500 and for the rest, it is £1000. You do however, get this back once you have completed the buying process.

Credit source: https://www.taylorwimpey.co.uk/ 

MY Taylor Wimpey Incentives

credit source: https://www.taylorwimpey.co.uk/find-your-home/england/south-yorkshire/auckley/westlands 

When it comes to Taylor Wimpey incentives, I have heard of so many different stories. From free carpets, to top of the range kitchens and even free blinds fitted throughout. However, I am here to share my experience and what I was offered.

So, as a standard Taylor Wimpey offer their customers (or me anyway) a standard kitchen which comes with an oven, hob and extractor fan, fridge/freezer, dish washer and washing machine, carpets or standard flooring throughout, tiles half way up the bathroom, fencing and turf in the garden, and small things such as a light at the front door. However, recently they have changed their approach.

Many house buyers already had their kitchen appliances or want to have their bathroom done privately so Taylor Wimpey have now priced all of the standard incentives up and provide you with a  voucher of that value to spend it however you like.

I was given a £4500 voucher to spend on my kitchen appliances, floorings throughout, tiles, and upgrades on doors, handles or taps maybe. After a bit of debating on a personal issue, they actually upped this to £5000 for me which gave me an extra £500 to spend.

Having carpets, a fully fitted kitchen, and tiling in my bathroom certainly is a great incentive when buying a new build as we all know how costly this can get!

How much are Taylor Wimpey extras? 

Of course, I don't have a full list and breakdown of all of the costs for Taylor Wimpey extras. However, I do have a list of the extras I chose for my Gosford house and how much they cost me. 

Taylor Wimpey carpet choices:


Taylor Wimpey carpet prices aren't cheap so often people go elsewhere. I however was happy with the standard/less pricey options which you can find here...

























I chose the last carpet which is called Stone and had this fitted up the stairs, on the landing, and in all 3 bedrooms. 

Stone carpet price breakdown:

  • As a standard you have to pay £98 to have your doors to be adjusted for the carpets - £98
  • Stairs and landing in the stone carpet - £238
  • Bedroom 1 - £256
  • Bedroom 2 - £199
  • Bedroom 3 - £154
As you can see, I decided to go with the last carpet in the whole of upstairs (other than the bathrooms and en-suite of course). It went well with the white walls and of course isn't too light to show up every mark.

Taylor Wimpey wooden flooring/vinyl choices:


When it came to my downstairs flooring options, such as my living room and hallway - most people choose to have the same carpet. However, I am a huge lover of wooden floor with thick rugs. Wooden floors again at Taylor Wimpey are very price, therefore in the end I decided go for a wooden floor effect vinyl to go throughout the whole of my downstairs.

This included in my hallway (as you enter), in the living room, downstairs toilet and upstairs bathroom/ensuite and through to the kitchen. Having consistent flooring throughout makes it appear bigger and more spacious! This is the flooring I chose...


This is called Noma Nature!

Wooden floor effect vinyl breakdown:

  • Hallway and cupboard - £97.00
  • Downstairs toilet  - £55.00
  • Lounge - £300
  • Kitchen - £632
  • Bathroom 1 - £74.00
  • Ensuite - £87.00

Taylor Wimpey Kitchen Appliances costs:

I absolutely love the ALL white kitchen look with all of the appliances built in. When pricing this up I was extremely nervous because I knew it weren't going to be cheap and will probably push me over my £5000 voucher. However, you'll be surprised to hear it didn't. I had money left off! 

I chose (unsurprisingly) the white gloss cupboard doors which come as standard FREE options. You can of course pay to upgrade the doors and the handles but as you can see they're beautiful as they are. The doors are called Woodbury White with White Carcass.


And to match, I chose a basic white top called Alpine White. Again FREE of charge but you can pay to upgrade.

There were plenty of beautiful free standard choices including a wood effect one too. This is the same cupboard and worktops in this picture. 



The cost of my Taylor Wimpey kitchen appliance extras: 


  • White gloss cupboard doors - FREE
  • White alpine worktops - FREE
  • Single oven - FREE
  • Electric hob with the flat built in hobs to the surface -  £91.00 ( I paid tis to upgrade from a standard gas hob - easier to clean and looks more modern)
  • Fridge/Freezer - £482
  • Dishwasher - £420
  • Washing Machine - £450 
And then SHOCK you have to pay extra to have them built in/integrated. 

The cost for integrated appliances: 

  • Making the dishwasher integrated - £90
  • Making the fridge/freezer integrated  - £230
  • Making the washing machine integrated - £90
Upgrading the kitchen to a soft close doors - £241

Taylor Wimpey Bathroom tiles costs: 

Tiles half way up in my main bathroom and just above the sink and around the shower in the en-suite came free as charge. This is apparently standard across all developments but of course it depends on what tiles you chose. 

I went for the grey tiles at the bottom! They have a slight textured affect and gloss look. 


And they look great with the white and random house plants


My Taylor Wimpey optional upgrades:

So, on top of all of this - I decided to upgrade on my internal doors into my living room and kitchen as it is something I spotted when looking round the show homes. I upgraded to full glass internal doors as it lets in so much light and makes your home appear much brighter.


These cost me £235 each which is very steep in my eyes but worth it.

I also upgraded the radiator in my en-suite to a heated towel rail. These are much nicer appearance wise and cost just £68 each


And lastly, in the kitchen you don't get spotlights as standard. This is something I really wanted and knew wouldn't be easy to do myself once I had moved in. Therefore paid an extra £272 for them to add them in for me.

The total amount of my options and upgrades came to £5112. Of course, takeaway the £5000 voucher I was given my Taylor Wimpey - this leaves just £112 to pay. I don't think I did too bad do you?

I am guessing that you have read this post because you are too buying a Taylor Wimpey house and wondering about the options prices. I hope this post has helped and of course you can ask me any questions or follow me on Instagram at CarrieRosePR. You will be able to see my pictures and find inspiration too!

Alternatively, get inspiration by going to my home section on this blog! 
For Valentines I am taking part in the Love For Craft campaign creating something for my home and sharing my favourite craft pieces on Pinterest for inspiration!

As I have my own house now I love DIY interiors and home crafts. I have a few empty spaces on my walls that could be filled and here are my favourite pieces...


I love these light stick crafts that can be easily made with garden items and string lights. Above my bed I am thinking about creating the light up star to fill the empty space. The hanging flower piece is something that I would love for the bathroom! Hanging on the wall above the toilet. And the last teddy craft piece is something i found on Pinterest and thought it was adorable. Someone had framed their childhood friend in a vintage surround and put it on the wall as an important memory for them. 


As copper and gold is IN right now, I had to add some of these creations made out of copper pennies. They look so good and obviously can be made in a couple of pence!! I especially like the penny letters for the kitchen and think I will definitely give it a go this summer. I also like the difference it has made on the flower vase. I have an awful flower vase in brown in my loft and thinking about getting it out to do some penny crafts on! 


I like how this family has used white stones to create table matts and place matts and how wooden blocks can be used to fill strange small spaces and create shelves.



And lastly, these pieces are my fave! I am looking at what I can add to the walls in my office and love these small but simple craft ideas. The hanging bulb decor is made out of bendy silver wire and would be an interesting touch to an office space.  I love the wire Hello message for our kitchen wall too. I have actually seen brands sell these but can see how easy and cheap they are to make yourself! So why not give it a try... I will be! And I LOVE the grass messages too! As you can see in my post here, I love bringing outdoor materials inside! From logs, wood palettes to big plants and flowers, I love that fresh but rustic look and will definitely be giving these grass letter crafts a go.

You can find out how each of them are made on my Pinterest here 

Are you a fan of Home Crafts? What are your favourite pieces?



So as you can see from my previous living room tour post... behind the sofa are EMPTY photo frames!!! OOOPS! Admittedly they have been like that ever since moving as I have been waiting for the right prints to fill them!

And well, today was my lucky day!

I have now ordered two prints from Coconut Lane to fill them and CANNOT wait till they arrive!

 


I absolutely LOVE their prints and just what I have been looking for! I am currently in process of finishing off the office too therefore will be purchasing some more to use for decoration. Each of their prints are in A4 sizes and can be bought with a frame too! Its so difficult to find a thin style frame like this so I would definitely recommend to do that as you purchase! However, don't worry I can help! I have a 20% off discount code for you to use :) 

20% using carrierose20 

And here are some of my favourites from their collection...



Remember to get 20% off using my code carrierose20 

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!! This is my first post of 2016 and I am super excited for blogging this year! I already have so many posts scheduled in and exciting opportunities ahead however I wanted to start off with one of my favourite posts - a home living post!!!

This month I have decided to add a bit of a personal touch to my home! As you all know around 6 months ago me and my boyfriend, Harry, bought our own house! You can take a mini living room tour here and the rest of the house is yet to come :) Soooooo we have now finished decorating and furniture shopping however we cant help but feel the house is not complete! The house looks beautiful mind and I couldn't be happier. However, as we have only lived here just half a year it still looks like we have only just moved in! We don't have many pictures up around the house and it simply lacks a bit of personalisation so this month we have added a few touches to make it feel like ours......







 

























Valentines is fast approaching and I have my eyes on a couple more items to finish off the bedroom! Personalised home gifts are perfect for a Valentines or birthday presents too especially these LED light up letters. We got a C (for me Carrie) and H (for him Harry) to add to our home which I absolutely ADORE!!! I remember first seeing letters like these at a wedding a couple of years ago and ever since then I wanted some for my room! And these antique style brown rustic metal letters go perfectly with my living room interior and I have already received so many compliments about them. So for those that are itching to ask where they are from..... they are from personalised gifting site IJustLoveIt.co.uk !!!

Our personalised anniversary cushion cover is also from IJustLoveIt.co.uk and its now one of our favourites. I am a lover of a million of cushions anyway however this one now sits as a centre piece right in the middle of others. These personalised cushion covers would be great as a present for Valentines as you can personalise with any name and any date (e.g date you first met, first kissed or maybe got married??)

The candle here was a gift from a close friend who has her own personalised candle business on Instagram. As I lost my dad a few years ago and a huge fan of Lion King- she made this candle for me which is which is super special to me. You can take a look at here Instagram page here and request for your own candle to be made and sent to your home. She makes quote candles, adds pictures to candles or anything of your choice! Just take a look at the other ones she has made and get in touch :)

For those looking for some nice gifts for a loved one I have chosen a couple of my favourite items from the personalised gifting website  IJustLoveIt.co.uk . I have added both items FOR HER and FOR HIM below.


From left to right: 
Personalised with name chocolate block
Personalised anniversary cushion cover 
Initial mug and How they like their tea/coffee mug
Name best boyfriend mug (2)  
Family home slate 
Personalised door mat- welcome
Personalised chopping board 
LED light up letters 
Personalised Valentines wrapping paper  

Are you buying something personalised for you loved on this year??

Follow me on Instagram at carrierosepr for my pics and Twitter as well at CarrieRosePR to keep updated on my posts :) Soon I will be posting about my time in the Caribbean and sharing more of my house in a bedroom tour!



*I was not paid for this post and all opinions are honest and content written by myself
This year the internet has gone crazy for personalised letters, white and copper interior, marble accessories and handmade prints. So in this Christmas Gift Guide I will be sharing some of the most loved items for the home and where you can buy them as presents for someone special (or yourself)!



(Left to Right) 
Personalised Letters: Amara Living £10
Copper Phone: Oliver Bonas £65
Rustic Blanket Ladder: Etsy £44.16
Map Personalised Candles: My friend makes these by hand! She adds any image, text, logo quote on the candles and delivers to you for up to £8 per candle. Order on Instagram via @wax_words
Gold Letters: Oliver Bonas £10  
Scratch Poster: Not on the High Street £18.95
Personalised Kitchen Woodboard: Not on the High Street £26
Personalised his and hers spooning spoons: Not on the High Street £5.50
Jo Malone Candle: Jo Malone £42 


Marble Mac Skin: Etsy £17.03
Christmas Candle: Amara Living £9.75
Hot Water Bottle: Asda George £7
Glass plant hanger: Not on the High Street £15
Vintage Light Bulb: Not on the High Street £9.99
His and Hers pillow cases: Etsy £12.96
Marble Note Book: Amara Living £11.00
Scratch Poster: Not on the High Street £18.95
Personalised Alphabet print designs: Katie Leamon £30


Personalised items are huge right now! Whether it be personalised cushions, letters or candles these are my favourite items for a good price. Gifts like this are something that everyone likes and here are some pictures of my very own items in my home!
Amara Living Letters


Christmas Candle from Amara Living


Marble notebook to go with my marble macbook skin cover Amara Living

Are you a fan of these homeware pieces too? Which items are your fave?

Make sure you follow me on Twitter and Instagram at CarrieRosePR







I can finally take you around my new home virtually starting with the living room!


My Living Room


I moved into my own house 4 months ago now with my boyfriend of 8 years! Of course, we have been very busy shopping for furniture, decorating and cleaning therefore haven't had chance to take some pictures and show off to you guys! However, today is the day where I will be sharing pics of my house starting with my living room as well as sharing my style inspirations too. We haven't exactly finished the living room as of yet, but I will explain our future plans in this post ....

So as soon as we bought the house the living room was a perfect blank canvas!! Perfect white walls, grey washed floorboards and a large open bay window (perfect for a Christmas tree)
Pinterest image of Christmas tree in window
Grey wash floor boards interior
Grey washed floor boards

It was a perfect space to get creative have a play on Pinterest to start to vision the finished room. 

My inspiration:































My vision was to create a fresh white open space with a hint of luxury but feelings of cosiness. There is nothing worse than entering a house and feeling like you cannot sit down and put your feet up and get snug, so this was something I heavily focused on for our home. You can probably tell from my other posts here and here that I do love White, therefore I decided to choose a white fluffy rug from IKEA and two large white/stone Chesterfield sofas!

(My living room)


 (My living room)



I once went on a tour around a luxurious mansion a couple of years ago and came across many luxury Chesterfield sofas and armchairs in most of the rooms. This is where I fell in love with this style and started to do my research. The Original Sofa Co. is one of the best places for a Chesterfield sofa as they have a wide range of textures, materials, colours and styles. I am a huge fan of a leather Chesterfield however we decided upon a material one for our living room simply for comfort and that cosiness I talked about earlier ;) Since buying both Chesterfields I have had nothing but compliments from friends and I know because of the luxury style of them, they hold their value really well.




















As you can see here I have tried to add a touch of nature to the living room.
 (My living room)
 (My living room)
 (My living room)
(My living room)

I was passed down some of these lovely antique oak pieces of furniture from my dad when he passed and they are some of my favourite pieces of furniture. This luxury thick oak blanket box placed in the centre of the room adds a cottage feel to our living room. I also have this oak TV stand as I am not a fan of glass or plastic ones which matches too. 


(My living room)

(My living room)

These lamps are my absolute favourite and if I remember rightly they were both from IKEA too. The vintage style lamp shade surrounding was what caught my eye initially along with the pull string switch. As soon as I come home I sit in the living room, wrap myself in a blanket from the blanket box and switch on a side lamp! Its super cosy and I couldn't be happier with the furniture we chose. 


(My living room)

Additional to this, I wanted to add a touch of colour and nature using lily flowers, mini green bushes, large corner plant (Not sure what its called) and gold scatter cushions too. There are two reasons why I chose to add plants to my indoor interior... 1. to add colour to the room 2. to add a sense of freshness. I personally love indoor plants and you will find them everywhere from my kitchen to my bedroom which posts will be coming soon. 

And lastly, our log fire. Ok this isn't a real log fire it is just an electric one however it kicks out some amazing heat and looking cosy and cute. We have plans to build a surround around it and add a marble back just like this.... 





I ideally want it to look like this ready for our Christmas stockings and decorations however I think we will begin this project early next year. Id like to add a log feature as well and a stand out mirror on the wall above. 

I hope you like our living room style and make sure to check out my Pinterest board for full house inspiration. 


Follow me on Twitter and Instagram at CarrieRosePR and do comment below :)