Our colour appointment was a little while ago back in mid-January.
It was a whole day event, starting at Hynes tiles in Point Cook. Lina from Hynes Tiles was great and very helpful. The whole process of selecting the tiles took about an hour and a half. It also included the selection of floor boards, which was a choice between laminate versus the real thing.
The floor board selection for category 4, one strip real wood floors have an approximate price difference of $10,000 compared to category 2, which is laminate. The laminate does look okay, but you can certainly see an tell the difference. The laminate is supposed to be easier to maintain, and helps for those who wear shoes in their house - less dimples from high heals etc. Laminate doesn't have any real character and there is no natural tones and blemishes which makes looking and touching wooden floor boards interesting.
The flooring for the bathrooms we have gone with an ivory coloured tile throughout. MainVue aren't able to do those large 600mm X 600mm big square tiles. Apparently they require two people to lay which they won't do. So if this is a deal breaker then best to look elsewhere or have a very basic bathroom fitout, or if possible none at all.
We had a break at the Point Cook Town Centre, which was new and busy for a Monday mid morning.
Back at the display home in Point Cook we selected the remaining finishes. Timber colours, aluminum window colours, kitchen and bathroom benches, roof tiles shapes and colours. Cabinetry colours and door finishes and carpets. For all these things it took the rest of the day.
Our sales consultant took us through the entire quote to back sure that our selections for the different types of setups that we chose were correct. There were some changes to the way that we wanted the bathroom to be laid out - and still waiting for confirmation on if drawers can be provided.
Most of the colours that we chose were the same as displayed. We even chose the category 10 bricks which are on display, called Zinc, this costs an additional and is another $10k plus. The standard bricks do no suit the design, IMO, and would deter from the overall look and feel of the house. The other alternative is to do a full render but this would be another $20k plus. One of the things that the colour consultant asked us to do was to view the bricks in the natural sun light and see the difference. This helped to make a decision, but it was still quite tough. All the top four final brick selections came from category 7 of above.
Many of the selections were an upgrade and the luxury that is on display at all the MainVue Homes are an additional cost option. The luxury package that is offered, is really minimal and doesn't really include or contribute to very much at all.
Some good suggestions were made on colour choices in terms of matching cabinet colours between the downstairs powder room and kitchen to have some consistency. It will be interesting to see how a single colour bathroom turns out.
Things that we missed were the outdoor tiles for the balcony, the finishes on the staircase, lighting options.
Again, there is more cost added to the quote. It is now approaching double the base price of the home, which makes you wonder what your actually get for the base price amount. Also, it makes you wonder if this is a bait and switch tactic whether it is legal, as it is a significant difference.
Anyhow, I won't share any photos here. But will post some along the way ... when construction starts.
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