The Home Tour

We feel really lucky to have gotten this house. I had seen it listed for rent online back in April but I thought there was no way it would still be on the market when we would arrive in July. Lucky for us it was. It was the first house we toured. It was out of our budget, but when I told the realtor our budget, without hesitation she agreed. It is in a quaint little suburb called Seatoun, right on the mouth of the Wellington harbour. It is up on a hill so we have incredible views. It is a great location for work, just a 7 minute drive or 11 minute bike ride. All my girls go to the same neighbourhood school, which is walking distance from our home. The school has years 1-8 with about 400 students. The house also has central heating and insulation, which is not the norm here.

Another reason we liked the house is because it has four bedrooms. Getting four rooms was important to us because we felt like it was the only nice consolation we could offer our daughters when we told them we would be moving halfway cross the world and leaving their schools and friends behind. Telling them they could each have their own room made at least one thing special about moving. Also, we wanted to have a nice guest bedroom for visitors to stay in. So that means if any of you come to visit, Mally gets kicked out of her room and gets the top bunk in Lucy's room and you get her queen sized bed.

As promised here are photos of our home:

The Exterior. We are on a corner with an empty lot between us and our neighbours. So it feels very spacious around the house. 

Through the front doors. We have a mudroom area to take off our shoes.

The living room with AMAZING views of the water.

Dining room.

Dining room from another angle.

Kitchen. It is large and has tons of storage. The wall not shown has lots of pantry storage space.

View from the kitchen sink. Seeing this makes washing the dishes more delightful. 

The small office room.

The upstairs bathroom. They call it the toilet here. 

Heading downstairs.

Our master bedroom. 

The laundry room. The house didn't come with whiteware (here that means washer, dryer and refrigerator) so we needed to buy all that stuff. 

Downstairs toilet with shower.

Mallory's room/guest bedroom. Check out the windows and the view!

Eva's room. It's a work in progress. Last weekend we took her bed apart to paint it a pretty shade of mint green.  

Lucy's room.

Fun fact: Sir Peter Jackson (the director of Lord of the Rings and a bunch of other movies) owns the buildings across the street from us.

Our Lady, Star of the Sea Chapel (no longer used for religious services) that Sir Peter Jackson renovated and owns. 

The Sisters of Mercy Convent. Also renovated and owned by PJ.