The Kitchen is finished!

Hooray!  The last week has seen wonderful progress, as the floor tiles were completed and grouted, the sideboard and sinks were fitted, and Leon in particular has done wonders to make everything fit and look as if it was designed to go just here.  Lizzie helped save me from a run-of-the-mill IKEA kitchen by realising we could re-use all the old furniture, and the guys have been fabulous in bringing it all together.
So while they worked, I slowly cleaned up the mess and removed the dust.  And with worktops oiled and sealed, and shelves fitted and drawers running, I have at last been able to reclaim the new kitchen as my own.  Everything has a home, just about, and there is lots of lovely workspace, and plenty of space for just sitting and talking too.  The big old sofa has moved into the room, and the AGA provides constant warmth and welcome.  I am sooo happy!

The only glitch is that the main folding glass doors have been horribly held up and won;'t be in place until the end of January - so in the meantime we have a temporary wall, helpfully and festively decorated by the urban art painters who hang out at weekends in the yard behind the house.

Here are some happy snaps, starting, as is only right and proper, with one of Lizzie test-sleeping the big, saggy, old sofa, which is newly installed in the kitchen and in due course will have a fine view of the minuscule but soon-to-be-beautiful back garden.....

Life, Builders, Muddle, 3rd December

This week I have been struggling to keep up with my project work alongside continuing chaos arising from work on the kitchen.

Thee are constant requests from Duncan for decisions about things, such as the floor covering (slate tiles or oak boards?  the slate tiles won although I have had a several sleepless nights worrying about icy feet in the future), the location of electric sockets; the kitchen units, etc, etc, etc.

There have been various alarms, including poor Duncan having his truck stolen (disaster!) to appalling mistakes (by them, not us) over the sliding/folding/concertina glass doors to the garden - which have been horribly delayed, thanks to a mega-muddle by Magnet in Avonmouth.  I am to be walled in, literally, for the Christmas holiday until they can be fitted, hopefully not too long into the New Year.

In the meantime, we continue to camp in the sitting room with the kettle, toaster and microwave, and - sometimes - a sink and tap in the soon-to-be-utility space.

The fridge and freezer tuck neatly under the stairs...

Kettle balanced on top of microwave, on top of currently redundant piano stool, with copious amounts of dust to help keep everything level...

This week-end's temporary kitchen sink (thank you, Benjie) in what will, next week, be the utility space,  with matching sinks either side of the internal (formerly external) kitchen window.

The kitchen tiles, sans grout and sealant, which will bring out the rich dark polished slate.  I am worried that the overall effect may be too dark and sombre, but it is too late now, and I am sure it will be glorious when all is complete.  And anyway, it is only a floor....

Next week, this is where the new kitchen sink will be...

So for the time being, this is what the former outside space, soon to be the utility space, looks like.... Open to the elements, of course, but relatively warm and dry nevertheless.