Tag: kitchen

Weekend

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Phew, we have had a busy weekend of running around! I would say it’s nice to get back to work, but I would really rather be at home, plus Barry’s away in London working all this week. Sad face.

On Saturday, I received a call from my brother, who wanted to talk about work for an hour. Grabbing breakfast in between, we then drove to Next in Bradford to pick up the new living room curtains (very exciting, they look great!), and then on to Wakefield to pick up a coffee machine Barry had proudly won on eBay. It turned out to be an espresso machine and the pot was meant for four cups of espresso, not coffee. Cute, but not what we’re looking for. That will need to be relisted.

We then got home to start listing the old kitchen units, oven and hob on eBay, zapped some leftovers in the microwave for lunch, and got a call from my best friend Charlie, almost on the verge of tears. To set the scene, she, her boyfriend, and baby, were moving on Saturday, and would not accept any offers of help (the baby may have but he can’t talk yet). Anyway, they were moving back to their old house, which they’d been renting out, and it appears the tenants changed the locks. We drove to Otley to pick up the keys from the agency and took them over so they could actually get into the house. Not before a friendly locksmith had charged them £60 callout! We were supposed to go back later for a celebratory curry, but that, unsurprisingly, didn’t happen.

Got back home, I finished listing the stuff on eBay (there’s a big gap between the finishing times!) while Barry got cracking with the kitchen. As he’s away this week, he didn’t want to leave me with a completely non-functioning kitchen, so he was trying to get all the wall units up.

We were supposed to be having takeaway at Charlie’s, and I sadly can’t deal with the unfulfilled promise of curry, so we had takeaway for tea anyway. Couldn’t have cooked, the kitchen looked like a bomb had hit it.

There was less running around on Sunday. Barry got cracking putting up doors on all units, putting the drawers together, the handles on the top units, and the cooker hood. It’s made a huge difference – it almost looks finished now! He only had until 4pm yesterday as he had to set off for London, and there’ll be no progress until next weekend now. I’ll get some photos up tomorrow.

Colour me beautiful

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I’ve been following a few other decorating/DIY blogs, and one writer has recently come up with a couple of kitchen posts I found interesting – one about white ones and one about kitchens with flashes of colour.  It’s nice to see trends on the other side of the pond, and shows how a bit of colour can really work.  I’m unsure about the brightly coloured units in three different shades in one kitchen though – it would have to be huge to carry that off.

I love the idea of having chalkboard paint from this blogger.  We’re having one wall matt black anyway, so we’re looking into this – it’s definitely a possibility!  From the big UK stores, I’ve found this one from B&Q, and this one from Wickes.  If anyone actually has experience of doing this, it would be much appreciated.  I’m not sure how much control you would have with a spray one, and I’m not sure how much you’d need to cover a wall that goes up the stairs!

Ode to a kitchen (oven remix)

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I have been informed by a friend (hello, Jaye!) that it is completely couth to love inanimate objects (see: Ode to an oven), so let me say it now: I love our new kitchen units. They’re not even fully unpacked yet and I love them! It’s like Christmas (well, a sight better than this Christmas actually).

The purple is richer than I remembered, and the white looks sharp and clean (it was displayed with cream in the showroom, so we hadn’t actually seen it with white).  It will be great when we get the doors on.

I think getting the worktop cut will be an extra for which we may actually have to pay, but it’ll be worth it to get it right. It would be very expensive to get wrong!  I can’t wait to get the guy round to do this so that we can start using our sink.  We do have a functioning dishwasher, but larger items are currently being washed in the bath!

Decorating begets decorating

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Since we started decorating, we’ve found quite a few of our friends have decided to pick up a paintbrush. Do you think that decorating begets more decorating? Do you think we could use the word beget more?

Not only does revitalising one part of your house give yourself a nudge to keep going, but it seems to have a domino effect around you. The friends whose coat hooks Barry put up last weekend have decided to repaint, and I’ve even noticed that, by posting this as a blog, we’ve even influenced old school friends on facebook. That’s social media for you! I have to add a note that my old school friend somehow managed to paint her entire kitchen before 10.30am one day, but she maintains it’s a very small kitchen.

On a side note, Barry got a wall cupboard up yesterday, as well as fixing most of the end panels to the other ones. Apparently wall units are much easier; he just ran out of supplies so had to stop!

In my dream-addled brain, I actually thought our bed was in the kitchen when I woke up this morning!

Progress

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Barry started building cabinets yesterday, it’s very exciting because there’s visible evidence that we’re making progress (unlike painting the ceiling white).  We did come across some problems though – the B&Q designer seems to have taken a little liberty with the measurements Barry provided so we’re having to “make do” with some elements, which isn’t ideal.  We also put the double cabinet together for the sink to go in, only to find the sink won’t fit!

Anyway, for those of you who watch Project Runway, we’ll “make it work”.  Photos of the progress below!

Up and running

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The oven is now functional! As evidenced, we plastered the last wall and had pizza last night. I can honestly say, it’s the nicest meal I think I’ve ever made in that oven.

It’s so satisfying, removing the plastic wrapping that’s around the oven. It will have to be popped back in its box while we sand and paint, but soon it will be free.

We spent last night checking we had what we thought we had from B&Q. Sadly, we don’t have what we thought. We’re missing:

  • 2 x cornice/ pelmet
  • 2 x pelmet

Fair enough, we knew about these. However, we’re also missing:

  • 2 x cooker hood filters
  • 1 x tap
  • 1 x wooden maintenance kit
  • 1 cupboard door (they sent us cream instead of white)

So our jobs list for this weekend is thus:

  • Ring B&Q to sort the above ASAP.
  • Sand.
  • Paint the ceiling and some walls (the important ones).
  • Start putting units together!

 

Old fashioned couple

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I was cooking tea the other night while Barry was plastering the very same room, when I realised that we were fulfilling stereotypical gender roles without even thinking about it.  When I pointed this out to Barry, he asked me to get him a beer from the fridge.  I did.

Is DIY divided into boy jobs and girl jobs?  I’ve been doing some jobs like painting, following Barry around after he’s done the manly rollering with the little brush to do the edges.  When he ripped the walls down, I was tasked with sanding the bits of skirting board that came off.  I made curtains for the spare room, but I’ve never been in our loft.

I’m fine with being the ideas person and wandering around with tester pots and a camera.  I’m not saying I want to do the heavy work, I’m just wondering whether it’s implied that I shouldn’t.  Is it just us?

Kitchen update: preparing a special three-course Valentine’s meal was fun with everything in boxes in the living room. We’re going to have a few days of having to get water from the bathroom, but Barry thinks he should have the shiny new oven up and running shortly, and the washing machine and dishwasher have just been moved into their new homes.  Photos of the practically empty kitchen below; we haven’t unpacked any of the new one yet.

It’s here!

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I’ve been sent this very exciting picture from Barry, who is working from home today and has just accepted the delivery of our B&Q kitchen.

We’ve been told the cornices are missing due to a quality issue – they’re going to be delivered in a couple of weeks.

Barry’s going to take the oven, sink and parts of the old kitchen out this evening, so it looks like it’s takeaway for tea.  Hard life.

Island living

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I’ve always wanted an island in the kitchen.  It’s the dream.  That’s when you know your kitchen is amazing.  As an example, our friend Sarah has an amazing kitchen.  She has an island.

When we were planning our kitchen, I originally didn’t think we could have one because the fridge will now be at the other side of the room, and I thought it would be annoying to have to walk round something if I was cooking.  Now the walls are down, we’re thinking we might fit a cheeky slim one in by the front door.  It may have to take the form of a breakfast bar, more of a peninsula, but it would still count!

Obviously, this is further down the line.  We have a butcher’s block at the moment which could go there (but I maintain it doesn’t go and will spoil the effect of the new kitchen).  Not sure what Barry would do if I just listed it on eBay…

The new kitchen arrives today!  It will probably be less exciting when everything’s boxed up and we’ve still got to paint and rip out the old kitchen, but until then, I’ll be excited!  Photos to follow.

In the meantime, you’ll have to make do with photos of the progress.  Left is the hole where a cupboard used to be, and below shows no upstand or cupboard for the boiler.

As a side note, why do you think builders place boilers a silly distance from the wall?

Winchester Mystery House

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Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

Right. I’m aware this is going to make me sound like a geek, and a bit off-topic, but I really like listening to the Stuff I Missed in History Class podcasts. I was listening to a few of the oldies the other day while painting and found one that was actually about DIY! While I was doing DIY!

Sarah Winchester, wife of William Wirt Winchester (of Winchester guns) went a bit mad (well, she did!) when her child and husband died, and was apparently informed by some spirits that if she ever stopped building, she’d die. So, day and night, she had contractors adding bits onto her house, until the day she died. What was even stranger was that she had them build things like stairs that went up to the ceiling, and outdoor windows inside the house, to trick the ghosts so they couldn’t get her. Check it out, it’s called Ghosts of history: Winchester Mystery House.

Imagine having building works in your house until you die, 38 years after construction began! It did make me think how important it is to have a beginning and an end to a DIY job. The planning and pricing, choosing colours and designs, can all be very enjoyable, but there’s nothing quite as satisfying as when you can lean back and look at your completed work. That’s when you know you can have a house party, let everyone look at your fantastic space and what you’ve done with it!

Barry’s been sanding all weekend and he’s started taking the old kitchen out. The new kitchen comes tomorrow! Then we can paint the walls and get the new one in. I’ve even managed to order the Next curtains that I wanted in the sale. It’s like Christmas Eve…