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aendrOver the last few months, we've been having our kitchen done.
We did take photos over the course of the event, to be seen here.
The whole process started in April; we packed up the contents of the kitchen, dining room and living room and filled the garage and upstairs rooms. Cooking essentials were kept, including the table top electric oven/hob which I'd been using since the gas oven packed in barely weeks after moving into the house. The builders moved the fridge and freezer into the living room and I cooked in there for a while.
Before starting on the kitchen, the builder knocked a door through from our hall into our integrated garage, which has made a huge difference to our usage of the garage as a storage space.
The first stage of kitchen proper was to remove all the kitchen cupboards, knock the kitchen and dining room together and get rid of the ceiling. The builders very helpfully left the washing machine and dishwasher plumbed in as much as they could, so I didn't have to struggle washing up. The downstairs loo sink however made scary noises when pouring hot water down it, so I took to draining vegetables into a washing up bowl and pouring that out when it cooled. The builders also tidied up after themselves every day, so although there was dust over a lot things it just wasn't as bad as it could have been.
We had some hassles with the central heating controller and turning the power off, and the electrician eventually replaced it (he also fixed the bathroom fan for us - another lovely contractor). The builders put in a ceiling, and very helpfully painted it for us (they were absolute darlings, not wanting me to do anything to strain myself).
The opening between living room and dining room was closed off and a door put in (recycled from the kitchen-dining room wall). This means we can now sit in the living room and not have to listen to the loud rain noise from the conservatory area roof if we don't want to.
Between the builder and the kitchen people coming in, in early May, we painted the walls, getting rid of the green we didn't like. We're not very good painters, I must say!
The kitchen people then started and over several days we got first the shell and then the components of kitchen coming together. The people who had done our laminate flooring then came out to floor the bits which had been kitchen floor before.
We had a bit of a wait for the Corian sink and worksurface to be put in, but finally that was done and I could start to unpack while the rest of the bits were finished off. We even discovered that my little "stone" elephant is a perfect match for the Corian worksurface (he hasn't left the kitchen since). The Corian fitters were very impressed and planned to take photos so they could show their boss. Can you spot the elephant in the photos?
Although I promised "lots" of shelves, I ended up ordering an extra one for virtually every cupboard. I prefer shorter stacks of stuff, than struggling to reach. Unlike the builders, the kitchen people didn't sweep up so I had to do a lot of cleaning before anything could be used! Sawdust in cupboard corners is particularly tricky, but a toothbrush helped.
In August, having decided we didn't want to do it ourselves, we had a painter come in to paint the living room. Once again, we had lovely contractors who moved the furniture for us so I didn't have to. Again, it's nice to get rid of the green! The blues of the kitchen and living room are different, honest!
Finally, in the last couple of weeks, we have slowly been unpacking the remainder of the stuff from upstairs. It has been sheer luxury being able to sit on a sofa, having not had the benefit since April!
The kitchen isn't quite finished - we want to put up a rail shelf by the sink for hanging mugs and utensils, and some hooks in the utility room for such things as aprons. I am however loving the oven and hob. The little table top electric oven wouldn't grill effectively, so we've enjoyed having cheese on toast and grilled fish. I also really like the spaciousness of the room; the blue is cool but not cold. The Corian isn't too bad to clean, and the lack of seams means all the angles are curves and very easy to wipe. It does stain fairly easily though. I have pretty much fitted all my cooking stuff in and there's even a little space left over for more! (At this point I expect a comment from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
hsenag about not getting more stuff.) The soft close cupboards and drawers mean that I have to remember not to slam other cupboards around the house!
I'm afraid the promised kitchen-warming won't be happening soon, because I just don't have both time and energy to entertain right now.
We did take photos over the course of the event, to be seen here.
The whole process started in April; we packed up the contents of the kitchen, dining room and living room and filled the garage and upstairs rooms. Cooking essentials were kept, including the table top electric oven/hob which I'd been using since the gas oven packed in barely weeks after moving into the house. The builders moved the fridge and freezer into the living room and I cooked in there for a while.
Before starting on the kitchen, the builder knocked a door through from our hall into our integrated garage, which has made a huge difference to our usage of the garage as a storage space.
The first stage of kitchen proper was to remove all the kitchen cupboards, knock the kitchen and dining room together and get rid of the ceiling. The builders very helpfully left the washing machine and dishwasher plumbed in as much as they could, so I didn't have to struggle washing up. The downstairs loo sink however made scary noises when pouring hot water down it, so I took to draining vegetables into a washing up bowl and pouring that out when it cooled. The builders also tidied up after themselves every day, so although there was dust over a lot things it just wasn't as bad as it could have been.
We had some hassles with the central heating controller and turning the power off, and the electrician eventually replaced it (he also fixed the bathroom fan for us - another lovely contractor). The builders put in a ceiling, and very helpfully painted it for us (they were absolute darlings, not wanting me to do anything to strain myself).
The opening between living room and dining room was closed off and a door put in (recycled from the kitchen-dining room wall). This means we can now sit in the living room and not have to listen to the loud rain noise from the conservatory area roof if we don't want to.
Between the builder and the kitchen people coming in, in early May, we painted the walls, getting rid of the green we didn't like. We're not very good painters, I must say!
The kitchen people then started and over several days we got first the shell and then the components of kitchen coming together. The people who had done our laminate flooring then came out to floor the bits which had been kitchen floor before.
We had a bit of a wait for the Corian sink and worksurface to be put in, but finally that was done and I could start to unpack while the rest of the bits were finished off. We even discovered that my little "stone" elephant is a perfect match for the Corian worksurface (he hasn't left the kitchen since). The Corian fitters were very impressed and planned to take photos so they could show their boss. Can you spot the elephant in the photos?
Although I promised "lots" of shelves, I ended up ordering an extra one for virtually every cupboard. I prefer shorter stacks of stuff, than struggling to reach. Unlike the builders, the kitchen people didn't sweep up so I had to do a lot of cleaning before anything could be used! Sawdust in cupboard corners is particularly tricky, but a toothbrush helped.
In August, having decided we didn't want to do it ourselves, we had a painter come in to paint the living room. Once again, we had lovely contractors who moved the furniture for us so I didn't have to. Again, it's nice to get rid of the green! The blues of the kitchen and living room are different, honest!
Finally, in the last couple of weeks, we have slowly been unpacking the remainder of the stuff from upstairs. It has been sheer luxury being able to sit on a sofa, having not had the benefit since April!
The kitchen isn't quite finished - we want to put up a rail shelf by the sink for hanging mugs and utensils, and some hooks in the utility room for such things as aprons. I am however loving the oven and hob. The little table top electric oven wouldn't grill effectively, so we've enjoyed having cheese on toast and grilled fish. I also really like the spaciousness of the room; the blue is cool but not cold. The Corian isn't too bad to clean, and the lack of seams means all the angles are curves and very easy to wipe. It does stain fairly easily though. I have pretty much fitted all my cooking stuff in and there's even a little space left over for more! (At this point I expect a comment from
hsenag about not getting more stuff.) The soft close cupboards and drawers mean that I have to remember not to slam other cupboards around the house!I'm afraid the promised kitchen-warming won't be happening soon, because I just don't have both time and energy to entertain right now.
