Sunday, 21 May 2017

Kitchen renovation done - I'm cooking on gas!!

The kitchen is 99.9% complete, and this time we are ahead of our predicted time scale. After the bathroom took 18 months, I was a bit stressed that living without a kitchen for the same length of time would make me crack. Don't get me wrong, I've managed before, but that was without the kids. There is only so far a microwave, toaster and camping stove can take you, before you want to explode and let me tell you, that wont be from over eating!!

Dave, Dean and I have worked hard on this room, pretty much every weekend and Dean has been doing bits of the hard building work in the week also. After a false start with damp proofing (and me panicking), we got to it again and it came together quickly. Like all of the projects in this house, I am trying to do them well, so there isn't any false economy long term, however I am skint, so it's about, recycling, reusing and being a bit inventive sometimes! The whole kitchen has been around £4k, that includes a new window and flooring (I bought a job lot of end of range patio slabs - they have also done the dining room and will do the red shed too), which I have saved long and hard for. So that's me stony broke now!

I got cabinets and doors from eBay, and the couple I bought them from were also selling a dishwasher (that's a bloody revelation) and the posh Smeg fridge, so I bought the lot for £450. That saved a fortune, and meant I could buy a new window. I had loads of things like plumbing bits, a tap and was given an old butlers sink - mind you sorting the plumbing for that was a bit of a task. I also had some old school science lab tables that Mum found on eBay, which we used for the worktops. The bits that really cost the money was the wood - it's bloody extortionate(!), and the extra kitchen cabinet bits and pieces. I wanted to use every bit of space I could, as well as I could.....and Oh My God...I have a built in larder, with a light that comes on when I open the door and everything...Ive come of age! I have loads of lovely kitchenalia, that Ive hoarded from brocantes and charity shops over the years, so thankfully I didn't need any new stuff there. None of it matches, but I love that, it also meant I could go for basic kitchen colours and funky it us with all my important and beautiful tat! This post is more of an overview to show how the kitchen has turned out, I wont bore you with the minutiae, but suffice to say, I blooming love it...I've even baked some dust free cakes!

Kitchen before - after the ceiling collapsed, the final straw!




Kitchen after - just beautiful!


Old worktop, cupboard and electrics
New (second hand) cupboards being painted


Old window and walls
New window and new sink (and Osiris)

Indoor patio laid!
Indoor patio grouted



Graffiti on the science lab worktops - the Devil is in the detail!




Outside of my beautiful larder
Inside my beautiful larder
Warning to the kids!!!

Dishwasher curtain I made from vintage French fabric I had

American tin tile knife rack we made



Posh fridge


Scaffold plank shelves

Laden scaffold plank shelves!












3 comments:

  1. Bloody fab work! Am, you're awesome 👌

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  2. I can't believe it! What an amazing transformation your house has made. I can hardly tell that it is the same house. You did a great job fixing everything up while still making it feel rustic and vintage. I might have to use a few of these ideas in my home to add a little more personality. Thank you for posting!

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  3. Thank you Franklin! It was a lot of work but well worth it, and more importantly it functions too! Enjoy adding bits to your house xx

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