Tuesday 5 November 2013

getting my house in order

Anyone who has had any major building work done on their house will know that there is not really a definite end point. Sorting out the niggles and snags takes weeks, and in the meantime you slowly reclaim the living space and the scattered shreds of your sanity.  It's not like on the telly where Nick Knowles leads you into your fabulous new kitchen with his hands over your eyes, while 67 plumbers, sparks and plasterers stand around weeping about how much you deserve it. Off camera in another room, lurk the boxed up contents of your old kitchen cupboards, including your collection of antique jams, and a host of suspect looking jars of condiment from the early part of the century.

But we have (mostly) crossed the finish line and I feel ready to post some pics. I thought I would be able to do some really coherent 'before and after' shots, but it's making my head hurt even thinking about it. So I'll just try and give you a flavour of what we have managed to achieve.


These houses were built with three handsomely proportioned reception rooms to the front, and a tiny poky kitchen with outside toilet and lean-to conservatory to the back. The back of the house is south facing, so the outside lav was the best seat in the house. Knocking that through into the kitchen creates extra space, but throws up the problem of how to shoehorn a (much needed) second WC into the house. As a house full of 6 footers we were determined not to end up with a poo cruncher toilet in a head banging cupboard under the stairs.

The solution we settled on was to divide the third reception room in half to create a laundry room with WC accessed from the hallway, and a study/office/piano room leading off the dining room. We also needed to put in a new boiler, so that has gone in the attic. I'll show you the laundry and office when they are photo shoot ready. In the meantime - here is the new kitchen and sunroom...


Most of what we have spent the money on is structural work, plus the big ticket items like floors, kitchen units and work surfaces. But I'm really pleased that we've managed to hang on to the smaller, quirkier design details that make this space work for us:


pantry and fridge next to each other - putting the shopping away is one of my pet hates.


pantry door handle salvaged from one of the kitchen doors we took out


chairs £10 each - from local shoe shop closing down
nest of tables - £5 eBay
ceramic dish £3.50 - charity shop
tiles on wall salvaged from the outside lav


painted pegboard for hanging space

We never wanted 'new for the sake of new' - this project was about breathing new life into what had clearly been a much loved family home. Sorting out the structural and practical issues has allowed us to create a warm, light filled space that works for our family. I think it's what the house deserves...

13 comments:

  1. Your kitchen is looking wonderful! You did a great job. It always seems to take ages after doing anything in the house to get back to normal doesn't it. I think that it is quite normal - oh and on the subject of normal, we all have those ancient jars and weird stuff in the cupboards that we could do without anyone else seeing! I have 4 kilos of pasta in my saucepan cupboard!! xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. That makes me feel better:) I was really grateful to my mother-in-law for cleaning the brick dust of everything, but she did spend the whole time exclaiming "I don't know what half of these things are!" I hope my kitchen cupboard shame isn't the talk of the WI

    ReplyDelete
  3. great to find you, loving those tiles and that plate they match so well and the old pantry door is so lovely against the newness of everything else. it looks light and spacious and sunny.....that's got to be worth it x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi there - thank you for stopping by. I'm glad you like it - the pantry is newly created but we tried very hard to make it look like it's always been there. So that's a result then. I think the builders thought we were a bit mad sometimes, it's so much easier to have standard/new. But to their credit, they were delightful and built what we wanted. They even said they thought it looked 'cool' afterwards (but they probably say that to all their clients)

      Delete
  4. Oh everyone has those random jars of God-knows-what, don't they? And ancient spices, and the odd packet mix of something bought in a fit of "what the hell am I going to make for tea" but then passed over and forgotten...
    Your kitchen and sun room look lovely - light and usable and stylish. Love the tiles and the pantry door handle, great little details. Well done, everyone! xxx

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your space is outstanding!! You really nailed it and I so get the making it through the construction feeling. It's hard but the outcome of your space is all worth it! The pantry door is too cool as is the door heading out to the patio and I really like that pegboard!!! Pure awesome! Keep the pictures coming!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Bernice, it looks terrific. Worth all the dust and chaos I'd say (and in retrospect I bet you agree?!)
    I love your choice of tile (and that lovely old one behind those glorious green chairs - would you call that colour asparagus?), the flooring, your pantry (love that handle and that you kept it and re-used it), pegboard, and...phew!...the simple timber cabinetry you chose. It really is a lovely, bright kitchen, one that looks like you could actually cook in!

    p.s. I hate putting the shopping away too!

    ReplyDelete
  7. ooo this is nice! love the tiles, the green chairs, the floor.... the light fittings, and that little ceramic dish. you should probably make me some vegan treats in this kitchen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you all ladies for your kind words and reassurances that you too have dark secrets in your kitchen cupboards! Eldest stepson has recently announced he is vegetarian (20 minutes before a big family meal with the grandparents - thanks for the warning!). So there may well be vegan delights any time soon! It's lovely to be cooking again.

      Delete
  8. Fantastic result! Looks amazing, and I can't wait to come and have a cup of tea in that kitchen, and sit on those cool green chairs!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Looks to me like a space everyone will gravitate to. Great colour choices. And having that welcoming light must be a pleasure

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes - the Victorians weren't famous for flooding their houses with light so it's a real bonus to have created some bright living space. And the spirit of the outside loo lives on in the sunroom wall tiles - still the best seat in the house!

      Delete