Like many mad people with more money than sense we decided that we needed a new kitchen this year. So after several years the mock-rustic monstrosity has gone and been replaced by a sleek new design.
Before
What can I say about our kitchen. Fake beams. Dull units. An extractor carefully placed so that
you can easily bang your head on the really sharp corners. When we moved in we said that it would
be the first thing we'd change. And now we're finally getting around to it.
We have had the hall decorated since we moved in, and the fake candlestick wall lights went a long time
ago. It still has the ugly, and now faded, peach carpet. So that's going this time. A careful look
to the right and you can see where we've painted some test colour patches.
Plans
As with all our house projects, it started with some sketches. The basic floor layout was in the
first pencil sketch and we've stuck with it since then.
After a visit to Magnet and scans of the NEFF and Bosch web sites we'd settled on the details of the
design. So more sketches appear in the book.
The final sketches cover the storage shelves on the end wall, the lights and the extra cupboard to go
under the stairs. Everything looks good on paper so it's time to place the order.
Once you have chosen all your units and parts Magnet will print a picture of you kitchen. We're biased
of course, but the quick sketches in our book look so much better.
Progress
At last the work has begun. The builders have made a great start. The old kitchen has gone along with
most of the tiles and the old ceiling. The water and gas service pipes are rerouted and
tidied up with the electrics next on the list.
The new cupboard is appearing where the original larder would have been. In the old design this was under used
space. Now we'll have a great cupboard for cleaning materials and household stores like bulbs, toilet
rolls and bin bags.
While the work is going on we have moved some of the kitchen stuff into our normal dining area. We have
moved in enough to make breakfast and basic hot meals. So why do we need this new kitchen?
The side kitchen units are now in place. The dishwasher is back in and should be working soon. You can just see
the cooker hood on the right edge of the picture.
The tall kitchen units are in place too, and ready for the appliances to go in. You can also see the door for
the new cupboard under the stairs.
With the floor down and the appliance going in the room is really starting to look like a kitchen now.
The new ovens and fridge-freezer look fantastic and we've been reading through the manuals working out
how to use all the new features.
Results
Finally it's all done. The new shelves are in and filled up with cook books, wine, mixer, scales, tea stuff, etc.
They look great and are as convenient as we hoped.
The main cooking space works really well too. The large area between the sink and the hob means that you can
get everything done in one place.
The tall larder units are filled with food and the new fridge and freezer and in use. The larger high level fridge
is so much more convenient. The small combined oven, microwave and grill is so much easier to use at eye-level.
The new hall is much lighter and the new floor looks great. We got rid of the old cupboards and moved the shoes
under the stairs. All the cleaning kit has gone into the new cupboard too, so the utility room is much less
cluttered.
The stairs and landing have a new carpet. It carpet feels fantastic in bare feet.
We've put the pictures back up in the hall and landing. Our usual eclectic mix of Paul Klee,
Gustav Klimt and Simon Hart.