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| in a state of bliss...now its all finished! |
i have been putting off the HUGE post i need to do about my recent kitchen makeover, which actually included demolishing a wall, blocking up one door and putting in a new one to the garden, building a 'summer house', installing a kitchen, new flooring and putting up a new garden fence (my facebook friends have lived it blow by blow for the last 6 months!). it all began in January (after years of procrastination and endless indecision) and goes a little something like this.....first get a huge shed installed on my decking with a view to being a future craft room/den/place for visitors to sleep (!) but for the immediate use as a storage unit! the lovely Polish boys and my [super]Dad did a grand job of getting it in place, despite the cold weather (and odd snow flurry that day) in late January!
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| in the cold of winter...the deck is ready...just hope they don't use a spirit level! |
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| up go the walls! |
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| job done! |
next came the mammoth task of packing the whole of my kitchen and living room into boxes....and saying goodbye to the chaos!
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| the kitchen chaos before was beyond ridiculous...i had to move a ton of junk to get to the cooker! |
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| it really had gotten totally OUT OF HAND! |
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| CHAOS! |
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| how did i EVER live with this mess?! |
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| time to start packing! |
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| stop mucking about and get on with it! |
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| stick all the boxes in the 'summer house' (it didn't remain this tidy looking!) |
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| rip the bloody doors off! |
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| say goodbye to that wall...see ya, wouldn't wanna be ya!! |
in February my brilliant builders, Dean & Will, came to knock a couple of walls down and put in a new door to my garden....
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| brrrr....there's a terrible George Raft (draft) in 'ere! |
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| the summer house looks nice tho.... |
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| ta daaaaa...new door! |
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| from the outside....i think the pigeons approve! |
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| ....and down comes the inside wall! |
then it was a few months wait, while i settled into a new job and decided [finally] which kitchen i wanted to buy (in the end i went for
ikea cabinets & appliances,
howdens beech style counter tops and
wickes oak effect flooring) before Dean & Will were back (with a little help again from super-Dad)...ding ding...ROUND TWO...kitchen installation, block up side door, new fence, new floor!
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| Will contemplates...where do I start? |
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| move the old kitchen into the garden.... |
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ikea delivers the kitchen...how am i sposed to get around? oops!
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| Dean and super-Dad get to work.... |
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| making up the carcasses.... |
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| at least i have a little alleyway to get upstairs! |
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| we're getting there!!! |
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| the door's sealed up...and the flooring's down...happy feet! |
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| next its the new garden fence.... |
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| meanwhile...old kitchen is still in the garden.... |
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| and the foxes think it's their own personal obstacle course! |
and finally....we're on the home stretch! the kitchen is in...the fence is up (& herb garden installed) - i just need to paint and i know just the man to help...!
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| the kitchen is done! |
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| the lovely 3-ring hob is in and the butcher tiles are up! |
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| i start to fill the shelves with all my lovely things i've been missing for months (including this gorgeous tea-set, a charity shop find!) |
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| 3 trips to ikea and i find the perfect bar stools...now all i need are some barflies to test them...! |
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| the fence is lovely and the herb garden and plants are settled in now that the old kitchen has been removed! |
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| the paint-a-thon begins...with a little help from a friend... |
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| johnnie brundle-chef - after a hard few days painting tests the kitchen and barfly facilties! |
...and it really is lab-white brilliance...so its time to unpack the shed and find a home for all my books and pictures (this is an ongoing process.......!).
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| emptying the summer house....this could take some time... |
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| labour intensive decision to color-stack the books...but well worth it I think! |
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| achieving a state of whitenessssss..... |
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| a place for everything and everything in its place...including my new BARFLY! |
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| my first new purchase...a fly print from the lovely & charming Rory Dobner...collected today from his studio in Hampstead! |
i can't believe its really over...and it looks absolutely FABULOUS! i've already been inspired to make some delicious food and had a number of friendly bar-flies round to to test the bar-stools - so after months of hibernation i think the party is ready to start....the grand opening will be a wicked party August bank holiday weekend...i just have to get all the boxes unpacked by then!!!
