Twenty Six Month Renovation Update

I've not posted a full renovation update since July so there has been lots of progress on the kitchen and dining room. You'll know that we knocked down an internal wall before getting a new french door fitted and starting with the kitchen design. Well at the start of August the door was finally in place and we could start lining up trades for the rest of the work. 

 

Ripping out and throwing the horrible old kitchen in the skip was such a joy! We took the week off work and got the task done on the Monday. Initially we tried desperately to keep the sink and dishwasher in place for as long as possible but it just didn't work out with the work the joiner and plasterer needed to do. 

Next the electrician came round to run all the new cables for the kitchen and dining room. We changed everything so it was a full days work but the most difficult part was visualising where everything would go for the kitchen. We got there but it meant there was no usable sockets in the room so we had to move the temporary kitchen into the living room. 

We decided the easiest thing to do would be to frame out the external wall and put up plaster board so the joiner came to start the job the same week. The ceiling wasn't in good condition either (like the other rooms) so it was plaster boarded before a plasterer came to finish everything off. 

Next it was back to us to get everything painted so the kitchen could be fitted. It was a long weekend of hard work but we were determined not to hold anything up so we kept going. As we'd chosen such a dark colour for the kitchen we kept everything light with dulux kitchen paint in 'Pure Brilliant White'.

What a transformation the new kitchen is and it was so exciting to see the joiners progress as he put everything in place. There have been a few hiccups along the way - a missing door, damaged pieces then a handle drilled on the wrong side but it's finished now and I love it. Zero regrets about the colour either!

We've still got to choose tiles for the splash back - originally I thought I wanted white subway tiles but we'd have to have a half tile all the way along which I'm trying to avoid so now we're look at mosaics. I'm finding it really difficult to get something we like because everything that seems to be in the shops at the moment isn't to our taste... why so much gold? 

We're waiting until everything is complete but the finishing touch to the kitchen will be a new wood flooring. There are lots of decisions still to be made and Flooring 365 have lots of options.  

The electrician also hasn't had a chance to come back to connect the power for the under cabinet lights - it seems like a mistake was made when running the original cables that the new guys can't figure out but hopefully they are in place soon. 

If you follow me on Instagram you'll know I upcycled a sideboard for the dining room - so happy with the result even if you don't see the full effect without the skirting or flooring. I'm also working on these shelves for the alcove. I still need to sand and stain the boards but there will be plenty space for our cookbook collection soon. 

Finally, some extra bits that still need some work (when will it end?). We put in a door to the loft to keep out the cold air over the winter so we need to paint and make the temporary area not look such a mess. I'm thinking a print above the door would help.

We're also turning our attention to the pantry cupboard next. These shelves were a temporary measure while we ripped out the kitchen but now this cupboard is empty we can plaster board it and start installing custom shelves that fit what we need because clearly we need a lot of food storage. 

A new back door has been ordered too so everything will be water tight in the new year reading for flooring and skirting. In total we were without a working kitchen for 45 days... if you'd told me that at the start of the process I wouldn't have coped but now it's nearly finished it's all been worth it.