POOLING RESOURCES

My extended January Ebay sales are ticking over nicely and already the kitchen kitty has raised enough cash to cover the cost of buying a new gas hob and tumble drier. This is more than I can say for my paltry annual bonus this year which after tax might be enough to buy a new kettle or toaster. Naturally it was a complete surprise to me as according to popular tabloid reporting, all banker bonuses are generally in the region of around £130,000 so maybe the difference is helping to subsidize the free vending machines in the bank's canteen ...

Pool table was snapped up by a local family from Poole at bargain basement price, leaving space in the dining room for deliveries, dumping and eventually a dining table. We had many a good laugh playing 'winner stays on' tournaments and hope its new owners get as much pleasure from the pool table as we did.

Pool table gone but not forgotten

And now a sneaky peak at our grand design with a few ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos of the existing kitchen layout and what the new one might look like.

BEFORE - back wall facing out onto back garden

Kitchen window to be replaced with a set of French patio doors leading out onto the decked area at the back of the house. Eventually, the decked area to be turned into a conservatory.

AFTER - back wall showing new French patio doors

An old Victorian house like ours has many quirky features, nooks and crannies that modern houses lack. In the ideal world, you'd be able to rip it all out to create a nice flat wall but as it's not possible to do so in our case then we've had to build the kitchen design around these features.

BEFORE - left side wall 

The existing fireplace will be extended upward to create space for the oven and hob. One recess is to be converted into a larder using tall cupboards, with lower base units flowing around the remaining recessed areas making better use of available space and providing lots more worktops.

AFTER - larder cupboards and fireplace cooking area

French doors leading directly into the back garden mean there's now no need for the existing back door.

BEFORE - right side wall with back door

In the new scheme of things, the back door will be bricked up and the existing window made smaller. All appliances (except oven/hob) to sit on this side of the kitchen.

AFTER - no back door and smaller side window 

Our main design objective is to achieve maximum use of space, increase storage capacity and worktop areas which even in our large kitchen always seem to be in short supply due to surface clutter.

I found it best to outline my ideas to the kitchen designers then let them come up with the layouts as with their expertise, many came up with suggestions that I'd not thought of and their fabulous computer software lets you tweak the design until you reach the final visual illustration that can then be turned into the real thing.

WINTER IS COMING

‘Winter is coming.’  A cheesy, Game of Thrones inspired quote but quite apt as I looked out across the snowy wasteland of Poole Park this morning and thought blimey, that was a hard frost last night!  There’s a small fluffy dog scampering across the frozen grass which could almost be a direwolf if I squint long enough. At 7.30 am, it’s all blissfully quiet and white – just me and a few other nutters enjoying the wintry landscape.

Outside our front door at 7 am

Poole Park cricket pitch

Been sat in the toastiness that is our office all day wearing more layers than a Sara Lee gateau.  It’s one of those rare moments when the heating is actually on, we’ve no work to do and I’ve drunk more tea than the PG Tips monkey.  I’m bloated and bored and blogging on the sly.

Popping over to our local Wickes later on this evening as we’ve reached a decision on the new kitchen so it’s time to sign on the line and commit ourselves fully to Project Nouvelle Cuisine (it’s all my tea soaked brain can come up with at this time of day).  They’re the best of the bunch given our budget and desire to have a kitchen that isn’t one of those shiny white slab affairs.  I prefer the more traditional wood look finish but it that it seems comes at a price especially if it’s solid wood. 

Choosing a kitchen is far from easy (rolled eyes).  I’ve had many a sleepless night mulling over carcass thicknesses, laminate worktops and whether to go for a single or two bowl sink not to mention the tiling/colour scheme dilemma (we’ll come to that one on a separate post!).

But for now, I’m just going to enjoy another cup of tea before snuggling under my duck down duvet to annoy the other half with my incredibly cold (and he would say cheesy) feet.

Enjoy the winter wonderland of a snowy Poole Park!

Red sentinels in the snow

The lake has frozen over

A wintry wonderland

That water must be freezing

Looking across the boating lake