CUPBOARD LOVE

One of the few benefits of living in an old Victorian pile aside from all those quirky features such as architrave or wrought iron fireplaces is generously sized rooms with ample floor space and high ceilings. These wonderfully spacious rooms mean that with clever interior design you can achieve maximum storage and as everyone knows, you can never have enough cupboards to fill with clutter.

Tall wall hung cabinets of approx. 90 cm height mean we can capitalise on the extra high ceilings to get more bang out of our cupboard bucks. The first of the glass door display cabinets have been hung next to the window and by the look of things, the next batch have been marked out on the wall ready to hang tomorrow.

Glass door display cabinets fitted

Meanwhile on the other side of the room, base units have been assembled and positioned around the old fireplace.

Preparing units for the other side of the room

Perhaps one of the strangest things I’ve noticed about buying a kitchen is that although we purchased an oak look kitchen only some of the carcasses are actually finished in a wood coloured veneer. In a way, I feel this is a bit of an industry con as you spend all that cash only to end up with oak coloured units above the worktop and off-white coloured base units underneath when what you really expect to see is oak coloured units both inside and out.

All that glitters is not gold and all that is described as an ‘oak’ coloured kitchen is definitely not all oak although Wickes reassured me that once the doors and fascias were fitted, I’d probably not see any white bits. Little do they know that this is the type of thing guaranteed to give fusspots like me sleepless nights.

SINK OR SWIM

We have plumbing! Not only do we have a functional washing machine but the kitchen sink and new mixer tap is also fully plumbed in. No more trips to the upstairs bathroom to fill the kettle or to rinse out crockery in the bath tub. Our new sink is even larger than the old one so lots more space to soak all those dirty pots and pans.

Kumai Chrome Monobloc tap

I was a little concerned about the positioning of the new tap particularly as it's quite tall and this might have affected our ability to open the window.  However as the sink is not fully centred under the window this turned out OK but something to bear in mind for those of you out there buying new kitchen taps, height could be an issue.   

Sink and tap fully plumbed in

 

The Kumai Chrome Monobloc tap is polished chrome, simple and sleek in design with side control levers. Don't be fooled into thinking this tap is rubbish as I know most product reviewers gave it the cyber thumbs down on the Wickes web site due to issues with water pressure.  This tap works perfectly well in areas of good water pressure, with an ample fast gush of water being released.

First of the wall hung cabinets 

Tiling continues on the other side of the window

The new outside garden tap has also been plumbed in and probably in the nick of time too as some of the patio plants had almost reached the point of no return. A few have now gone to that great compost heap in the sky due to the prolonged dry spell.

At last I can water the patio plants

This was a variegated rhododendron

As the forecast rain has so far not materialised, it’s time to catch up on the mountain of washing that’s built up over the past month. Whilst the smalls are tumbling round in the washer, my four legged friends and I are chilling out in the garden.

All this kitchen work is so tiresome

These moggies are invading my personal space

I don't think that tortoise has spotted me yet

Was it something I said?

PHASE TWO BEGINS

And now for all those fiddly bits! It’s been 2 days since the builders returned to begin phase two of project Nouvelle Cuisine and to be honest I’m more than relieved. I’ve come to loathe microwave dinners, some of which taste less appetising than a bowl of Pedigree Chum. There is more nutritional value in the packaging than in the meals themselves. I really miss not being able to cook proper food.

Installing a kitchen is no easy task. For a desk jockey like me, it looks a logistical nightmare. For starters, there are so many different component parts to co-ordinate. There’s the assembly of the carcasses, wall and floor tiling, worktops, plumbing, gas and electrics, fitting of all the appliances and then a million minor snagging bits and pieces to tidy up once everything else has been done. Watching it all come together over the next week or two will be strangely fascinating.

Our chaps have begun with the right hand side of the kitchen as this is likely to be the easiest part of the installation having less fiddly bits and existing utilities (water and electrics). 

 

Assembling the carcasses

Tuesday – most of the base units and wall hung units have been assembled and positioned according to the detailed plan drawn up by the Wickes kitchen designer. Everything appears to fit where it should although getting the fridge and freezer into the gap at the end of the worktop might be a tight squeeze.

Positioning the base units

Will they all fit in according to the plan?

Wednesday – first length of worktop laid across the base units and hole cut out for the stainless steel sink. A black granite worktop would have been fabulous but in a kitchen the size of mine, would have cost a small fortune so I’ve gone with a smart black laminate one called High Definition Lunar Night. These high definition laminates are hard wearing for the money – just as well as I expect this kitchen to see me well into retirement.

Worktops 3 m long so will need a join on the end

Already the room looks longer

Thursday – tiling has begun. A section of jade metro tiles has been pegged out as a splashback across the wall where the back door once stood. The tiles are a good match for the Soft Fauna painted walls and will look lovely once edged with the gunmetal grey tiling strips.

Tiling between worktop and wall hung cabinets

Jade metro tiles pegged and ready to grout

Hurrah the washing machine has been plumbed in again! No need to pop round to mum’s this weekend for a cup of tea with a basketful of smelly washing. 

CAT BURGLAR

Look out, it’s the paint inspector! 

 

I think you've missed a bit over there

Word’s obviously got round that Charminster’s own crazy cat lady is re-furbishing the neighbourhood diner and our house has become a moggie magnet for every passing waif and stray. Here’s a photo of the latest feline intruder caught red handed (or should that be red pawed since cats don’t have hands) sneaking into the kitchen whilst we were painting on Tuesday night.

Best take a closer look to make sure

Definitely an opportunist cat burglar if ever I saw one. After a victory lap round the freshly painted kitchen and a few loud miaows, it was promptly escorted off the premises by the Cat Police.

Watered down base coat to cover the plaster

Use old leftover paint but make sure its Matt emulsion

Second coat in Dulux Soft Fauna 4

You'd never know we had the room plastered

First on the Wickes delivery list, my new kitchen turned up promptly at 7.00 am this morning. I was barely out of my PJs before the lorry searching for the blue balloon tied to the front door rumbled round the corner. Twenty minutes later, a cardboard box mountain deposited in the middle of the kitchen ready for next week’s installation to begin. It’s so exciting!

Got it all in the room - just!

LESS IS MORE

There’s a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza. There’s also paint all over my trainers as hours earlier I managed to poke a hole in the bottom of an old tin of paint and found myself submerged in a Dulux mini lake.

Unexpected hole in bottom of old paint tin

Super scrimpers take note. If you decide that it’s OK to use leftover paint to base coat dry plaster, best check there aren’t any rusty holes in the bottom of the tin before you start painting.

Plaster is all nice and dry after almost 2 weeks

Not all walls were re-plastered

Dry plaster is very thirsty. Almost as thirsty as I am as it’s been at least 4 hours since my last cup of tea. Less paint is more effective for base coating dry plaster and our builders recommended a diluted mix of 3 parts paint to 1 part water hence the thinking it might be best to use leftover paint for this first coat.

Working my way round the walls

And now for the fiddly bits 

It has taken all day to key in all the edges and slap a good coat of paint onto the plaster. My intention is to put 3 coats of paint on the walls, a base coat of leftover paint followed by a second coat of the good stuff then a final coat once all the units have been installed. A bit excessive perhaps but this will hopefully cover up any defects from plastering.

After many emails and web investigation, the search for Titanic Verde tiles turned up nothing so I’ve decided to buy the Dakar black/green tiles from Ebay as the closest match to my own floor tiles. Hoping the builders can lay these for me as part of the project.

Kitchen delivery is scheduled for next Thursday and I’ve no idea where any of it is going to go as both the dining room and lounge are now so full you couldn’t swing a cat in them (it’s OK puss, I’m not going to give it a try!).

SEARCHING FOR THE TITANIC

I’ve been on the trail of the lonesome tile since last week, chasing down every lead with the tenacity of a Rottweiler. Having tracked down a third party supplier via Topps Tile, I electronically pistol-whipped the poor bloke into confessing they’d originally imported my old Titanic Verde tiles from Spain.

Sample tiles received but only 1 is a close match

Time to put my rusty written Spanish to the test. Will Rocersa (a ceramic company based near Valencia) have a forgotten supply of Titanic tiles gathering dust under a sombrero somewhere? Only time and a good Google translator will tell.

Alas another cul-de-sac in the maze of my investigations but I did manage to get addresses for another 3 UK importers of Titanic Verde tiles. Chances of finding any are now on a par with discovering alien lifeforms working in the Co-op. (Right, so you’ve noticed that weird bloke behind the deli counter with the strange complexion and slightly spindly fingers too …)

Ragged edges where kitchen units used to be

A watched in-box never fills so back to the kitchen to figure out how we can neaten the ragged edges of flooring exposed by removing the old kitchen units. As tracking down matching tiles may not be possible, we’re going with the builders suggestion to create an elongated ‘door mat’ made from hard-wearing coir matting to fill the gap in front of the new French doors.

Straightened with a disc cutter

Anyone attempting to cut tiles that have been cemented onto a concrete floor be warned- this is a very risky business. Most floors once laid are not really designed to be taken up. You can’t just prise up the odd tile here or there. Cracks spread and before you know it, you’ll be pricing up a whole new floor – very expensive. But if you’re really careful and have a good diamond disc cutter, ragged edges can be straightened just enough to give a tidy finish.

Patio area in the daylight

Brick matching almost spot on