Everything and the kitchen sink

The kitchen worktop is now on site but only after a great deal of grief.

We've chosen an island kitchen because the windows are so low to the ground in the living area. But it's a very large island, more like the North Island than Stewart Island. And because it's so large, a concrete benchtop wasn't practical - too big and heavy to transport and no-one seemed keen to make it on site. A formica worktop would have had to come in two pieces with a messy join and a stone worktop was well beyond our budget.

A stainless steel surface turned out to be the best option. Until it was damaged in transit and then the company manufacturing it had a few difficulties re-fitting the kitchen sinks after repairing the dent.

But now it features two big sinks, just like the old kitchen downstairs. And the builder has been able to fit the final sliding door now that the worktop is inside.



Here's the worktop propped up on some saw horses, roughly in the right position (though not quite at the right height), viewed from the dining area.



There'll be a pantry cupboard in the back right corner, the only wall unit, and large standalone fridge and freezer units alongside it.

And here it is viewed from the living room corner. The dining table will sit to the left.



The kitchen units - made from plywood with cut-away handles, should be being fitted as this post goes to press. I think that seeing it all in place will be one of the most exciting points in the project to date.

Out of the closet

Here's our walk-in wardrobe with the en suite bathroom behind. Both are a touch small but I'm looking forward to working out how to fit out the wardrobe to maximise the available space - it's the kind of organisational challenge that I love!



And the family bathroom is designed to use all four corners to full capacity as well. Although we got a bit of a surprise when the builder realised that the shower door wouldn't open without banging into the bath in one direction or the toilet in the other. So we've swapped it for one with sliding doors now!

Waiting...

Here are all the remaining windows and doors waiting in the rumpus room...

Wild Rumpus Room

Here's the concrete floor drying in the rumpus room. We'd considered having a polished concrete floor in here but decided that it would be too cold, particularly as the far wall is a retaining wall with an earth bank behind it. We're going to have the floor laid with a cosy wool carpet like the rest of the house instead.



The home cinema system will project onto the far wall on the left hand side whilst my desk and sewing table will be placed on the right. It's going to be a great space for projects and family time - so much more useful than the garage ever was.

We've finally decided on a colour for the beam too. My first choice would have been to leave it in its natural state but rustiness dictated against that. My second choice was to have it black like a lock gate but I was overruled. My third choice was fire engine red but we couldn't find the right colour in the swatches.

So eventually we've settled on pea green - the second shade from the bottom on this colour testing plank.

Wet Rooms

And here's some of the gib board in place - green Aqualine gib for the wet areas in the laundry (left) and granny flat bathroom (right).

Mystery Object

Any guesses what this piece of equipment might do?


We're fairly certain that it is used to lift pieces of gib board up to the ceiling so that they can be fastened in place. Much easier than balancing at the top of the ladder with the board waving backwards and forwards!

Steps in the right direction

After weeks of almost imperceptible progress, the renovations are now coming on in leaps and bounds. I'd been worried about whether or not we'd make it home by Christmas but the builder always assured us that it would happen. Now, on the first day of December, I almost believe him.

Our new, straight staircase

The windows are nearly all in place now, the internal walls have been gibbed and stopped, the internal doors are all on site and the bath is in place. The whole house is beginning to take shape.

Our neighbours are impatiently awaiting the grand unveiling when the shrinkwrapped scaffolding comes down to reveal the work so far. But they'll have to wait until the painter is finished first.

(If you'd been wondering why I haven't been posting over the last few weeks, it's because we've had visitors. Hop over to Tales of Jo to see what we've been doing.)