Kitchen Bliss......

I inherited our old kitchen when we moved into our house 12 years ago. The cupboards were sound and ok, so a little makeover was done just to make it more 'us'. Cupboards were painted, new worktop was put in. Tiles we hated were replaced by tongue and groove we loved more. It worked well. It wasn't ALL us, but we didn't have the money to re-fit a whole kitchen, even if it was a small one. I managed to make it work for several years and be content with what changes were made. Every so often, the cupboards would get a sand down and a re-paint to freshen them up and make it look a bit more presentable again.

The last couple of years though saw our little kitchen start to struggle. One by one the drawers started to become stiff and not move. One by one the door hinges started to droop, become loose and, eventually become unfixable. Even a lick of paint couldn't disguise how tired my little kitchen had become.

In truth, it had become a daily battle. One which frustrated me. This was a place that, although small, needed to be hardworking. With the three Bears CONSTANTLY in the kitchen opening cupboards and fridges searching for food, it needed to work better.......and I was desperate to be able to get into a drawer without my arm almost falling off.

I didn't want fancy, I just wanted the basics. It was a small galley kitchen, all we were going to do was replace units like for like. Appliances were still sound so they could stay. It was going to be quick.....and easy. 

So, the thought was a good one. It was really not a whole kitchen re-furbishment, really just replacing units and keeping everything else.

Well, things never quite pan out the way you want them too, do they? Quite soon we realised that the units I had were made in old style kitchen measurements. The units I wanted had a whole different set of measurements which meant the whole 'easy peasy' like for like just wasn't going to work. It became the flowers on the window sill scenario. Bit by bit, all the things we were planning on keeping we had to change also.

We were working on a set budget too, trying to keep costs down to a minimum, so most of the work was done by myself and family members. That took the length of this kitchen re-fit to a few months.

It has been a long few months. I have had a house in a complete mess for such a long time, it's been a real struggle to keep on top of things, both physically and mentally. Whilst not being a neat freak, I just found staring at piles and piles of stuff week in week out completely draining. Tripping over everything too. Add to that the messy Bears and you get the picture right? Paying people to have the kitchen done in a few days, was certainly the easiest option, but I have to say, the sense of satisfaction of completing it (almost) is really rather nice. I still hate grouting. Actually I hate it with a passion. My fingers are still a little numb and sore, and my nails look very battered and sorry for themselves.

After 8 weeks of complete chaos, things started to get better, and I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

It's still not completely finished. I'd say it's 95% done. But all the little bits can be done as and when. I'm happy to take my time on the little things. I still have some excess worktop to chop up and make some butchers blocks with and a shelf. But I have a workable kitchen, and the rest of the house is slowly getting back to normal.

After 12 years of living with part of someone else's kitchen dream, I can walk into a room that is more me. It's nice.....no...it's lovely. It's not grand, it's quirky with its non professional fitting, but I like that. Uneven walls and floors make for tricky work.

Trouble is.....it now shows me just how tired the rest of the house is! I'm not in any hurry to start up another project. I'll love the lived in battered look for now!

xxx