In our last post (2 months ago, yikes!) we shared our design hopes for our kitchen. I thought it would be fun to look back at the kitchen, and show you where we are today. Things sometimes get worse, before they get better!

Here’s what the kitchen looked like in December 2014, when we first viewed the house:

When we moved in, in June 2015, the carpet, sofa cushions, and wallpaper all had to go. The refrigerator and freezer were still filled with food (!) and went straight into the skip (dumpster). The ceiling and walls had to be scrubbed clean of damp and mold. I washed dishes for days. We couldn’t use the cooker until we rewired the room in August, so all our meals were made on a camp stove or outside on the BBQ all summer!

As the weather got colder, the kitchen truly became the hub of the house. It was our sitting room and office in addition to where we cooked and ate. I cooked and baked a lot! You can see us testing out different colours for the presses (cabinets) and walls. During the day, I would move the space heater to wherever I was working, and in the afternoon we would light the fire for the night. It was cozy.

This is what we found when we uncovered the fireplace. The light was too low to get a good shot, but look at the opening! Perfect to house our wood stove. We were hoping to expose the brick underneath, but it is in bad condition. We’ll end up having to stone clad the chimney breast instead.

Here you can see the room gutted, with plumbing run above, and metal stud work for the dry lining in place. Currently, rolls of insulation are stored in the kitchen. Needless to say, we are back to the camp stove / BBQ since the builders began in June…

Here is the progress of the french doors. They are going to make an enormous difference! It is still a low light room, which is not ideal for a kitchen. With trimming the trees back outside, adding recessed, pendant and ceiling lights, plus some strategically placed mirrors we are hoping to maximise the light we’ve got.

Looking out the doors to the gate at the river is going to be incredible. I’m imagining sipping my morning coffee on our patio (very low on the priority list…) someday.