Friday 1 January 2016

New Year, "New" Kitchen

Happy New Year ! from Horatio
Happy New Year to all my blogging friends ! I wish you all health and happiness for 2016 - may it be your best year yet :)

The reason I only managed one blog post in December is because we were doing major renovations to our kitchen...

A little into December we decided to rip out the under-stairs pantry (what my friend Nancy would term a "glory hole") in an attempt to create a kitchen-diner and free up space in our small lounge. Whilst it was fun engaging in demolition and ripping out the old plasterboard walls and shelves etc, the result was some large holes in various walls and a LOT of dust and mess. 

Lovely hubby worked tirelessly from morning until often late at night to get all the structural work done before my Christmas break so that all we had to do was paint everything and do finishing touches. He concreted, plaster-boarded, plastered, created a new opening between the kitchen and stairs complete with spindles, fitted a new light, removed an old radiator and sorted out the flooring (see below). I have painted ... and painted ... and painted ... not only the walls but all the kitchen cabinets too.

We have now finally finished the work and here are the results!





I'm so happy I now have somewhere to display all my lovely china !

"Polka Turkey" - my latest acquisition from Emma Bridgewater

Some vintage pieces in amongst the Emma Bridgewater

The kitchen cabinets are painted in Farrow & Ball's "India Yellow" - glorious !

The amazing floor tiles we unearthed beneath other tiles and layers of paint !



We can now enjoy the results of our hard work for the forthcoming year.

Do you have any big DIY projects planned for 2016 ?

Fiona x

12 comments:

  1. oh wow!! What a BEAUTIFUL kitchen! i am very jealous :) i adore that chicken wallpaper too! Where did you get it?
    our house and garden is our big DIY for 2016 haha- no surprise there
    Happy New Year :) xx

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    1. Thanks so much :) I'm very happy with it. The chicken pattern is actually a roller blind covering a small window we don't use as it overlooks our neighbours. We have a larger blind on the main window too. They were from Dunelm about 18 months ago. Good old Dunelm! Happy New Year my friend xx

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  2. Your kitchen is just beautiful, I must admit I am a bit nosey I love seeing other peoples homes, I love to go through the keyhole, that floor is a wonderful find, how old is your house?
    Happy new year to you both, lol Marlene x

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    1. Sorry forgot to say love the new look blog x

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    2. Thank you Marlene. Like you, I just love seeing inside other people's homes. I get two housey magazines on subscription and I spend hours looking through them. Our cottage was built circa 1860. It's very small so we have to be really clever with space etc. As you can see, I love to collect china but have limited display space. No room for a dresser! I will post some more pics of our home soon. As for the blog, I decided it needed a fresh look for 2016 - I'm glad you like it. Happy New Year my friend x

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  3. Our home looks to be a little bigger than yours but we have four of us living in the space so like you we have to be creative with the use of what we have got. 2015 was the year of the porch which has freed up space in the hall, so 2016 is going to be the year of the hall a big job as it includes the stairs and upstairs landing.......

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    1. Ours is pretty small, when you open the front door we have a small lounge and kitchen, and then above that one main bedroom, a box room and a tiny bathroom. But hey, there's only the two of us plus our two doggies. We manage. Your 2016 project sounds big!

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  4. Wow, what an inspiration. So much fun knocking down shelves and existing fittings - you must have had a blast! I hope that you didn't get carried away when all the dust settled and you saw how much work it was going to be to put all the new fixtures up!

    Helene Raymond @ Trade Squad

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  5. Looks great! I live in a very small cottage and I have been meaning to make a table for myself finally. I usually just sit at the counter and eat but I really do need to have a table to sit and eat at. I think I am going to look up some do it yourself wooden tables later today.

    Arthur Bryant @ Contractor Express

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  6. Every new year is a start to do something new but I commend you all for starting the new year by redoing your kitchen. There aren't many places you can see in someone's house so I believe if you can redo your kitchen, living room and bathrooms I think you are doing good.

    Fred Richardson @ SGK Home Solutions

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