Our New Sink has made my Heart Sink

Pathetic, I know - both the pun and the sentiment.

But I am in fact disappointed in my new sink as it has proved to be so small. I was very much looking forward to my kitchen extension but there have needed to be so many compromises. For instance we won't have room for a large fridge freezer with added ice maker when the time comes to replace the one we have, there also won't be room for the dining table I envisioned for large family and friend meals, we will only have room for a tiny table to seat two or three people, so gone are the ideas of Christmas dinner sat cheerful and laughing altogether. Several other more minor compromises or losses have been experienced, and now I find my double sink, although classed as two full sized bowls are far smaller than the single I have now. I believe this is due to sinks being made smaller in general now as new houses and kitchens are being built so much smaller than they were and certain appliances are downsizing to fit, plus the use of dishwashers has risen so larger sinks are often generally not needed anyway. Personally I prefer to wash up myself, it's much quicker and you don't have those dirty dishes hanging around in the dishwasher for too long. But it won't be so easy to wash up my larger pots and pans now.

Yes, I know there are worse things to worry about or be-moan but I am allowed to feel sad that my dream kitchen will only be a kitchen now.

Back to School

They've only been back since this morning and I'm missing them already. Yes, even their little tiffs. There's no grumpiness, no sitting in front of the TV and no having to repeat anything I say to their plugged-into-some-music-device ears, and I still find myself missing them. How strange.

At least the boys are still here to keep me company as they carry on working on the kitchen extension. Here is a photo of  our current mess for you to look at

Living in a Building Site

I haven't posted in such a long time, partly because things just haven't felt right. All routine has gone.

We are having the long awaited kitchen extension done, and my goodness, what an upheaval. Anyone who has gone through this and lived inside the home while it's going on will relate and understand.

The kitchen cupboards have been moved to the dining room leaving the sink in the actual kitchen but once the wall came down and we needed to use the sink or walk through to the bathroom we were virtually outside. Luckily we are big camping fans as that is exactly what it feels like, going to the toilets and washing facilities at the other end of the field under the sky.

The sky wasn't actually overhead as due to all the very unseasonal rain the builders put up a large tarpaulin, but the sides are still open to the back of our neighbours garden walls.

Our poor neighbours, especially the new one who moved in just days after work started, have been wonderful, not complaining once about the amount of noise and dust they have had to put up with, all weekend too, nights ending at 10pm, they definitely deserve a case of wine and decent box of chocs, I think.

Weeks this has been going on, but the star builders, who happen to also be good friends, are working their bots off to get it done ASAP for us to live in a proper habitable house again.

  It's not just the kitchen extension but also  the bathroom downstairs, and the small bedroom upstairs being turned into a bedroom with small en-suite, so we will have a second bathroom with a long wanted shower. It was a bit of a shock when I walked past and saw the floor being kicked out so we had no ceiling to the kitchen too as the beams turned out to be rotten in the small room above. At least the house will be in tip top condition by the end.

Have a look at the photos and see what we're living in, but do realise, we are getting some strange bit of twisted enjoyment out of it, if enjoyment is the right word, or at least I mean we aren't stressed with it all, and The Chauffeur is learning lots as he is working with them every minute he's not doing his own job.

Kitchen Ideas

Ok, I've finally decided what type of kitchen I want. I have ummed and ahhed long enough between styles and have at long last come to a decision. Nothing out of the ordinary so don't get excited now.

It'll have painted cupboards, a white glossy marble tiled floor and painted walls. The ceiling, as we knew from the beginning, will be part window, but we're not sure if it'll be possible to have it in one whole sheet right across or several smaller ones with frames, and also whether it can come part way down the wall. As for the layout we made up our minds about that right at the beginning too, units under the window running round, leaving space for a large table the other side of the room.

As soon as planning permission has gone through we'll be able to go to a kitchen specialist who will be able to advise on the best style and placing of cupboard units etc. They'll be also able to tell us of the latest techniques, and gadgets.

I cannot wait! We first decided on having a new kitchen three years ago, and asked a friend of ours to take on the work. He's good and won't charge as much as some might. Unfortunately he's so good we had to wait two years, then, when they were up he asked us to wait another year! He can't start till next April or so. He's very much in demand, all via word of mouth. Well, at least it's given us time to save, and it's going to cost a lot!

I'm having painted cupboards as opposed to the glossy ones I thought I'd made my mind up about because this way, when I change my mind about the colour as I inevitably will, it can be easily changed, the walls too. Not sure about the colour yet, maybe a nice shade of plum.

Here's a picture of the colour of kitchen daughter#1 would prefer, black, of course. To go with the black bedroom she'd also like...

As things come together I'll post on the blog. I'm always on the lookout for gadgets, ideas and furniture for the ideal kitchen and I'm sure it'll all be posted on here. Next to make up my mind on is the type of table to buy, a big black oak one, scrubbed pine or something else altogether? Hmmm.