Slow progress...

Hello all! I have just climbed out from underneath a dusty pile of rubble. The wall is completely gone now and we are roughing it in the new space. That line on the floor is where the kitchen used to end. The chairs and table are in the new bit while we level the floor. Typical unforeseen issue. It's taken quite a lot of levelling compound to raise it up and apparently it wasn't helpful when I suggested we should have used concrete because it was cheaper. Anyway, it's done and we are now waiting for some help with the boring bits, like moving a fuse box, creating a new lighting circuit, new plugs, blah blah. When that's done we'll need a plasterer.

By the way it is pouring down in Lincolnshire today hence the low levels of light for the photos. I know I say this a lot but this is the first day in ages that I've got the place to myself. The children had a half day last week due to an open day. Then Friday was an inset day. They had a day off yesterday due to a strike. Ella has been at moping around the place with a nasty cold. She is very rarely ill so naturally she thought she was dying. It was a throaty one and she was off her food so she's eaten jelly and ice cream in very small doses for five days.

Meanwhile M and I have spent some serious time at IKEA. He who formerly hated the place and would only consent to going once every three years is now on first name terms with an array of IKEA kitchen staff and rushes to get there before 11 for the hearty English breakfast. This is all very good but it seems the more we go the less I like going. It was fabulous and fun when the children were small and the furniture was cheap and ideal for them, not to mention that we bought a £1 toy every time which kept them happy for the journey home. In fact 'one pound IKEA Ted' was Jake's one and only favourite Ted for years... but I digress, as Ronnie Corbett would say.

So we've been round the houses (the IKEA house), we've opened drawers, run our hands along worktops, looked inside cupboards (here's where m gets excited... a big wide drawer with a place for every utensil, oh my!). We have pretty much decided on the look we want and I know the planning software inside out now, so much so I even put a house plant on the window sill yesterday! Yep.

My first choice would be classic oak. M hates that one. His first choice would be cream shaker, we've just ripped out shaker and boy was it a nightmare to keep clean with dogs and a cat. I didn't want shiney doors which eliminates quite a few options. So we're looking at something like this...

I know, most poeple talk about replacing dark kitchens, but we reckon with two windows and a half glass back door, plenty of white tiling and white walls and ceiling, not to mention one entire wall of just white cupboards, we'll probably have enough light. We've also chosen two pendant lights for the central island and we'll probably have some of those lights that sit flush with the ceiling. M wanted plinth lights but I've put my foot down. I think they are largely pointless.

The funny thing is that we have bare plaster walls, brick dust, an old table, four odd chairs and a slight pong from a dodgy drain in this new kitchen space and yet everyone is congregating here to chat, eat, surf, etc. We've just got room for an island down the middle of the room and with four stools I think it's going to end up being our regular place for eating, chatting, homework, craft... Ping pong even!

I'm not sure this link will work but if you copy and paste it..it's below the main picture.

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/categories/departments/kitchen/roomset/20141_kiro16a/

It's a fabulous little video clip of how much use an island might get, including table tennis!

Ps. Thanks C for giving me a nudge back into blogland!