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Our new kitchen, week three; massive progress

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kitchen, new kitchen, DIY, property, home improvement, sink, hob, oven
Things have come on massively in the kitchen over the past week. Things are basic and its dusty, but at least we have a working oven, sink and units.

The past week has seen some rapid progress in our kitchen. No longer is it an empty shell of a room, it now features a hob and oven, functional sink and some of the units are in place.

There’s a lot to do, but things are taking shape and the end is in sight. This is in stark contrast to my last update when the units were unavailable and so the builders went to work on other jobs (quite understandably in my opinion).

Here’s a summary of what’s happened over the past week;

  • The sink has been plumbed in and works, although various components still need to be added so it’s incomplete, but functional
  • The gas hob and electric oven have been installed so instead of burning money on take-away food and eating out, we are now eating ready meals and slow-cooked meals thanks to the guys at YouTube Kids who read about our kitchen work and sent me a slow cooker as a gift (how amazing is that? Thanks guys!)
DIY, home improvement, new kitchen, hob, oven, sink, kitchen units
Here is the hob, oven and sink without me lying on it provocatively.
  • Most of the units are now in place
wall mounted units, new kitchen, family home, open plan kitchen diner,
The wall mounted and under counter units are now in place.
  • The splash back behind the and sink, hob and other work surfaces have been tiled with 10cm x 20cm cream coloured metro block tiles from Topps Tiles (see video below for more)
  • The utility area at the far end of the kitchen has come on massively with unsightly pipework and wiring having been boxed in and much of the paintwork having been completed (by me, not the builders)
DIY, home improevment, utility room, utility area, boxing in, property,
Unsightly pipework and wiring in the utility area before it had been boxed in. Looks nice, yeah?
Utility area, utility room, boxing in, coving, pipework
The same area after the wiring and pipework had been boxed in. This area will be shut off from the rest of the kitchen and primarily used for storage. It needed to be improved, but it doesn’t need to be done to quite the same standard as the rest of the kitchen.
  • The builders have started installing Madera light-hickory wood laminate flooring supplied by Wickes, although this is in its early stages so I’ll blog about it in detail at a later date.

Here’s a short video I’ve recorded showing you what has happened over the past week. Please do watch and tell me what you think.

You can, by the way, read previous updates and watch other videos by clicking here for the first update, here for the second,  here for the third and here for last week’s.

Once the kitchen is installed and finished, I’ll produce a list so you can see exactly what we’ve had put in place. I won’t do it yet, as work is still ongoing, suffice it to say the supplier is Howdens and the units are cream-coloured shaker-style units from the Burford range.

There’s lots to do and we’re about a week behind schedule, but the end is now in sight. Two big jobs remain; instillation of the island unit and breakfast bar plus instillation of the rest of the flooring. As I said above, some of the flooring has been installed already and it’s happening at a rapid pace. It could be finished very soon indeed. What’s in place already looks great and we can’t wait to see it finished off.

Regarding the island unit, we’ve had to make some last minute changes to the design. Over the weekend, we had a good look at what the builder had already installed and what was left to do. It was only at that point we realized we had ordered a kitchen with no drawers whatsoever; everything was dedicated to cupboard storage.

Some drawers were in the original design, but they were a part of the dresser we decided not to have at the eleventh hour. It simply hadn’t occurred to us that by making this decision we would lose all the drawers for keeping cutlery.

It’s going to cost more money, but we’re going to have drawers placed in the island unit. Having seen how much storage space we have, we’ve also decided to remove one of the bigger floor-mounted units from the island. This will enable us to have a larger breakfast bar that will seat four people instead of two.

I suspect there will be some mopping-up to do, but next week I hope to show off a kitchen that is pretty-much finished. At the very least I would expect to have the island unit and breakfast bar in place, plus the flooring.

Tell me, what do you think of the kitchen so far? If you take a look at this blog post or this one, you’ll see how far we’ve come in a matter of weeks. I hope you’ll agree things are looking much better now.

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46 thoughts on “Our new kitchen, week three; massive progress”

  1. Wow, that is huge progress and it’s looking really good. It must be such a relief to have a functional sink and oven. It’s a good job you realised the issue with the drawers when you did – a kitchen without drawers would be very strange!

    1. Yeah, we were a bit surprised we let that one slip. That said ‘though, we would have hoped the kitchen designer would have raised a flag! Anyway, things are coming along nicely now. Just finished touches mostly.

  2. Starting to look amazing John! This seems to have been going on forever….I can’t imagine how it must feel for you in it! How are the kids coping?

    1. Kids are loving it as it happens. As a side project, we’ve moved them both into the same bedroom in bunk beds and they’re loving this development. It does, however, seem to have been going on forever. I just want to get the major work out the way now so we can clear up the dust.

      1. Yeah, a kitchen without drawers; wasn’t our finest hour! Anyway, all coming along nicely now. Builders haven’t been on site for a couple of days so I’m hoping they return today.

  3. You’ve made fantastic progress from last week. The olive green paint looks great against the units and that radiator is amazing. It must be wonderful to have a cooker again! We have all our local takeaways on speed dial at the moment! #homeetc

    1. Progress has indeed been swift. Every time I’ve walked into the kitchen while the builders have been here the builders have achieved some other goal. It is, by the way, marvellous to have a working cooker again.

  4. It’s looking good. I love the sink and the paint colour. We are just about to embark on our kitchen update journey and I’m a little bit terrified! Just making the decisions has been enough to send me off to rock quietly in a darkened room! Any tips for surviving the mayhem? I’ll bet it feels so good to have a working sink and oven again! #HomeEtc

    1. As it happens, I was thinking of doing a “things to consider when getting a new kitchen / major building work” post. For me I think the biggest decision was really choosing the correct contractor. I think we did okay! Very best of luck and do tell me when the work commences, I’ll watch with interest.

  5. It looks great! I really like the sink – next time I plan a kitchen from scratch I’m definitely having a nice ceramic one again. Good luck with the rest of the job! #HomeEtc

    1. The ceramic sink is great. Thoroughly recommend it and much better than the grotty, brown acrylic thing it replaced.

  6. Wow John that’s epic progress it feels like compared to the last post I read! Loving the Roman pose too 😉 I have a feeling I’m going to be very jealous when it’s all finished #HomeEtc

    1. Glad you like the pose! I have been reviewing photos from the project as it’s progressed and I can’t believe what we were living with just over a month ago. Even though it’s not quite finished I can’t believe the difference it has made to the property.

    1. Thanks Sabrina. The tiles are one of my favourite features. We almost went for tiles with a crakced glaze but I’m glad we didn’t. Think they could have aged very quickly.

  7. Caro | The Twinkle Diaries

    I just can’t believe how rapidly it’s all coming together!! Just fantastic — really, really starting to take shape!! I can’t WAIT to see the finished kitchen! 🙂 Thanks so much for linking up John — I’ve really enjoyed seeing this kitchen makeover 🙂 #HomeEtc

    1. Glad to hear you’re enjoying it. It is all coming together now. Taking longer than we hoped but that was always going to happen! It’s been fun taking part in #HomeEtc and I still have lots planned so I’ll be around for a while yet.

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  9. It looks like you are making really good progress, despite the set backs. I love your choice of tiles too! Going to be lovely when it’s finished ? # twinklytuesday

  10. Argh the pics aren’t working on my phone! I will have to come back and look on the laptop! You had me at the word island though! Always wanted one but not got a big enough kitchen! Maybe one day. Really glad it is getting there for you all and hopefully not too I’ve schedule xx!#twinklytuesday

  11. It is looking great John. You must be thrilled with the progress, even though there have been a few last minute changes needed. I’m looking forward to seeing the finished version soon.
    #twinklytuesday

  12. Ahh it’s so exciting seeing it all coming together, such a far cry from what you had before 🙂 I love how light and bright it looks – looking forward to seeing it finished (not as much as you though, I’d imagine!) Becky #TwinklyTuesday

  13. mummyofboygirltwins

    WOW this is coming along so well 🙂 Yay! Am enjoying seeing all the progress. bet this is getting exciting now that the messy work is almost done. Great photo’s too this week ha ha 😉 Thanks for linking up – much appreciated 🙂 Jess xx

    #HomeEtc

  14. It looks great!! I am very jealous. We rent our house and I would love to change the kitchen but we can’t 🙁 Yours is looking great though – look forward to seeing it when it is finished! #TwinklyTuesday

  15. Mess and Merlot

    OMG we had our kitchen done before Christmas, along with extending it at the same time – such a slow, painful process, especially with kids in the mix! I do feel for you but looks like the finish line is in sight – will be amazing when it’s all done!

  16. absolutely prabulous

    Ha ha haaaa I CAN’T believe that’s you on the units. Seems so out of character, I squealed with laughter. Priceless! And those are the kitchen tiles I want. Except they’re twice the bloody price here in Malta. #TwinklyTuesdays

  17. This looks amazing – I’m very jealous. It will ace once it’s all completed, I love the radiator and looking forward to seeing the island unit. So glad that you are now able to cook meals at home now, I remember when we had our kitchen done turning our spare room (now nursery) into a mini kitchen with microwave and eating dinner in bed (we had no sofas at the time), and having lots of meal in Wetherspoons enjoying their curry night. Looking forward to seeing the finished result. #twinklytuesday. Claire x

  18. Hip hip hooray you have kitchen parts in hahah looking great the kitchen I mean. lol Bet it will be amazing all finished up and you will love every second of it spent on hard work and job well done. Thanks for linking up to Share With Me. Sorry to be late commenting we have my mother visiting from America. 🙂 Thanks for joining in. #sharewithme

    1. Enjoy time with your mother and thanks for taking the time out to respond. Looking forward to getting the final bits of decorating finished now.

  19. You made me laugh so much, thank you 🙂 Your kitchen looks amazing. I hope you enjoy cooking lots of great meals in it. And I’m not jealous … much

    1. Haven’t done any proper cooking yet. It’s all a bit disorganised at the mo! Glad I was able to brighten up your day with a laugh.

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  22. Hoorah for progress! The kitchen is looking fab and it’s going to be amazing when it’s complete! Definitely agree about the drawers in the island – everyone needs drawers. Glad the end is nearing and you’ll have your lovely kitchen to cook and entertain in. Thanks for linking up with #TwinklyTuesday

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