Introducing the Kitchen.....

 

Welcome. Let's step inside Old Victoria. As you can see this is an extension- likely built in the late 70's or early 80's when bessa block (those large rectangle, grey, concrete looking blocks)were all the rage as they were readily available, required little mortar and were a much cheaper option than brick or stone. To the left are beautiful french doors that lead to the backyard. Looking forward is the u-shape kitchen. The second photo is just the kitchen...Looks so neat and tidy doesn't it? Well it wasn't! Very few of the draws opened and the cupboards were hanging on within an inch of their 1980's life. There was black smoke damage all along the wall where the oven/stove was...this we discovered the day we pulled the kitchen out. The flooring is checkerboard, vintage green (which is never to be seen) and cream. The photos are so misleading. The stove and oven didn't work. To be honest, the oven was so dirty that we couldn't get it clean. Not even with a cleaning agent reserved for removing grease from driveways. The rangehood was dripping with grease...Ew. The only thing that did work was the dishwasher, which we ended up selling for $200 on gumtree. The first thing to go was the kitchen....and boy was that not fun at all. Don't get me wrong, I love a good demolition, but when I pulled the kitchen out, I was not at all prepared for what I found....

 

Here are my tips for renovating a kitchen:
1. Understand how you will use the space, how you want your kitchen to function and what other functions such as laundry (common in the UK) facilities, additional sinks, butlers pantry etc you would like to incorporate into your kitchen.
2. Look where the natural light is - do you want an outlook? If you are renovating and have considerable space within the vinity of the existing kitchen, ask yourself if this is the BEST place for the kitchen. Can it be moved across the room or reconfigured to a different shape.
3. Take your time, and don't rush. Keep a photobook of images and colours that you like as inspiration.
4. If using a cabinet maker - show your photobook to them and discuss your style and function with them. They may think of an idea or design that you haven't thought of.
5. ENJOY. Enjoy the process. Picking out tiles, splashbacks, tapware (my favourite pastime), paint colours, bench top materials etc is a chance to be creative and a chance for you to create something for yourself or your family.

In my next post we move outside to the backyard.......let's just say that pool I talked about in my first post, well that didn't last long at all!
Remember, you can never go wrong with white. X S.