These are all the various kitchens we had in 2017. There may be more… we might have blocked some from our memory.
1. We started in the original kitchen, which was past its best. There wasn’t enough space. The drawer fronts sometimes fell off in my hand. I gave myself an electric shock on a light fitting. I burned my arm a couple of times on the oven. It worked but it didn’t work.
2. At first, the building work was external and didn’t affect us. Then we handed the kitchen and dining room over to the builders and set up a temporary kitchen in the living room, repurposing some of the old kitchen cabinets. We had a sink, microwave and a single hob – I bought this Stellar portable induction hob especially and it was well worth it, because it’s small and safe. We also kept the washing machine going for a good while.
3. When Mick was ready to break through, we moved the temporary kitchen to the middle of the extension. The plasterers and decorators could work around the makeshift kitchen. It actually looked kind-of cool, with bare walls and task lighting: industrial chic, like a trendy New York loft apartment.
4. When the flooring crew arrived we needed to clear the entire ground floor, so we set up a temporary kitchen in my bedroom. There wasn’t enough space for everything, so food was stored in my daughter’s bedroom and dishes were washed in the bathroom.
5. At around this time, Jonathan revealed his courtesy mini kitchen. It’s like a courtesy car but for cooking: a mini camping kitchen that offers just the basics. Two gas rings, pans, kettle and cutlery and crockery for two. It’s a nice touch because, as a client, I felt cared for. Plus it offered light at the end of the tunnel because it’s so beautifully made.
6. Once the floors were in and Jonathan had fitted the first few cabinets, I moved back downstairs and started cooking in the kitchen in progress.
7. Last but not least, we didn’t make enough use of the outdoor space but there was always the option of cooking on the barbecue to keep us sane.
