A few years ago (2004 per my photo records), we renovated our house in Colac. After a lot of work with Barbara Allen Kitchen Designs (no website), we came up with a design that stayed within the existing footprint. It ended up being the best kitchen I have ever worked in, bar none.
Of course, I didn't take any decent after photos, and only a handful of before and during ones.
When we moved into the house in late 2002 (I was pregnant with son #2), the kitchen was weird. I mean weird. It was around 5.5m x 3.2m, with the only accessible powerpoints at one end of the kitchen, as far from the sink as possible. Oh, and those powerpoints (where the toaster, and the kettle, and the microwave all went) were on the circuit that also had about 90% of the rest of the house on it too. Guess how often we tripped it?!
The bench was narrow (45cm), low (around 80cm), and the drawers were barely functioning. The single bowl sink didn't drain well, and the wall cupboards were also low set, such that I couldn't see the back of the bench while standing.
Within a couple of months, I had the main bench replaced with a deeper, full height bench, with operable drawers, double sink, dishwasher and power points. That made it tolerable, if still a bit weird.
Of course, when we did the full blown renovation in late 2004, we discovered that the green wall panelling was in fact asbestos sheeting. Threw in a few complications.
We removed the wall between the dining room and the kitchen. The one with the stove, behind me to the left in the above photo.
The floor also had to be taken up and replaced (old lino, damaged floor boards, wanted plinth-mounted drawers requiring a dead level floor).
The old, skillion-roofed laundry was pulled down (it stuck out awkwardly from the back of the house) - it was relocated to the former inset back porch.
And in the meantime, we moved most of the kitchen to the spare bedroom, using a camping stove, microwave oven and rice cooker for all our cooking needs. (Rice cookers can cook pasta, FTR)
And did our dishes in the bathroom...
Of course, I didn't take any decent after photos, and only a handful of before and during ones.
When we moved into the house in late 2002 (I was pregnant with son #2), the kitchen was weird. I mean weird. It was around 5.5m x 3.2m, with the only accessible powerpoints at one end of the kitchen, as far from the sink as possible. Oh, and those powerpoints (where the toaster, and the kettle, and the microwave all went) were on the circuit that also had about 90% of the rest of the house on it too. Guess how often we tripped it?!
The bench was narrow (45cm), low (around 80cm), and the drawers were barely functioning. The single bowl sink didn't drain well, and the wall cupboards were also low set, such that I couldn't see the back of the bench while standing.
 |
| Original kitchen, complete with dirty dishes. |
Within a couple of months, I had the main bench replaced with a deeper, full height bench, with operable drawers, double sink, dishwasher and power points. That made it tolerable, if still a bit weird.
 |
| You'll just have to look past me and the boys. |
We removed the wall between the dining room and the kitchen. The one with the stove, behind me to the left in the above photo.
 |
| The old fireplace/stove cavity |
 |
| Looking into the once-and-future kitchen, and into the dining room (with box bay window) |
And in the meantime, we moved most of the kitchen to the spare bedroom, using a camping stove, microwave oven and rice cooker for all our cooking needs. (Rice cookers can cook pasta, FTR)
And did our dishes in the bathroom...
No comments:
Post a Comment