its all gone a bit bonkers over here at Belleau Kitchen and Belleau Cottage…
… we have a beautiful home, I never imagined the day that I would truly own the dream home that I now, in fact live in… but you know how it is… I often lie awake at night, moving walls in my head, turning furniture, adding a window here and a conservatory there… and of course it was always the kitchen that I had the biggest plans for.
… last year we had some plans drawn up to extend the back of the house… the idea is that we tear down the back wall of the cottage and build an open-plan dining room, out from the existing kitchen, opening onto the lovely garden with those fancy, floor to ceiling, folding doors… pretty much doubling the space of the room.
… the actual kitchen won’t be any bigger but I will finally have that dream space where I can cook and talk to people seated in the same room… it sounds glorious but the reality is that for the next 2 months the cottage will be an utter mess and in a couple of weeks I won’t have any kitchen at all as they remove the units to knock down the wall!
… both The Viking and I try as hard as we can to be environmentalists… so we’re not throwing out our beautiful kitchen, we plan to sand it down, paint it some fabulous chalky blue colour and then re-fit it in a slightly different configuration… oh and I am getting a new range cooker… (I have lived with the crappiest oven in the world for the last 8 years!)… but this will be my biggest luxury!
I am very excited… but of course, whilst I will strive to be creative with the microwave we plan to set-up in the spare bedroom, I imagine my blogging may become rather sporadic over the next few weeks.
… I will try and stock up on some cooking whilst I can… and I do have one or two fab guest posts from good friends, and of course, it will give me plenty of time to bother all my blogging friends over on all your fabulous blogs… so hopefully that should see us through…
in the meantime, don’t forget your Random Recipes… (I feel like a school teacher!) and more importantly… don’t forget to…
eat and of course, enjoy!
Oh you lucky thing getting your dream kitchen! Good luck with it all, hope the work goes smoothly. And I'm looking forward to seeing how you cope with only a microwave!
Good luck with all the renovations!! I'm very envious of the range cooker, I'm sure you guys can't wait to have it all finished!
How exciting! I desperately need to get my kitchen done, but the thought of the mess and disruption (plus a damp proof course) is putting me off big time! Good luck with yours – look forward to seeing some cooking from the microwave!
Oh Dom, I am green with envy. My kitchen is quite small and not attached openly to our dining area either. We have toyed with the idea of knocking down walls too. My kids education comes first so it will have to wait until they are all out of college. Damn them, just kidding of course. Sooo, I will live vicariously through you and the Viking's renovation and look forward to all the details.
well thanks guys… I hope I dont come across as too much of a lucky, ungrateful bugger… we've saved for this day for many years and I'm glad it's finally here!… well, not quite but soon x
Ouuu Exciting to get a new kitchen to impress the guest! Hope it'll all go well!
How exciting to see the vision of the kitchen you have always wanted!
Sounds like it wii be well worth the disruption! Fingers crossed for some nicer weather so you can at least BBQ everything!
Good luck with the work! I'm sort of house hunting, and my biggest question is where can my Brittania go? Couldn't manage without it.
Sounds great, hang in there while the work is going on, we had ours done last year and meals were 'interesting' to say the least. Salad or microwave anyone? lol!
Wow! Your new kitchen will be amazing, I'm sure of it. And the new rangemaster will be exactly what you need to reach 250C for all that sourdough bread with Lucretia's successor!!
How exciting and I do confess to being more than just a little bit jealous. I'd love to own a house, with a garden, a place to extend etc etc. Instead I have a flat 3 floors up with a balcony that is stuffed full with a BBQ, a bistro table and 2 chairs and as many pots of herbs, bulbs and strawberries as my Husband will allow lol. I'll have to live my dreams through you for the time being, can't wait to see the finished product!
Hopefully for the next few weeks you'll be able to “relax and enjoy” ~ having been through a kitchen renovation, I know how excited you'll be!
oh excited for you as the kitchen is such an important room
I am so glad you are getting your dream kitchen. You completely deserve it- and the new stove. I look forward to seeing what you can do with your microwave. I have a steamer that is meant to make a yummy microwave sponge cake, but I have never tried it. You could make it work, I bet.
oh my friend…i have been in your shoes…oh yes i have…but it will all be worth it….
happy to stop by today
i'll keep up on your progress
kary and teddy
🙂
Hotdog! Nothing like dreaming on something and finally realizing the dream! You can post grilling stuff and gardening things! And …. tips for those planning on future renovation work … so exciting to think of a new Belleau Kitchen coming into its own! Go for it!
Good Luck Dom. You're right, I'd find it dofficult to cope with all the mess – for a whole two months as well, but oh won't it be fabulous to have a decent sized kitchen. I grew up in a kitchen with a big table in it and that was the heart of the house and where all the action happened. I have to keep hoping that one day I will get a kitchen big enough for a table. i hate being isolated in the kitchen whilst everyone else is having fun elsewhere! CT and I can't even cook together as we used to. But I am looking forward to seeing yours when it is done.
This is really exciting. I can't wait to see the unveiling of the finished project. Fun.
How exciting! I was supposed to be getting my kitchen done this summer but it's been postponed for a few months. Can't wait to see how you do it!
We did roughly the same thing to our kitchen a few years ago and it's wonderful having a light and airy place to cook. As you say it's great being able to talk to people while you're cooking but, sadly, I haven't yet found a way of getting them to listen.
oooo fingers crossed!! just keep thinking…range cooker….range cooker!!! can't wait to see all the fabulous things you will be able to create with more room!! oh…and that range cooker! 🙂
Good luck Dom! It'll be worth it in the end no doubt…I'm soooo envious for sure!!
Good luck with your new kitchen it will be dream come true..
So exciting! And a range cooker – oh my. Can't wait to see pics of the finished kitchen
Best of Luck Dom, hope all goes to plan 🙂
I'm really looking forward to seeing what wonders you will manage with a microwave – you might actually manage to make me get mine fixed (it's been broken for several years!!)/replaced!!