Myles and I have owned 4 houses/apartments over 16 years and have been told by our solicitor that perhaps we should stay put so that the government doesn't get all those extra taxes -whoops! too late. The best thing about owning a house is renovating to how you like which usually, for me, starts with the kitchen. I always have in mind what I want for a kitchen months/years in advance and then the rest of the house works around that design.
I got my idea for my kitchen in Darlington, Sydney from a commercial kitchen installed in the department store Grace Bros (not from 'Are You Being Served?'). Really it was all about the cobalt blue walls and stainless steel appliances, and I just needed the rest filled in. When we approached a kitchen company the sales person tried to talk me out of the blue, but I refused. In the end, when the kitchen was finished, he agreed the blue looked fantastic and he had never completed a kitchen like it. I also think the kitchen was the selling point of the house that was only 3.5 metres wide!
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| Original Kitchen |
When we moved into the country I looked at the original kitchen and knew it had to be changed quickly. The cupboards were rotting and there was almost no bench space - not to mention there was no room for my massive fridge. It doesn't really make sense to renovate the kitchen first - ceilings, plumbing and electrical work should really be finished first. But I do love to cook and didn't think I would last in the original manky kitchen. The fate of the kitchen was sealed when we learnt that Myles' parents were visiting for Christmas, along with his brother, and we kept finding 5 dead mice per day in the rotting cupboards. And so the design in my head was unleashed.
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| New Kitchen |
We visited a few kitchen companies and eventually settled with a local company with a sales person/owner we thought was very helpful. Our bathrooms were also installed by this company. The whole process was a chore with many mistakes and parts left uncompleted. During the installation process the company reneged on verbal agreements - stating they weren't listed in the contract. So on Christmas eve when I was called by the owner asking for payment on the unfinished kitchen and bathrooms I refused stating the contract said payment on completion of the project. He got incredibly angry, and I quote "So you want to play these games do you?" and tried to blackmail by saying that I was preventing his workers getting paid for the Christmas break, amongst other things. He then hung up on me.
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| The Super Oven |
Now I have been abused many times before - notably the infamous Ms Wei Hung while working at Kinokuniya - so his phone conversion shocked me, but didn't rattle me. He rang a hour later noticeability calmer but still insistent that we pay, claimed that the work was almost complete. My father had a great line that I should have used "Yes it is almost complete, and I am almost ready to pay". Alas I didn't think that quickly at the time. Eventually all the work was completed and we paid. Some parts on our behalf haven't been finished; there is no ceiling and the paint work hasn't even been started. But the kitchen looks pretty good. I wrote the owner a lovely letter stating that he was both unprofessional, and rude, and that I would be making sure everyone knew not to use his business. I also stated he must be in financial trouble if he needed my money to pay his workers.
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| View from the Front Window |
His visit 2 weeks later was very awkward and he said he was disappointed that I had written the letter. My response "I was disappointed with him for making me write it". Needles to say he said that everything that went wrong with the job was either my fault, or his workers fault. Basically, if you are in the area I can tell you who not to have a kitchen built by.
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| The Side Yard - this Area was completely overgrown when we moved in |
From the kitchen you can see the side garden where much of the vegetables are grown, and to the front is the entertaining area. So the kitchen really is the heart of the home.
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