We're assessing, currently, what DIY jobs we want to do before we go away, and what we need to do. Did we need shelves in the kitchen?
Yes we absolutely did. Putting a plant and the tin of coffee and tea meant everything. I was going to die without it. I'd been thinking about it all week. Begged him. Pleaded. Tricked him into going past the timber recycling yard. Got some brackets off Amazon. Promised him bolognaise.
But some finishing touches maketh the kitchen, amirite? Besides, it got some essential items off the benchtop - less clutter is my onion jam.
Poor Jamie. We had the wrong wall plugs (half the bracket did go into studs, located with the stud finder, who he makes beep if he points it at himself) so we had to go to Bunnings, a round trip of 45 minutes, and it took waaaay longer than expected. I painted them with Fiddes Hard Wax oil.
I was pretty chuffed in the end. Especially when the undercabinet lights were on, the fire was lit, and the wine was at hand.
Of course, it meant I spent all the next day curating the shelves and arranging my cupboards. Everything feels in it's place now.
Then I had the genius idea of putting the toaster in a drawer, plugged in and all - no need to pull it in and out or clutter the benchtop. I love it. Yes, I only shut the drawer after toast, by which time it's cooled down. So we might have shelved the shelf idea - but then we wouldn't have had a toast drawer...
And - did I tell you about the rotating storage that created room to put the toaster in the drawer in the first place? Absolute genius.
Then I sat down and thought - fuck, the VJ panelling under the peninsula is the wrong colour tone and I cannot stand the vertical lines with the grout lines from the loungeroom. The arrow shows you what I mean. It's also a good photo to see the kitchen without the window or shelves or the splashback. Some of you might even remember the space when we first bought it (shit late 70's/80's kitchen) or without the kitchen there at all.
I really wanted maybe plywood, or copper panelling, or even painting it - but as Jamie said, it's a small house and the idea is to keep it light and bright. Plus, cashflow.
So we flipped the VJ panelling and I painted it the same colour as the walls (Haynes liveable white) and voila, I felt a bit better. Except - I really didn't like the plant where it was. I needed another texture, another tone. Something. So I pulled the brass Shiva where it was lost on top of the black fridge, swapped it for the pot plant - put a picture on the wall (yellow tailed cockatoos), tidied up the kitchen (again!!!)
Sitting down to (more) wine, we realised we had finished the kitchen.
Except for the grouting and sealing, we both said at once. Dammit!