Weeks 50-52: And at Last I See The Light…

Stealing some lyrics from one of Hunter’s favourite Disney songs for this post because it’s another one about lighting!

Also we’ve managed to obtain some renewed energy after taking some time out on our family holiday so can now talk a bit more positively about the build.

Whilst we were away, junior the electrician was “having fun” installing all the LED strip ambient lighting throughout the house.
For those that are interested about how to use LED strip lighting for different effects, I’ve written another post here called: “Everything we now know about lighting”
For everyone else, here’s a load of pictures…

Strip LED Lights in the ceiling windows

Statement pendants over the kitchen island

Downlights over the adjoining doors

LED strip lighting over bathroom feature wall

LED lighting hidden in our cinema room coving

Side Return lights

The MOST exciting lighting update actually happened this week. We’ve finally got the smart lighting system installed in the kitchen and garden! No more dining by lamp light….

Again, I’ll skip the detail about why and how we decided on the system and areas to tech up (see the lighting post).
We went for a system called RAKO. It’s hardwired but you can have wireless, and it just controls lighting.

This is what the control system looks like, which we are hiding in our utility room  the other cables are for all our internet and speakers etc to eventually go in to a switchboard and in a cupboard

Here’s the switches

Plus you can control it with an app

We have 8 circuits across the garden and kitchen and have programmed 5 different “scenes” which combines the different lights to set a certain mood.

 

As you can tell were rather excited about this!

So the garden should be looking lovely by next week and we can show off the rest!

K

Weeks 42-43: Living with the Builders

Our new front door!

So the past 2 weeks we have started to live in the house! As you can see by some of the pictures from the last post, we still have quite a few finishes, but the benefit of being in the house is that we can see the progress daily, be there to answer questions and best of all – be in the house in the evenings to talk through what is next and what we need to order!

Although I’m really going to miss having numerous different trades-people seeing me in my pyjamas urging Hunter to get ready for nursery!

Morning view of the hallway

First priority was getting a new (and working) front door, as the old one was being screwed in every day and we were accessing the side door. Once that was in, an Instagram poll helped us decide which colour (to be revealed) and on to the next item on the list!

The focus has been on the top two floors. The electrician was finishing a lot of the wall lights, and switches so that at least the bedrooms and some of the bathrooms have light.

We also have a working kitchen now! It has been so nice to actually cook in this space, something we have been dreaming about for nearly 2 years.

Speaking of which, I thought I would remind myself how far we have come by sharing some before and after pictures of the place. I have pictures from this time 2 years ago when we first viewed the house! I was still on maternity leave and Hunter was a lot more “controlled” in his buggy!

Here’s how the loft looks:

Loft Master November 2017

Loft master in May 2018

This even now has moved on, as there is a carpet and fixings on the wall! I’ll need to take some more “after” pictures at the right angle!

Loft Rear October 2017

Loft Rear May 2018

 

Loft Landing January 2018

Loft Landing June 2018

Look we have a stair runner! That was installed today! If you hadn’t spotted the cables coming out the wall or the lack of hallway radiator you’d think it was finished!

Remember when the walls and ceiling were removed on the first floor?

We’ve moved on a lot since then!

Front bedroom in September 2017

Front bedroom in May 2018

Side bedroom in July 2017

Side bedroom in October 2017

Side bedroom in May 2018

Family bathroom in July 2017

Family bathroom in May 2018

Strategically shot picture as there is still no toilet in this bathroom!

Another reason why moving in before the house is completely finished is actually quite good – you get to use all of the plumbing before people leave site. We had a few minor leaks and an issue with the drainage due to the house being used for the first time in 2 years. Well worth having a plumber handily coming in the next day to fix things!

Kitchen space once we had the rear demolished

Kitchen extension May 2018

More before and afters to come but that’s enough for now!

As you can see we are currently living with a minimalist approach to our furniture! It’ll take time to get the right table, chairs and sofas etc so we don’t want to make any rushed purchases! We are very grateful to our lovely neighbours who had lent us their emergency chairs and trestle table in the meantime!!

Next priorities are getting the garden finished so that we reduce the amount of dirt getting dragged through the house and Hunter has a place to properly play in!

K

Week 35: Kitchen Units!

We’ve been looking forward to sharing our kitchen design for some time now, as we weren’t kidding in our last post when we said it’s been in the making for 18 months!

Kitchen view from the hallway

As soon as we got the final design for the extension, we started sketching out how we would kit out the kitchen. It’s the most important part of the house for us, and somewhere that we anticipate spending 80% of our waking hours there when we move in.

There was a bathroom at the back of the kitchen

and a huge chimney brest

Kitchen before it was knocked down

Those that have been following our blog know that the whole rear of the house needed to be knocked down, and the kitchen area was re-built wider and longer. You can see the difference on the floor plans here.

The kitchen space in the picture above is actually now where the utility room is. You’ll also see from the pictures and plans that we decided to use the delineation between where the original building ended and the new vaulted ceiling starts, as a useful boundary between the kitchen area and the social living area – which will be the space nearest the sliding doors.

Kitchen Extension Frame, September 2017

Kitchen Extension Interior October 2017

Kitchen in April 2018

So here are lots of pictures and some words about how we made our decisions. As you can see the worktop hasn’t been fitted yet and some of the cupboards are still left but we had to share this today.

Layout

We did have time on our side to refine the layout, but we had pretty much agreed the main parts of the kitchen quite early on.

The island is 2.4m plus will have a 30cm overhang on the right

We knew we wanted an island, and due to having quite a good width (6m) we could have the island length-ways facing the garden. We also weren’t keen on having a sink in the island and preferred to put the hob there, so that when we are cooking we will have a view out to the rest of the kitchen and outside – making it very sociable.

The white panels on the island were incorrect & are being replaced by the wood effect to match

Around the hob we wanted to have lots of drawers to access everything, and preferred the ovens to be behind the hob rather than under it.

The L-shape on the corner is to allow for a breakfast bar and 4 stools. We decided to have seating on the corner rather than at the long side to maximise the space for storage drawers.

We chose to have a 4-unit wide tower at the back of the kitchen which houses a floor to ceiling fridge, freezer, ovens, steam oven and a microwave.

The three appliances you see with the white stickers on are from the Miele outlet in Oxfordshire. It is worth a visit if you are kitting out your whole kitchen. (we also got our washer dryer from there!)

One of the benefits of deciding the kitchen layout very early on is that you can make the room fit perfectly to the units. This tower unit combination is 2.4m wide plus the side panels – and we did need to build out the wall to the side so that it would fit.

It is important to have a good supplier that will come out and assess the room once it has been built and plastered.  There were only a few changes to the structure of the kitchen but they did make an impact of the cabinet layout and heights – mainly of the sink run here:

We originally had this longer, with another tall cabinet on the right side for a larder, but then we had to build out the wall to make it square – which we blogged about here.

This is where the sink, Quooker tap and dishwasher are. We also decided to have the plug sockets at the sides rather than at the back so that we can have an uninterrupted splash-back.

On the other side of the kitchen, we added a larder unit:

This has one 50cm unit with deep drawers at the bottom and a larder pullout at the top:

On the other side the top doors open where we will have a toaster and blender, breakfast items etc, and plenty of storage space in the drawers below for plates and bowls.

Style

We debated at the beginning on whether to go for a modern look or more traditional shaker. For our last renovation, we went for solid wood, bespoke made shaker units, a range cooker and cup handles.

We went for a contemporary, handleless kitchen this time because the shape of the extension is itself a very modern look.

The worktop will be porcelain with a marble effect

We wanted to steer away from the gloss white look because of the space I thought it would look too sterile, so when our kitchen designer Libra from Eclectic Kitchens, showed us this wood effect we both instantly knew it would work.

When I saw this as I came in to the kitchen I instantly went to touch it. It’s an oak wood veneer and feels amazing. The white units are all a matt finish. It took a while to agree which units would be wood and which would be white – but we got there in the end! The end panels of the island will be replaced for wood but the wood frame around the tall units is intentional.

The kitchen brand is Rational, which is a German brand known for their contemporary kitchens.

We also love the grey interior and the handles

We think the wood really softens what could have been a very cold looking kitchen. It’s also why we have chosen more natural stone tiles and worktop.

Kitchen Supplier

As usual with us (mainly Axe), a lot of research was done to find the best company for the best value. Once we decided to go for contemporary units we then had to set a budget. A lot of the structural costs went in to getting the kitchen space right, and we both agreed that investing in a good quality kitchen from the outset was the right choice for us. But our budget ruled out a lot of the super high end places like Roundhouse and Poggenpohl.

We went with Eclectic Interiors, and we were really glad we did, because not only were they able to come to our budget, but they are also very local to us. This meant that we could easily pop in and discuss any changes to the design, but also they were available to come to site when things had progressed. When it came to fitting the units everything was communicated to us clearly, and the designers and fitters worked together well.

They also have a really great 3D visualiser that helps so much when you are like us changing unit colours and worktops to be sure they work!

 

K