English Rose Kitchen

I’ve already documented that the work that took place on our property prior to my purchasing it in ‘98 emphasised the “creative” over the functional and that along the way a bizarre series of building howlers has been exposed.

The latest was when our guys discovered the reason why part of the kitchen kitchen near the outside door was mysteriously concreted. It seemed to be to hide the fact the the drain that so charmingly presents itself as you exit wasn’t lined properly has has been soaking that side of the house for years.

We’d planned to move the drain anyway because it’s the receptacle of all fluids from our kitchen, the kitchen upstairs and that rain water that doesn’t escape from the ill-equipped gutter system above. It stinks and there’s no particular reason for it to be above ground, much less available to step in on entry or exit. On several occasions I’ve had to drunkenly fish my keys from its murky depths.

This week the guys got a specialist in the area to take a look and he refused to touch it. That’s the third time during this project that a specialist in a specific field has refused to touch anything that bares the hallmark of my vendor. It turned out that not only was the drain not lined, but that the only protection from extraneous garbage was a system comprising a drain cover, an 8 inch section of free standing plastic pipe and another drain cover.

The kicker was that when they set to work digging up the rubble to move the drain, they found a still partially inflated football. We shall most certainly be insisting that its creator, our co-freeholder, will be sharing in the cost of setting it right.

Our nearly complete floor, with some extraneous STUFF which resolutely refuses to disappear

After a surprising amount of time during which our stacked up flooring was used as improvised kichen furniture, it’s finally been laid as actual floor and it’s gorgeous.

The delay was caused by residual STUFF that resolutely refused to leave until I insisted on moving some to storage and some to a charity shop (who, it must be said, were somewhat underwhelmed).

We’d agonised for months about what to do with the floor, but kept coming back to a harlequin design on top of he oak and this is where Wifey has come into her own. She spent days researching the best materials and techniques and has so far spent nearly two months taping, staining, restaining and lacquering.

I think I’ve mentioned before that the Wifey side of the family is not cursed by any sense of urgency, but in this case her excess diligence is really paying off. The floor looks fantastic!