kitchen reno : update 8

kitchen reno : update 8

by | Mar 31, 2022 | Renovation

The kitchen was the first room in our Istrian stone house to receive the full renovation treatment. The units we had inherited were ripped out, the flooring taken out, the ceiling taken down, a new window installed, brand new units and appliances fitted and under floor heating put in beneath new flooring. It’s quite a small room, but is a light room and we decided to go bold with the colour. On a trip back to England we brought back 10 litres of Farrow and Ball Hague Blue paint and to the dismay of our builder/decorator – who thought it was the vilest colour he had ever seen – we went ahead and painted all of the walls ceiling.

This colour is a bold one, especially as the kitchen isn’t huge. But, with two windows, and light coming in from the Well Room, we felt it could take this deep shade. For over four years, we’ve loved it, and would happily have left it this colour. But a couple of things made us have a re-think. Firstly, with all of the comings and goings in the kitchen, the walls were due a lick of paint and to get the same one, we’d have had to have gone to the nearest Farrow & Ball showroom, which is in Treviso. Not a bad trip, but a bit out of the way for a tin of paint. We could also have had the colour mixed, which we’ve done before, but we’ve never achieved the exact shade. Also, as our house is now for sale, we felt that the time was right to introduce a new colour.

We know that if people are seriously interested in a property, they will look beyond what is it is like currently, and see its potential. However, the kitchen was maybe a bit too “out there”, in terms of selling and with such a strong colour, we felt that for some people it might be a step too far. So, the decision was made to tone it down and introduce a more neutral colour scheme. We love our greys – various shades of grey appear around the house, because it’s such an easy colour to work with, and so we opted for a soft, smokey grey for the kitchen. Thinking that the coverage would be an issue, we bought three tins of it – completely unnecessary as it was a dream to apply and covered the dark cover really well. In fact, we had so much left over, that we also decided to paint over the dark wall in the Well Room. And, voila! A house very ready for the lighter days of spring and summer…

The newly painted wall in the Well Room, does now look so much better, in its lighter softer colour, making the room seem larger and more spacious. Although we don’t keep the door to the downstairs shower room open, when you do open it, the big, grey concrete tiles seems to sit so much better against the new colour outside…

It does feel that spring might have finally arrived, after a long winter, and the house now reflects so much more the lighter, brighter days outside. If our home is something you might be interested in, as aholiday home, perhaps, do take a look at our website. We’d love to hear from you…

 

kitchen reno : update 7

kitchen reno : update 7

by | Apr 24, 2018 | Renovation

Given that work on the kitchen started way back in November, we did cut it a bit fine to greet our first guests last week. Admittedly, the scope of the project grew and grew, but we did think our friends would arrive and we’d still be kitchenless. Thankfully, this wasn’t the case and it was finally fitted the week before last. There’s still a lot to do – second coat of Farrow & Ball Hague Blue, window surrounds & cills to be finished, additional LED lights to be fitted, and the breakfast bar to be completed. Unfortunately, the fascia board that finishes it off, under the shelf, wasn’t delivered so has had to be re-ordered. We also made a bit of error with the washing machine. It was another case of “lost in translation” as we understood that our fairly new washing machine could just be integrated. Not so, so we need to get this sorted by buying a new one (again!) and having it fitted properly. No photos of this part of the kitchen until it’s all done 😉

The installation was a remarkably swift process – everything delivered one day, and the next the fitter arrived, at 8am. He was gone by 3pm – and we had a kitchen! We finally had a working kitchen, with integrated appliances. And the best thing was, it had been so long since we’d sat down and planned it and ordered it, that seeing the various components that made it all up, was a bit of a surprise. We’d certainly forgotten quite how sleek and beautiful the tap was…

Ignore the unfinished, because we finally have a tap!

Ignore the unfinished, because we finally have a tap!

The walls are Farrow & Ball Hague Blue – our builder thinks we are mad 😉 – but they contrast so gorgeously with the concrete effect units and new floorboards. Under which is underfloor heating – not a frivolity, but a necessity, especially after the winter we’ve just endured. The newly exposed ceiling is also painted Hague Blue, but with new spotlights and exposed beams, we figured the room could take it. Also, every other room in the house is white, so we wanted a big contrast. And boy, do we have it. It’s the most luscious colour we’ve ever put on a wall.

Farrow & Ball Hague Blue

Farrow & Ball Hague Blue

Farrow & Ball Hague Blue

Farrow & Ball Hague Blue

Although it’s not the biggest kitchen in the world – we resisted the temptation to relocate it into The Well Room, which had been the original thinking – it’s bigger than anything we’ve had before, always having had teeny weeny kitchens. It’s been really well designed – we got great advice – and so have so much storage space now, as well as the very essential soft closing doors and drawers. The two new steps into the kitchen are underlit with LED strips and look very beautiful, as do the matte black switches.

So, it’s now onto finishing it off and then getting on with The Well Room (the concrete table is in situ, but again needs to be finished) and the well is now outside, but the chamber needs to have the lighting installed and the reinforced glass cover made and installed. The stone walls will then be insulated and boarded out so that when painted white, we will have super smooth walls which will enable the house to retain heat in the winter. Boards are also being laid over the stone floor – although we’re again challenging our fab builder as what we want, isn’t a normal floor. (He loves us…).

The downstairs bathroom has been replumbed and a new floor laid. The underfloor heating is going down in here this week, then it’s the big tiling job. And then, the boxes housing a shower, a toilet, a sink, a cupboard etc can move out from behind the sofa as the bathroom will be ready to be installed. Then – the garden…

It is never ending!