Skip to main content

Renovation and Restoration

Pre-loved but unloved
Following a brief discussion about Preseli bluestone and Stonehenge, Tom comes up with a cunning plan to shift our brand new beech worktop from the carport to the utility room. The worktop weighs nearly as much as me, but with the use of three kitchen chairs the two of us manage to slide it along and make stately progress towards the front door with only a minimum of raised voices. There is a slight hiccup when we reach the front steps and the lovingly polished worktop takes a gentle tumble into a flowerbed, but all the effort is worth it for the moment of triumph when we finally see it in place.

The utility room’s the one space we left after our frenzy of renovation when we moved here four years ago. It sort of worked, so we lived with it, but now it’s finished I can’t believe what a difference it makes; suddenly the house no longer stops at the kitchen door but feels bigger and with a better flow. And although we gutted the room, thanks to a bit of forward planning, nearly two weeks of hard work and some careful recycling the only real expense was the beech worktop…. Just as well it had a soft landing when we dropped it then!

The Belfast sink; before and after

Floor replaced, new shelves installed

That worktop!
N.B. Tom says these photos show who did all the work... I guess all the paintwork happened by magic then, eh?

I also take a bit of a tumble during the renovations; in the middle of the night , I turn my head and the whole room lurches. Hoping it will be better in the morning, I keep very still and try to sleep, but getting up the next day sets my world spinning and I find myself sitting on the bathroom floor shouting for Tom to come and help me up. And when my sinuses feel as if they’re about to explode too, I give up and go to the GP who diagnoses a sinus infection and sends me home with strong drugs which will hopefully restore me to rude health so I can look forward to getting back to normal…

Comments

Flowerpot said…
Well done on the renovations - and the painter!!! - but so sorry to hear about your sinus infection. Horrible things so hope you feel better very soon. X
14 April 2015 at 07:09
Chris Stovell said…
Many thanks, Sue - I'm fed up with this pain now! Cx
14 April 2015 at 07:12
Clare Chase said…
The results look amazing! Definitely makes me feel inspired to crack on with some of the jobs that need doing here. Get well soon! x
14 April 2015 at 07:13
Chris Stovell said…
Thanks, Clare - it has taken us four years to get round to it, although the effort has been well worth it! x
14 April 2015 at 07:36
Jan Brigden said…
Wow! All looks fab, Chris. Wishing you better too :) xx
14 April 2015 at 08:31
Lins' lleisio said…
WOW, I'm mightily impressed. What are your daily rates?

Hope you feel much better soon.
14 April 2015 at 09:38
Chris Stovell said…
We got there, Jan - and hopefully the sinuses will too! X

Thanks, Lins, but I think it may be another four years before I feel like tackling more painting (and at times, more than the walls turned blue!!) x
14 April 2015 at 09:40
Confessions of a YA and NA Book Addict said…
It looks wonderful Chris!

And I'm sorry to hear about that nasty sinus infection.
14 April 2015 at 10:58
Frances said…
Chris, from your excellent writing, I could really picture the moving and the heavy lifting, etc. How wonderful to now have that room just as you've wished it to be.

Now, my own wish is that you will soon feel much better and cease all spinning and tumbling.

Happy Spring! xo
14 April 2015 at 12:35
Chris Stovell said…
We're really pleased with it, Chanpreet, thank you... and even happier to have finished!

Frances, I didn't think the two of us would manage the weight of that worktop so it was a great relief to get it safely to its destination. I'm delighted with it though. And thank you so much for your good wishes - I think we could do with a quiet couple of weeks after recent events! Happy Spring to you too, Cx
14 April 2015 at 14:22
Elizabeth Musgrave said…
It looks great. I am sorry your sinuses are troubling you. I am suffering from a sore throat and lost my voice fir three days. Never happened to me before so a bit of a shock. Bring back bouncing good health, that's what I say!
14 April 2015 at 14:38
Kitty said…
Looks lovely, such a sense of satisfaction when you do a job like that.
15 April 2015 at 01:03
Chris Stovell said…
Here's to bouncing good health indeed, Elizabeth - it's rather disturbing when something new comes along; I hadn't had vertigo before and I'm not keen to experience it again. I hope you're hale and hearty again soon too.
15 April 2015 at 01:04
Chris Stovell said…
It really was, lovely Kitty! Very satisfying to see our Cinderella of a disused room go to the ball and become a useful and pleasant room.
15 April 2015 at 03:03
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Winds of Change

‘Good’, says my dear friend, Jill, when I tell her that Storm Ciara means the Llanelli Half Marathon has been postponed. ‘My guardian angel is working overtime!’. Jill’s guardian angel has indeed been very busy looking after her and her loved ones lately, so I’m impressed that she’s squeezed in a few extra hours to whip up a storm which will give me another four weeks to recover from my accident before I race. Bit tough on everyone else being battered by strong winds, of course, but yes, part of me is relieved. Llanelli’s one of my favourite races so I was reluctant to pull out, but a bit daunted by the prospect of running 13.1 miles just at the moment. My ribs have stopped clicking at last, but I’m afraid to sneeze without holding tight to the damaged area. So far as getting back to normal goes, my chipped front tooth has been repaired and most of my traumatised teeth have survived a ‘vitality test’ with electric pulp testing … which I have to say doesn’t half make you jump....
2 comments
Read more

A Winter's Tale

Thursday 2 December Feeling confined in her snow-muffled flat, Ma takes a walk up her front path to take the morning air. As she returns a cat jumps over the wall and startles her. She slips on the icy path and lands heavily on her shoulder. When her injury doesn’t spontaneously heal, she eventually gives in and calls her local GP surgery. In the evening a GP visits and summons an ambulance ‘sooner rather than later’. Around 10.30 pm Ma is admitted to her local hospital. X-rays suggest she has a fractured scapula which will require emergency surgery. She is put on a nil by mouth regime that night and transferred to a larger hospital for an emergency operation. However, she’s picked a busy period for her accident so the operation doesn’t take place. Saturday 4 December The operation is rescheduled for this morning, so Ma’s had a second night of nil by mouth. A CT scan shows that Ma’s humerus is broken in four places. Despite her obviously smashed-up arm, which is in a sling and...
45 comments
Read more

Forever Young

Looking at the blurb for my new Lacura WrinkleStop from Aldi, I see that its active ingredient has been ‘proven to help • Reduce forehead wrinkles by 52% • Reduce crow’s feet by 24% • Restrict 82% of wrinkle muscle activity’ That’s quite a claim, isn’t it? Frankly, after years when my face looked like a lunar landscape thanks to the joys of acne, these days I’m just grateful to see a fairly blemish-free skin. Part of me wants to believe that the wonder cream’s making everything looking a bit smoother and tidier, but, hey, there’s also a lot of ‘aqua’ and ‘glycerin’ in the stuff, too. Besides, I could tamper with my skin as much as I like (and I don’t), but I’ve only got to stand next to my beautiful daughters to see the difference. Ma has wonderful skin, so the chances are there are some helpful genes in the mix, but my dad died far too young of cancer, so it’s not all good news. My dad was a carpenter. ‘You can’t get age from a tin, Miss Chris,’ he’d say when rubbing his hands o...
26 comments
Read more