Kitchen concerns

When we bought the house in the Old Country - goodness, twenty-seven years ago! - there was one thing we were definitely dissatisfied with and determined to improve: kitchen. It was shabby, which you can improve by painting the fronts, but it was also small, which we intended to improve by building on. Well, in order not to sound as if I were complaining, we had other priorities. But at one point, six years ago, I just could not stand it any more. The improvement included pulling down walls, closets and a whole staircase well. While this was being done, I found a kitchen designer who did not laugh at the sketch of my bizarre kitchen, with all those angles and a pillar to hold up the roof. She did a marvelous job, using every single little nook, filling my kitchen with details I didn't know I wanted and persuading me to get an induction hob that Staffan soon fell in love with.

Incidentally, Staffan went away to southern France for the whole duration of reconstruction.

I am not looking back to this lost kitchen. I did enjoy it for five years. But I am not waiting another twenty years. Not even ten or five years. I will be one of those crazy people who get a new kitchen twice within six years.

I've had a session with a kitchen designer who was impressed by my profound knowledge of modern kitchens. I won his deep respect when he realised that I knew how to take care of solid wood worktops. I won his infinite admiration when I chose the appliances.

When we were finished and he printed out the draft, I realised that I was recreating the kitchen from the old country. I am not sure it's wise, but so it will be.

Today, a surveyor came to check whether my measurements were correct. The Swedish designer never doubted it. But I glad they did. Shame to have missed a few inches to discover that a cabinet doesn't fit in. They also checked the electricity and plumbing. There were many new words I didn't even try to understand. The man was incredibly patient.

So, with some luck, I will have a new kitchen by Christmas. I am sure Staffan will enjoy a lengthy holiday in France.

Old dream to be restored