I’ve put this blog post together because our kitchen cabinets probably generate a huge percentage of my Instagram questions and DMs, so I thought it may be useful if you are planning a budget remodel like me!

The kitchen was the first room we tackled in the house, mostly because I couldn’t live with the “bachelor” black work surfaces and red (disgustingly ugly) not so “stone” effect wall. One word, Hideous!

However the units themselves were in pretty good shape, and so with a whole house to renovate we really could not justify ripping them out. Cue Papa C and his never ending skills, to help us update and work with what we had.

Some before shots. (Brace yourself)

The first dirty jobs were to take off tiles and top cupboards. Remove the existing cooker, extractor and sink. I had decided I wanted open shelving as an alternative to cupboards, which is great for creating a more open feel to the room. It felt soooo good to get rid of those black light sucking tiles too!

Here’s james’ take on protective eyewear!

The chimney breast was filled with cupboards which we removed, but kept in order to fill the space where the cooker had been. Which worked out well, as I made good use of the space and created a cupboard to hide the microwave. (I have a slight phobia of white goods being on show!)

For the major works we hired our builder to create a higher lintel and remove the stone effect plaster work. And smooth over all the walls with fresh plaster. We had an oak lintel fitted by him also. Tip: you can purchase lintels direct from building suppliers if you are prepared to sand and oil yourself. This saves much dollar!

We used rustic oak worktops from Kitchen surplus

And I found a Belfast sink and taps for a bargain price on eBay really worth the search if you need to watch the spends.

The very lovely tiles in the alcove were from the beautiful Cornish company Welbeck Tiles

The shelf brackets were also an eBay find. I’ve linked similar Here.

So for the doors

Tip: firstly label their position with pencil on the back before removal, makes it such an easy job to refit!

We removed handles and filled holes with a wood filler and prepped them for painting with a light sand. Once measured up, the panels were cut from 4mm MDF. B&Q have a timber cutting service if you purchase the wood there at no extra cost, this saved us so much fuss and dust, I highly recommend it. We attached the panels using wood glue and teeny panel pins to secure in place.

once dry we then primed and painted using both a small brush and small foam roller. We used Farrow & Ball Pavilion Grey which I just love. It’s such a calming colour that looks green in some lights and grey tones in others. It’s so fresh with the white walls, and compliments the darker wall in Down Pipe perfectly.

To add to the rustic feel I added rusted handles I’ve linked similar Here from More Handles

The darker wall is farrow & Ball Down Pipe

So there you have it! It really is worth while looking at your kitchen carcass and asking if you can work with it first. The amount of money we saved by doing this really helped us get moving with other areas of the house. This won’t be our forever kitchen, we plan on raising children here, not stressing about paint splashes and food being thrown on the floor! And knowing that we saved thousands really allows us to enjoy life right now, because that’s really what a home is all about isn’t it?

P x

There is something I find so intriguing about other people’s labour stories, because let’s face it, it’s a bloody miracle isn’t it. I mean I still sometimes look at Wren and find it so hard to comprehend that she came out of me, even now, eighteen months later. Her birth was a very, surprisingly positive experience for me. I’m not going to fluff it up, or wrap you ladies in cotton wool, of course it was damn hard work, at times I felt nervous, and yes it does hurt…. so you may as well apologise to your vagina now. But through it all, it was completely amazing, and not half as terrible as I imagined. So here you go, because I think if you are pregnant it’s really important to surround yourself with some positivity, because everyone and their mother seems to want to tell you how horrendous birth is!

Wren’s (or as we were calling bump at this time “Mouse”) calculated due date was the 14th October however she decided not to show up until the early hours of the 20th. The days leading up to this I was really active, this certainly wasn’t intentional, I hoped to rest up my elephant feet, eat chocolate and float about in white company lounge wear, but who the hell has time for that really?! I was up-cycling a little wardrobe that I wrongly decided was a great idea for the nursery, I left it and left it, hoping someone would take pity on my hippo like state, but no bugger did! So there I was, stretching, sanding, painting and getting on my hands and knees, working my very pregnant arse off. But in hindsight I think this was such a good thing. As soon as that wardrobe was finished, Wren must have known as I went into labour the next day.

James was away on a course with work (about 2hrs away) we knew this in advance and decided it was too important to change and that babies don’t often shoot out so took the risk!

On the 19th after a huge meal probably the most I’d eaten in months (oh that heartburn from pregnancy is still etched in my mind!), my waters broke 18.30 at my parent’s house, on the carpet (sorry mam!)

My contractions started straight away, infrequent and not strong at all. For the comedy value James had no signal, I later found out he was out for an Indian meal with his course pals! After 20 attempted calls, calling him a bastard, and mopping up the bathroom floor, I left him a message to call, and against my mother’s orders drove myself home for a shower, with her in hot pursuit!

Once I was home and in my dressing gown I set myself up for what I thought was going to be a long innings, james rang in a panic and was now probably racing up the M6 at the speed of light.

At this point I was contracting but it was completely bearable so I contacted the labour unit and asked if I could remain at home until james arrived, she was more than happy for me to do this (I got the distinct impression it was a very busy shift, call it nurse instinct!) she advised me to come down at 9.30, 10pm ish.

During the next hour, my contractions became increasingly strong, they were frequent but did not last long.

by the time James arrived home {21.30} I felt very ready to visit the maternity unit, we packed up the car and got on the road, my contractions were much stronger, so the ten minute journey felt far enough!

I was super confident that I would be the “golden” 4cm or more, as I was 1-2cm at my sweep 4 days earlier. So you can imagine my devastated face when the midwife shattered all faith I had in myself when she said those dreaded words….. 2cm!! She gave me codeine and paracetamol and sent me on my merry way. It was at this point that I really doubted my inner strength and ability to get through this.

The journey home was hard going, I’ll be honest. The contractions were strong and I can remember my self doubt kicking in.

We arrived home {22.30pm} james ran me a bath but I really just did not know what I wanted to do with myself. With nothing to lose I got in. The warm water was an instant relief but within ten minutes I started to feel the urge to push. A fleeting panic shot into my mind, I wanted to push against what I had recently been told was an almost closed cervix! The next half hour was a rush, which ended in us racing to the hospital with me mooing like a cow in the back of the car and my Aunty (a retired midwife) trying to get me to count aloud rather than push! Hilarious! Not to mention the argument in the hospital entrance because I didn’t want to take the lift as I knew they were “dodgy!!” With my Aunty ordering me to walk away from the stair well and get myself in the lift! (Sorry Aunty Dory!)

On examination I was a whopping whole 10cm dilated, how the hell did that happen! I asked for some gas and air and the lights dimmed. I can not describe the relief once I knew everything was normal, The gas and air worked wonders (amazing stuff) and it helped me to feel so in control. I stood through my labour, one because I had heard that gravity is your friend, but mostly because my contractions were so painful if I lay down.

James seemed more relaxed and I had no other interventions, just us and my midwife, in a cocoon like dark room. James was incredibly supportive, and I really had the peace to focus. It honestly was beautiful..

Apart from the ring of fire, oh yes ladies, it’s a buuurrrn!!

Wren Argentina 20.10.17 01.41am

But I simply cannot put into words, that overwhelming, surreal feeling of seeing your baby for the first time. I truly do not think there is any other feeling in life that could beat it. I would have gone through labour a thousand times over to have this little piece of perfection in my arms. My life suddenly became so much fuller, She really is everything. So believe in yourself because you were made for this, And the best things is life are always the ones you work hard for after all.

P x