Our kitchen is taking shape.

I have been reminded that it's been ages since I've done a renovation update. You'd think that nothing had been happening, which is not true. Lots has been happening, but I had hit the 'over it' renovating speed bump I think most people encounter. Anyway, I've dragged up some energy for a quick post with a couple of progress piccies to share.

So.

Floorboards: tick! In the extension they are what the floorboard industry likes to call 'Australian Chestnut,' which is not a chestnut at all, but at least four different species of Eucalypts. We don't know what the floorboards are in the old part of the house, they may be 'some kind of wood from New Zealand they used a lot back then [in the Fifties] but you can't get it any more.' That was the best description we got after taking a sample around to a number of floorboard places, mostly people said, 'sorry, no idea.' After hearing this, we decided not to worry about trying to match the boards, and just chose something we liked the look of ('not too pale, not yellow or gold, not dark'). It's interesting that the unpolished new and old boards didn't look too dissimilar, but once they were polished the differences really came out. The new section is fabulous and sleek and uniform, while the old section is much more varied in colour, from light greys to quite dark reds. I absolutely adore it. I am so pleased that I got my way when I vetoed carpet! I've apparently forgotten to take a decent picture. Instead I just have this one: hallway boards (original), without context, and featuring an extension cord....


And then out in our extension, our lovely new floorboards, featuring renovating dust, the very beginnings of our new kitchen, and cute child:


Which takes me nicely to the next part of the post: our kitchen! The idea was to spend our money on the appliances (specifically, the ovens, stove and rangehood) and scrimp on the cabinetry. The kitchen is essentially black and white (black cupboards, whitish benchtops) which feels fabulously brave and risky and modern and was one of the reasons for doing it more cheaply, so that in 10 years when I wonder what the hell we were thinking it's not such a wrench to upgrade it! The splashback will probably be turquoise tiles (I wanted something bright to help with all that black so it wasn't gloomy) but isn't organised yet.

The photo below is a halfway shot as FIL fits the rangehood:

And, lastly, a shot from Chef D's phone from the other night. Missing from the kitchen at this point are the lower doors and drawers, splashback, sink and the island benchtop, however you still get a pretty good idea of the overall layout. Also missing is the lighting, which is something I have developed a bit of an obsession over and intend to devote a whole post to in the near future!

xx