Kitchen Design, House Handover, Layout Ideas

Yesterday morning I met William Dunn, Design Consultant with Joyce Kitchens to outline a design for the new kitchen.  I was glad that Brenda agreed to accompany me because I have leaned that in these matters it is important to have the contribution from a woman's perspective. 

Some of the points of agreement were:

- The chimney and wood burning stove will remain
- The location of the refrigerator will still be in the nook to the right of the chimney
- A pantry cupboard will be fitted in the nook to the left of the chimney
- There will be storage above the refrigerator and pantry, but will not extend to the ceiling
- The current stand alone stove will be removed and a new electric stove will be flush fitted to the new counter, with the oven below
- The counter surface will be ground-up granite which will tolerate very hot pots and pans
- The counter will curve around to form a small island between the kitchen and dining room areas
- Drawer storage will be fitted below the counter surface wherever possible
- Cupboards will be fitted above the main new counter
- The sink will have one one full size and one half size trough with smaller drainboards
- The sink will be shifted to the left, to allow working counter space to the right as well as the left of the stove
- There will be no dish washer.  (I already have one: my hands.)

William took measurements of the kitchen and will contact me when a computer model has been produced

During the meeting with William, Susan, the departing tenant whom I had never met, and her father Robert whom I had met twice, arrived to clean the stove and the toilet.  They remembered the wheel barrow and were surprised that it was missing, given its questionable condition.  I now see a new wheelbarrow in my future.  ... I commented to Brenda later that the thief has done me a favor because he has transformed me into a security freak.  The days of leaving tools casually laying around the property are over.

Robert is such a genial person, and hearing about what he had done around the house to avoid bothering the property manager dispelled any thoughts I had about complaining about the poor lawn mowing job, so I'll do the mowing myself.  On that basis I contacted Emeline Dear, the property manager, and signed a statement accepting handover of the house and keys.  The head of the office gave me a ribbon decorated bottle of sparkling wine with a nice thank you note for my business.  After the handover Brenda and I had lunch at the attractive cafe that has replaced the sad country store that had been part of Darlington since well before my arrival in 1974.

Between this activity I managed to do a bit more landscaping work while Brenda cut back vegetation that was growing over the front fence and partially blocking the path. 

Brenda also came up with some good suggestions. 

She noted as I had what a great room the front corner bedroom is, given its two large windows bringing in plenty of light and providing good vistas of the surrounding scenery.  So it is large and airy, but has no built in wardrobes (ie closets).  The "main" bedroom has a large built in (by me) jarrah wardrobe, but is dark because it has only one window.  I didn't mind the dark bedroom  because it is after all for sleeping, but on the other hand it would be great to wake up with that early morning sun coming in through the front window.  The front room would be warmer in winter because it gets sun from dawn until mid afternoon, but on the other hand it is hotter in summer.  However, Brenda pointed out that this can be controlled by good awnings.   After weighing it all up I decided to set myself up in the front bedroom.

That left the problem of what to do with the middle room.  My plan had been to set up the front room, with access directly to the living room, as a sitting room with a sofa that could be extended to a bed for visiting guests; but using the side room as a sitting room didn't make much sense because it opens to the hallway.

Brenda then suggested setting up the sitting room with its convertible sofa in the small room next to the dining room that I had been planning to use as an office.  Having a small sitting room with a coffee table and a comfortable chair or two next to the dining room makes sense - a good place for the men to retreat for brandy and cigars while the women wash the dishes.  (JUST KIDDING!!!)  This would place the guest at the corner opposite to the one with the main bedroom, giving good separation yet good access to the kitchen and bathroom,  OK, the room is somewhat small and privacy would rely on a curtain drawn across the doorway to the dining room, but given the uncertain requirement to accommodate guests in the future I think that the plan is a good one.

The big payoff is in being able to use the second bedroom as an office, with plenty of space for desks, computers, communication gear, printers, filing cabinets, etc.  And the darkness suits an office, where glare on computer screens is to be avoided.  I will use its built in wardrobe and keep the main bedroom in the front corner simple and uncluttered.