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Early last Spring, there was a house down a lane. A lovely old house whose timber frame creaked in the wind. A lovely old house full of nooks and curves, oak pegs and wobbly glass nestled into the hill. Such a friendly solid house but with a little dark kitchen...

We first viewed this house on a wet and windy November morning 5 years ago. Ellie Goulding was singing ..."This will always be my home..." as we turned into the drive and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. "I'll end my days here" I thought...then I shook myself, cursing my fairytale mind...To the left a little orchard, 6 or 7 fruit trees and a row of crab apples. At the corner an enormous fir tree, stories high. At the top of the drive a ramshackle group of derelict farm buildings. "I want it!" I mouthed to him as we stood in the cowshed with the roof leaking into puddles on the concrete floor looking out across the field we now call "Rounders".

"I think we should look at the house before we make any decisions" he said sternly

"Yes." I said, whilst imagining the apple blossom in jam jars on trestles inside the cowshed.

The house, well it's all we ever wanted. Oak beams, inglenook fireplaces, wonky windows...but light...all the rooms are light, walls full of leaded lights, an oriel window in the hall...but the kitchen...

"Oh", 

the kitchen is small and dark, with a strangely positioned cat-slide roof with a velux window that hints at a beautiful view but actually is a blank stare of sky just above the horizon.

"We'll have to change the kitchen" I mutter, " Yes," he replied.

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And so, last March, 4 years later, the digger rolled in and we began. I remember feeling excited and anxious. Having seen reels of Messrs. McCloud and Clarke I knew my naive exhilaration would soon become stress and ultimately tears, and I couldn't quite see the end but I dived in unabashed.

 

 

 I had thought I wouldn't write about the build here but my absence for long periods last year deserves some sort of explanation and now that we are almost finished it seems silly not to reference it at all.
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And I can report my earlier statement about the stress and the tears was completely accurate, but the end has come and gone and I am writing this from the end of our longed for and much anticipated kitchen island!

This wonderful new space is populated by treasures collected from, inspired by and or made by many friends made and found here in the blogosphere and so my grateful thanks to :
Alastair Hendy at A G Hendy Home Store
Alex and Zoe at i gigi
Chloe and Harriet at Closet and Botts
Gilly at Woodlea Craft & Design
Pen at Cottage Industry
Polly at Folly&Glee
Penny at Le Petit Jardin
Rose at Butlers Emporioum
and last but not least the gorgeous kitchen itself, all hand made by the wonderful Nathan Levick at LevickJorgensen

To coin a very hackneyed phrase, building something is a journey and an education. I  loved sourcing reclaimed Tudor bricks, our old oak beam, limestone flags, marble, basalt etc, You discover how resilient you are, as despite your best efforts there are always delays and budgets are stretched beyond your wildest dreams.
 Our kitchen was finished on December 22nd and the home team rolled into town on 23rd!
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And so at last, here we are!
Just you and me and the Boodle...it's quiet, no workmen...
bliss
-x-