a new living space








 





I was hoping to do a proper photo shoot of our new living space but every time the light was good enough, the mess was too much to share... I was kidding myself of course when I imagined this photo shoot, perfect minimalistic styling and all. The conditions are never perfect expect maybe if everybody moved out for a week. Not all photos were taken on the same day. 

As I am typing this, I am sitting at the kitchen table looking into the garden. It is a bit bare with only a few splashes of colour (a water gun, two B&Q buckets and a football) but the sun is shining and I can see the blue sky through the roof windows.

The new living space is fabulous, we all love it, even Sam who was less than complimentary about the whole project seems to enjoy the space. So much so that we've had a group of teenagers joining us for dinner not once but twice since New Year. There were seven teenagers all in all yesterday (including ours). It is good that our kitchen table extends!

I love the big light space. The room is divided by a supporting pillar. I would have rather liked room without supporting structural elements but this would have involved a steel frame and a crane rather than manually fitted steel beams. Probably not impossible to fit but way out of our budget given the difficult access to the property. The structural element turns out to be quite useful actually. We use the wall space it creates, one side has a large notice board, the other side bookshelves from top to bottom. The two remaining sides have art displayed. It also hides all our waste water pipes from the top floor bathrooms.

We had long discussions about the kitchen layout. My favourite option was an L-shaped layout along the two longest walls. Richard didn't fancy this much, arguing that then you'd always be facing a wall when working in the kitchen. I really like the alternative, an island. It is a sociable solution, we can sit at the island or at the table and chat to the chef. It is a bit annoying when you like to retreat to the kitchen for a bit of peaceful pottering.

I love our small sitting area with two of my favourite armchairs. You can see my toes in one of the photos, I am sitting in the grey chair looking towards the dining room table. The full height window makes it a really nice corner to sit in.

My favourite item must be the lampshade. It is a bit crazy but I don't care. It turns out to be a focus of conversation whenever someone comes for a cuppa.

It has become more important to tidy regularly because we can't just close the door to the kitchen and ignore the mess. There is no kitchen door. We wanted to keep the original doors for sewing room and utility rooms and were one door short... maybe one will show up in a skip some day.

I am saving the sewing room for another day, I am still organising it. It hides behind the door above. I am not going to bother showing you utility room, which is at the heart of the house and extremely useful but not visually pleasing.

Several months of mess and temporary or no kitchen are long forgotten.

Anyway, got to go and cook some dinner. I am back at work but worked at home today, which made for gentle start. I managed a long walk with Sam, which was lovely. Schools are back tomorrow and Richard took all the other kids to the Irn Bru Carneval. All was peaceful.  Thanks for stopping by. xx

Comments

  1. I love your new kitchen/living space. It is spacious and bright and you have your own cozy little reading/sitting corner by that big window. I love the bird lampshade, too. Just as you say, it's fabulous! x

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  2. Wow! It's gorgeous, Christina. Just beautiful. It looks very spacious and the light is wonderful. I especially love the skylights over the dining table. I think it's so nice that you've had big groups of teenagers dining over, that is a very good thing for you and your kids both. Your house must be known as a happy and safe space for everyone. Thanks for sharing your beautiful new space, enjoy it!

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  3. Oh you must be in heaven. It's looking great. I think keeping the wall really works; you can never have too many bookcases. Sounds like it's got the seal of approval if your teans want to bring friends round. Enjoy. B x

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  4. Wow, that is one impressive space, it looks amazing. Worth all the mess and upheaval I am sure. It certainly met with approval if the teenagers have been hanging out.

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  5. Wow! SO worth all the effort and upheaval, this looks just amazing. Our kitchen is open plan to our sitting room too, so any mess is visible no matter where you are. The way I look at it is, if people pop round unexpectedly, they just need to tolerate the mess. It has taken me 12 years to readh this sanguine viewpoint. Love the yellow and grey chairs together, very sweet. All looking really fabulous, light, and airy, and spacious. Wishing you lots of happiness in your new space x

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  6. Oh WOW, it's fantastic Christina, you must absolutely love it. The lampshade is brilliant, and I love the wing chairs and the books, oh the books. And the light! Beautiful. I'm glad it's all finished (and that you got that orange splashback), I told you it would all be worth it in the end. CJ xx

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  7. It turned out beautifully! I'm so happy for you that it's complete. I love the bird lamp. And the decor is so lovely. Congrats! Pat xx

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  8. Oh Christina it's stunning! I love the light and space, and your kitchen layout is perfect - it's what we'd have gone for if we'd had more room. It's really, really gorgeous. Xx

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  9. Lovely, thanks for sharing in this bleak midwinter! All the best for 2017.

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  10. I looks like an excellent bit of additional space! Dave's dad did a similar style of extension on their kitchen and it's transformed it beyond belief. I love that little reading corner!

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  11. It looks wonderful, light and bright!!!! Worth the inconvenience and will make you happy for years. The reading corner is a wonderful idea.

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  12. It's fab! Really envious of your lovely light, airy space. Such a good idea to incorporate a cosy corner with plenty of books and games to hand, too. Enjoy!

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  13. its fabulous! especially the lamp!

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  14. Christina, it looks great - so light and airy, with the fun bright pops of color! What a great way to start the new year!

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  15. Love your bright, new space, especially the lighting. It's perfect for all those teenagers :-)

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  16. It looks fab and I love the lampshade. How do you get on with your sink as part of the island? I can't decide whether to put mine there or along the wall.

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    1. Hi Anne. I like the sink on the island. We wanted the cooker there but our builder was reluctant for safety reasons and the sink was a compromise that worked out ok. Christina x

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  17. It all looks brilliant, what a fabulous space to have, and that is an incredible lampshade! x

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  18. what a wonderful new space. You will wonder how you ever did without it. Love the windows above too and what a funky lightshade - took me a bit to see what I was looking at. Enjoy.

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  19. Thanks for letting us enjoy seeing your wonderful new space! I especially love the lighting...including the lampshade :) It is great that you have a prized gathering spot for your teens and their friends as well. [I wanted our home to be more popular than it was for our kids in their teens :) ] xx

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  20. It looks fabulous Christina and a family home shouldn't be a minimalist living space. And I just love your lampshade... Such fun!

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  21. Hello Christina ! Thanks for your visit and Happy New Year! Love your living space..Gail x

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  22. Your new space is fabulous, lampshade included. I am in awe of how wonderful it all turned out. Now I know it was a mess for a long time but it was worth it.
    Well done!

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  23. Wow, that looks fabulous! It's such a joy to have your house back after the builders have been there, isn't it? We turned ours into an open plan kitchen/living room space and we absolutely love it - I'm sure in no time at all you'll be wondering why you didn't do it years ago! xx

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  24. Your new space looks wonderful both from the inside and outside. Love the splashes of orange and yellow and the sun falling on your reading corner - it all looks so cheerful and comfortable and lived-in.

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Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment, I love to hear from you, I really do. I sometimes reply by email but I am not all that reliable... Christina xx

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