A Kitchen Story

When we bought our house in 2005 it is safe to say that we didn’t buy it for the kitchen.

Although it was a decent size compared to what we had come from, it was old and poorly designed, the integrated dishwasher didn’t work and the oven was on its last legs.  We got married two weeks after moving in and the first job I wanted to do was the kitchen.

I was completely naive to the cost of house renovations and was horrified by the quotes that came in for revamping our kitchen…….it was clear that our kitchen would have to do for now.

Although the kitchen was old and not to our taste I do have some fond memories of it.  It did see us get married, it was the kitchen I prepared Isaac’s first food in, I taught the teens to cook and it saw numerous children’s birthday cakes.

Finally in 2010 we had saved enough money to replace our kitchen.  We did do it on a budget and after many visits to local kitchen companies and design amendments we bought the units from Howdens.   I didn’t want their appliances though so searched for the best deals I could find online.  I was determined I wanted a range cooker and after weeks of searching I found an ex-display model that was within our budget.

I don’t think anything can prepare you for just how much disruption replacing a kitchen makes.  Our new kitchen was delivered and stored in our dining room, whilst the old was ripped out.  They then discovered that the electrics needed replacing before they could start putting cupboards on the wall.

If I am honest it was a week of hell.  We lived on takeaways which sounds like fun but after day 3 you are fed up with them.  Washing up was done in the bath and finding things was a nightmare.  Slowly but surely it all came together.

It was all worth it though and I soon had my shiny new kitchen with appliances that actually worked.

The biggest changes were my oven that cooked food evenly and I could do a Roast dinner with all the trimmings as I had two ovens and finally a dishwasher that worked.  As a family of 6 washing up was a nightmare and there were always fights over who was doing what the washing / drying.

It’s not perfect, now there are squabbles over who is loading / unloading the dishwasher but it certainly takes less time.  Isaac and Eliza are in charge of putting the Fairy Platinum tab in the tablet dispenser, which I have found is the best detergent to keep my dishes looking their best.

Now my kitchen is the hub of the home, where you find all sorts of culinary creations being attempted – some with more success than others.

We have even had a visit from a superhero and the occasional soppy message left by my husband.

My final tip is to ensure that all your appliances are insured, incase of any mishaps – my son managed to knock the handle off our fridge freezer and it needed a whole new door to fix!!

Furthermore, you might even want to consider investing in a home warranty plan! A home warranty plan can help to cover the cost of any repairs or replacements if anything does ever go wrong. Ultimately, there are lots of different types of home warranty plans to consider, so do your research first! For example, if you live in Ohio home warranty companies like First American can offer a range of different home warranty plans to suit all budgets. Just remember to compare a few different options to find a home warranty provider that covers properties in your area.