Monday, April 25, 2005
Well, I think Christine's said it all. We almost drove to Ikea tonight to buy the sofa (to take advantage of £50 coupon offer - today only) but I'm glad we didn't! The van was easy to drive, but I've been a bit of a zombie today. Still, I'm glad it's done.
The picture of the kitchen isn't actually all of it - there's the sink and lights just out of shot, and actually they were 2 carcases short, so there's another 10% to come. We'll have to go back or have them delivered.
Oh yeh, and there's a fridgefreezer and washingmachine behind me too! Oh yes, there was quite a lot... we've also completely filled the little garrage with furnitute and boxes! At least my parent's garrage is now almost clear.
Only one problem - the wardrobes we had at the flat are too tall for the new house :( so we've left them in the garrage for now. My mum might have them for the spare bedroom. That means new wardrobes when we go to get the rest of the kitchen.
What with a new boiler and possibly some work to the pipes, and new wardrobes and sofa, we'll have to leave changing the living room floor till next year I think!
This weekend is a LM training day, and the PITP (picnic in the park), but we've got Sun free - we may buy paint and start on the walls :)
The picture of the kitchen isn't actually all of it - there's the sink and lights just out of shot, and actually they were 2 carcases short, so there's another 10% to come. We'll have to go back or have them delivered.
Oh yeh, and there's a fridgefreezer and washingmachine behind me too! Oh yes, there was quite a lot... we've also completely filled the little garrage with furnitute and boxes! At least my parent's garrage is now almost clear.
Only one problem - the wardrobes we had at the flat are too tall for the new house :( so we've left them in the garrage for now. My mum might have them for the spare bedroom. That means new wardrobes when we go to get the rest of the kitchen.
What with a new boiler and possibly some work to the pipes, and new wardrobes and sofa, we'll have to leave changing the living room floor till next year I think!
This weekend is a LM training day, and the PITP (picnic in the park), but we've got Sun free - we may buy paint and start on the walls :)
Our flatpack kitchen!
Ducks in Toby's Mums garden (cheeky sods)
This is the prize winning photo of Chantal's youngest, Sarah. Fab photo. It won first prize. I think the colours are amazing it's beautiful. Great pickie Chanti!
We spent 9 hours in Ikea on Saturday!!! The weekend went as follows: 8.30am meet plumber/Corgi gas man to connect water and gas in the house, he then de-commissioned the gas fire and the cooker, both of which we will replace. The boiler was OK, he said it was worth replacing with an energy efficient one as we are doing everything else. He also said the central heating pipes upstairs that are currently an eyesore everywhere can be re-routed under the floor as the place is empty right now and we are replacing all the carpets.
There used to be gas heating in every room and there is a little stub where it was cut off, very painful if you stood on it or stubbed your toe, so he's going to cap them off under the floor too. Then there's fitting the boiler, bath, tile the bathroom and loo etc.
We will hear how much sometime this week. He has a mate who can fit the kitchen too. Toby went off at 9am to pick up the van, I stayed at number 10 while he turned on the water, and got the gas and hotwater going etc. Toby came back with the van, Kevin the plumber left about 10.30 with an agreement to quote for supply loo etc, tiles etc, boiler etc and fit them by mid-week.
At 7.30 that morning I'd made bacon and egg on brown bread sandwiches with ketchup and a flask of herb tea, so before starting our journey we sat in the cab of the van and ate happily. We got to Ikea by 1pm and after a failed attempt to get the Luton parked in the car park, asked a steward and he told us to park it in the loading bay which worked nicely (the luton needed 2 spaces in both directions!)
We gingerly entered Ikea Edmonton, the biggest Ikea ever wondering what it would be like. So far so good. We hurried through sofas and beds and wardrobes singing follow the yellow brick road until we got to Kitchens. We sat down and put our kitchen design in on their PC only to discover that the Nexus oak wasn't in stock!!! We went for Nexus birch instead, which was actually what I’d wanted so it wasn't too much of a problem. We had the oak last time, I gave birch 4 out of 10 and oak 3 out of 10, Tobe was the other way round so it was a good choice and besides, it’s my kitchen.
By 4pm we had designed the kitchen, had it inputted, signed up for an Ikea card for £700 credit limit and were getting rather hungry. We'd ate all the Satsumas, apples, celery and carrot batons dipped in hummus, lucky for us the Ikea card entitles you to 2 free meals. So before braving the warehouse we headed for the restaurant for fish and chips. By 6.30pm we had eaten, spent god knows how long in the warehouse finding all the bits of our £1200 flat pack kitchen (oh my god, it's 2 and a half meters long! etc) 3 trolleys full including a kitchen sink! Then got it through the check out, into the van, back for the bit that had to be picked up from the pick up point, loaded that into the van(also 2 and a half meter long bits of work surface that weigh more than me! well maybe not quite...). In to the wilds for a third time. This time, exhausted, we tested sofas for about an hour and have found one we will probably get in a month or when ever the house is ready and decorated. Through to kitchens again for taps, lights, spice rack etc, then down to the market hall. 12 glasses, Olive tree, cactus, amazing huge picture of lighthouse being engulfed by the sea, bit of kitchen we were missing, erm and other stuff I can't remember. The last thing I picked up was the most amazing little cactus, completely stupefied and shopped out, surprisingly I still think it's fab and I'm glad I picked it up. We were queuing up until 10pm when it closed, left at 10.30pm and were home by 1am! Sunday, Stef, Tobe’s best man came round and helped us unload the Ikea load into the house, then 2 loads of furniture, white goods and boxes, we are completely out of the garage.
James helped too, our new neighbour he was amazing and he cut our grass front and back while we picked up the last load.
It's only our clothes and day to day stuff upstairs that needs to go, only when we go. We were finished by about 5pm. Down to pizza express, then watched the videoed Dr Who from Saturday that Toby's parents so kindly taped. I still ache....
There used to be gas heating in every room and there is a little stub where it was cut off, very painful if you stood on it or stubbed your toe, so he's going to cap them off under the floor too. Then there's fitting the boiler, bath, tile the bathroom and loo etc.
We will hear how much sometime this week. He has a mate who can fit the kitchen too. Toby went off at 9am to pick up the van, I stayed at number 10 while he turned on the water, and got the gas and hotwater going etc. Toby came back with the van, Kevin the plumber left about 10.30 with an agreement to quote for supply loo etc, tiles etc, boiler etc and fit them by mid-week.
At 7.30 that morning I'd made bacon and egg on brown bread sandwiches with ketchup and a flask of herb tea, so before starting our journey we sat in the cab of the van and ate happily. We got to Ikea by 1pm and after a failed attempt to get the Luton parked in the car park, asked a steward and he told us to park it in the loading bay which worked nicely (the luton needed 2 spaces in both directions!)
We gingerly entered Ikea Edmonton, the biggest Ikea ever wondering what it would be like. So far so good. We hurried through sofas and beds and wardrobes singing follow the yellow brick road until we got to Kitchens. We sat down and put our kitchen design in on their PC only to discover that the Nexus oak wasn't in stock!!! We went for Nexus birch instead, which was actually what I’d wanted so it wasn't too much of a problem. We had the oak last time, I gave birch 4 out of 10 and oak 3 out of 10, Tobe was the other way round so it was a good choice and besides, it’s my kitchen.
By 4pm we had designed the kitchen, had it inputted, signed up for an Ikea card for £700 credit limit and were getting rather hungry. We'd ate all the Satsumas, apples, celery and carrot batons dipped in hummus, lucky for us the Ikea card entitles you to 2 free meals. So before braving the warehouse we headed for the restaurant for fish and chips. By 6.30pm we had eaten, spent god knows how long in the warehouse finding all the bits of our £1200 flat pack kitchen (oh my god, it's 2 and a half meters long! etc) 3 trolleys full including a kitchen sink! Then got it through the check out, into the van, back for the bit that had to be picked up from the pick up point, loaded that into the van(also 2 and a half meter long bits of work surface that weigh more than me! well maybe not quite...). In to the wilds for a third time. This time, exhausted, we tested sofas for about an hour and have found one we will probably get in a month or when ever the house is ready and decorated. Through to kitchens again for taps, lights, spice rack etc, then down to the market hall. 12 glasses, Olive tree, cactus, amazing huge picture of lighthouse being engulfed by the sea, bit of kitchen we were missing, erm and other stuff I can't remember. The last thing I picked up was the most amazing little cactus, completely stupefied and shopped out, surprisingly I still think it's fab and I'm glad I picked it up. We were queuing up until 10pm when it closed, left at 10.30pm and were home by 1am! Sunday, Stef, Tobe’s best man came round and helped us unload the Ikea load into the house, then 2 loads of furniture, white goods and boxes, we are completely out of the garage.
James helped too, our new neighbour he was amazing and he cut our grass front and back while we picked up the last load.
It's only our clothes and day to day stuff upstairs that needs to go, only when we go. We were finished by about 5pm. Down to pizza express, then watched the videoed Dr Who from Saturday that Toby's parents so kindly taped. I still ache....
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Yeah amazing!
We have a house. I cycled up there on the way home from the train station to take the water meter reading, gas and electricity. As I went in, brompton and all it felt like our place. In the next 3 weeks or so it will be totally transformed - painted, furnished and lived in! Pictures on the walls, and so on and so on. I'm looking forward to cooking there and bathing there, probably my two favorite home pass times, closely followed by a snuggle and a film.
Yum, how lucky we are.
We have a house. I cycled up there on the way home from the train station to take the water meter reading, gas and electricity. As I went in, brompton and all it felt like our place. In the next 3 weeks or so it will be totally transformed - painted, furnished and lived in! Pictures on the walls, and so on and so on. I'm looking forward to cooking there and bathing there, probably my two favorite home pass times, closely followed by a snuggle and a film.
Yum, how lucky we are.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
The proud owners
I can't believe it! Yesterday afternoon we finally completed! We're proud home owners once more :)
Went round to the estate agents after work. Of course the traffic was terrible, even though I'd left 1/2h early. Luckly at the weekend we'd discovered a long but fast detour and got to Ely in record time. The actual handover was strangely informal... "Hello, I'm Toby Jones", "oh hello, congratulations, here's the keys..."
Christine had an appointment down at Landmark, but she rearranged so we could go both round to to house. It's lovely. Smaller main bedroom than the flat in London, but of course we get 2 more to go with it! We've also got a lovely living room and large kitchen. And it's so quiet!!!
M&D came round, and brought us a celebratory tipple and a lawn mower, lol, guess the grass *is* rather long... :)
Lots to do in the next couple of weeks - painting, new kitchen and bathroom, re-carpet etc. Looking forward to it - already booked a van for the weekend, and various workmen to give us estimates.
Very happy :)
Went round to the estate agents after work. Of course the traffic was terrible, even though I'd left 1/2h early. Luckly at the weekend we'd discovered a long but fast detour and got to Ely in record time. The actual handover was strangely informal... "Hello, I'm Toby Jones", "oh hello, congratulations, here's the keys..."
Christine had an appointment down at Landmark, but she rearranged so we could go both round to to house. It's lovely. Smaller main bedroom than the flat in London, but of course we get 2 more to go with it! We've also got a lovely living room and large kitchen. And it's so quiet!!!
M&D came round, and brought us a celebratory tipple and a lawn mower, lol, guess the grass *is* rather long... :)
Lots to do in the next couple of weeks - painting, new kitchen and bathroom, re-carpet etc. Looking forward to it - already booked a van for the weekend, and various workmen to give us estimates.
Very happy :)
Sunday, April 03, 2005
We bought lots of paint samples yesterday, so as it was sunny (well not in this shot, but it was, honnest) Christine decided to paint up some boxtops as colourboards. We then put them side by side and came up with a colour scheme for our new house :)
Rough and ready design we came up with using the Ikea kitchen planner
Did more house stuff this weekend. The estate agents kindly let us into the house on sat morning to measure the kitchen and bathroom, then we went to MFI and Homebase to get kithen designs done.
The MFI bloke did a good job, took us round all the kitchens and spent must have been about 3h with us. Nice design too - I was seduced by the real oak doors - but the cost was a bit steep for us - £5200 once we'd added appliances.
Homebase only took an hour, to come up with something very similar. Bit cheaper, about £4200, but we didn't like their kitchens, or their appliances.
So we came home and made our own design using the Ikea kitchen designer programme from their web site. Christine went on line and found nice appliances, and I added lights, handles etc to the list of bare carcases the program came up with... £3200 in total :)
Looking forward to showing off the house when we have a flat warming :)
The MFI bloke did a good job, took us round all the kitchens and spent must have been about 3h with us. Nice design too - I was seduced by the real oak doors - but the cost was a bit steep for us - £5200 once we'd added appliances.
Homebase only took an hour, to come up with something very similar. Bit cheaper, about £4200, but we didn't like their kitchens, or their appliances.
So we came home and made our own design using the Ikea kitchen designer programme from their web site. Christine went on line and found nice appliances, and I added lights, handles etc to the list of bare carcases the program came up with... £3200 in total :)
Looking forward to showing off the house when we have a flat warming :)
Friday, April 01, 2005
Hopefully we should be buying our house in the next week or two. We've had the survey, got the morgage approved, and the estate agent told me that the searches came back with no problems. The estate agent? Well yeh, the solicitors have been uncommunicative of late. When I rang them on Tuesday, they were like 'well if you haven't had a letter from us then there's something else to do'. I didn't push it because I had the survey to send to them, but I meant to ring today. Well, I did, but too late, and they'd all gone home :(
Still, tomorrow we're going with the estate agent to measure the kitchen and bathroom, and we've got two appointments with kitchen designers in Cambridge to see what they come up with. Christine and I have already had a go with the Ikea kitchen designer, so it'll be interesting to see if they can come up with anything better.
The weather's improved again, so it should be a lovely day doing housey-type things :)
Still, tomorrow we're going with the estate agent to measure the kitchen and bathroom, and we've got two appointments with kitchen designers in Cambridge to see what they come up with. Christine and I have already had a go with the Ikea kitchen designer, so it'll be interesting to see if they can come up with anything better.
The weather's improved again, so it should be a lovely day doing housey-type things :)
