The blethering goes on...thread 2

[ElephantOfRisk]

Still plenty to chat about. Remember this isn't fight club. Nice chatting required.....

My 1970s council house new built for Glasgow overspill (7 in a 3 bed terraced house) childhood was nylon and calor gas and lovely. The freezer was a drawer at the top of the fridge and the washing machine a terrifying twin tub. I polished my Nana's brass candle sticks when we visited and felt important.

I feel so lucky to have had such a great childhood, I wonder just how harder life was for my DM.

@Lidlfix that paints a picture.

Lovely to have hapoy memories. 😊 Think that would make up for the hard work your DM put in

New kitchen been on the cards for years, I have the money put aside for it. Issue is that we could never agree whether to take the wall down between the kitchen and back livingroom. Now we've got to the point where we'll be downsizing in the not too distant future so we'll really just look to replace what we have and forget about knocking down walls. Can't just leave it and sell as is as it's the original kitchen in a nearly 20 year old new build so is falling to pieces. I really have no idea what I want and can't be bothered looking.

Ooh, but it’s exciting @ElephantOfRisk! I love picking stuff like this!

@WouldBeGood

Ooh, but it’s exciting *@ElephantOfRisk*! I love picking stuff like this!

I'll send you dimensions in the new year and you can sort it for me @WouldBeGood

Yes! 😃

@ElephantOfRisk my friend managed to find a show room kitchen for sale, meant no tedious decision making and much cheaper than a brand new one.

That sounds great @rookiemere, it's a fairly straightforward L shaped space and then I have another bit that used to be our utility room that I think I just want floor to ceiling pantry in. It's now part of the kitchen and I just have a sideboard in there with open box shelves on top at the moment. We carved off the back of the garage for the utility and basically just moved the units across to that, so it will need done too.

I'm definitely going to get @WouldBeGood on the case though, I was actually just rummaging for the plans we have of the downstairs which were done when we moved the utility room, I know I've seen them recently.

If you're thinking of selling up you should look into whether it's worth putting in a new kitchen. A buyer may want to take down a wall themselves so the kitchen would have to be ditched anyway.

Yes @Haudyourwheesht has a good point. A new kitchen is £15-20k these days and most buyers like to have things to their style. So maybe not worth the cost and effort?

We had our kitchen done about 10 years ago and a few months ago there was a thread with a picture of a kitchen decorated exactly like ours, asking how best to rid themselves of this 90s style monstrosity . In our defence neither DH nor I are good on house style.

We visited the DIY kitchens workshop in the summer - can be much cheaper if you're confident with measuring etc. Their online planner is good. Though disappointingly we are not now going with a renovation option that would have necessitated a new kitchen. ☹️

Yes, I agree with the comments about selling which is why we won't be going high end, but it does need replaced to sell as its completely done in. There are bits that are completely broken, the skin on the doors and drawers has pulled from the wood and some of that has cracked, it's cream and some bits just won't even clean anymore.

So we are thinking something inoffensive and cheap. Any move will be at least two or three years away as DC will need to finish uni and get themselves settled. We do however regularly get notes through the door from people looking to buy and things do sell very quickly at the moment so it gets tempting.

Across the back we have a closed off family room/dining room with double doors to the back and a door to the kitchen. The kitchen is in the middle and then to the other side we have a wide arch through to a dining room/family area, also with double doors to the back. So essentially you can switch and swap the two other rooms. We always used the closed off one as a playroom as it was carpeted and the open one for dining as it has the same wood floor as the rest of the downstairs. The family room also has a glass door through to the living room at the front.

The kitchen door is straight down from the front door so is pretty visible as soon as you come in unless you shut the door but that makes the narrow hall quite dark and also we have a cat who needs access.

And that's a shame what.

Yeah, I'm a bit gutted @ElephantOfRisk but the cost benefit just wasn't there for us as we quite possibly will move when DC are done with school. If we were planning to stay longer term then we'd have done it. DH and I have agreed that when we move, being able to rip out the kitchen and put in one to our exact spec is top of the wish list! In the meantime, we are having some other work done which will improve our space and significantly add to the value of our house so can't freaky complain!

What is it you are having done? Sounds exciting too .

The best thing we ever did was move the utility so we could get a pulley for the washing and a cat flap - it's the simple things that improve your life sometimes.

That's my only concern with downsizing. At the moment we spend a fair bit of times in different rooms from each other and it definitely helps us not get on each others nerves, we can watch different things, listen to different music, find a quiet spot to read etc and then sit together when we want to do the same thing. I also love having a separate utility room, more than one bathroom etc. And then I'd still want to have spare rooms for the boys/any future partners/families to come and stay....

So then I start to think that downsizing to similar house with one less bedroom seems a bit pointless!

I don't know, maybe we need to keep staying here until DC are a fair bit older and we are getting elderly and looking for a small flat/bungalow?

Intention was to sell and release equity to help the boys with a deposit on a flat. It's all just too complicated for my brain

I know what you mean @ElephantOfRisk, but i dont think its worth it until you really downsize, what with stamp duty and legal costs.

I know @ssd, we used to move regularly. This is the longest I've ever lived in the same house (nearly 19 years I think) and I've never particularly liked it but it was the best option at the time.

We haven't really even decided where we want to live yet!

@ElephantOfRisk Effectively just adding an extra bedroom that on a day to day basis will be an office/home gym, but it'll be a good sized double room and gives extra space for teen sleepovers and visiting family too. Can't wait to get it done!

Costs for materials have gone way up recently too, which is annoying. Covid, Brexit, Evergiven, and bad weather in Sweden (meaning trees didn't grow properly) all at the same time have had a big impact.

We've been trying to buy land to build our own house. Found a plot that would suit us, but the title deeds are a nightmare, and we've spent 4 months so far trying to sort them out (well, DH has). I'm really hopeful we'll be able to move on with purchasing the land early next year and then we can get plans drawn up.

I'm trying to write a basic Nativity for the children. Getting nowhere.

I'm run ragged this week. That's all the Christmas presents wrapped now at least. I'm getting my hair done tomorrow morning thankfully. Ds1 finishes school a wee bit early but dh said he'd like to collect him and take him to the pet shop to choose a present for the dog so I'm hoping I can get baby ds to have a nap at that time so I can clean the oven which is truly revolting
Wednesday baby ds has got his mmr then big ds has a birthday party. Thursday panto and Christmas lights at George square and Friday Christmas Eve! Where has the time gone and when am I going to clean the bathrooms!?

That is a busy week! Bit of bleach, bathrooms clean themselves, rinse off an hour later?

Clean the taps @shouldistop and the whole lot looks sparkling

I love this poem and it's relevant for you @shouldistop

Dust if you must, but wouldn't it be better
To paint a picture, or write a letter,
Bake a cake, or plant a seed;
Ponder the difference between want and need?

Dust if you must, but there's not much time,
With rivers to swim, and mountains to climb;
Music to hear, and books to read;
Friends to cherish, and life to lead.

Dust if you must, but the world's out there
With the sun in your eyes, and the wind in your hair;
A flutter of snow, a shower of rain,
This day will not come around again.

Stuff the bathroom, it'll still be there next week

Or the 2021 alternative:
Dust if you must,
but you may as well wait till January,
when we'll be in lockdown again,
And there'll be loads of time
For dusting.

@Haudyourwheesht 🤣🤣