OK I know this isn’t a fantastic photo in any sense of the word but it’s surprising how pleasing it is to me. These are two of the first three cabinets to be fitted in our new kitchen. Now we have that corner which was nothing but technicolour junk previously painted this lovely colour and fitted with three wall units (other one out of shot) and four base units.

For the past three years, I’ve hated anyone walking over the threshold of the kitchen in our home because I’ve been scared stiff that once they have seen the flea-pit I call a kitchen then they’ll refuse to eat here.

So, what with me being otherwise unoccupied (she says with her tongue firmly planted in her cheek) I decided to scrape the money together to refit it. It’s being done on a tight budget. This is the cheapest kitchen available through one of our DIY sheds and I bought the cabinets when they were 50% off in a sale, then another 20% off for another strange reason best known to the particular chainstore. (Probably desperation in the current climate.)

I’ve bought the handles separately (BTW by the time I write this, these cabinets have handles on them), managed, through research and hard-bartering found solid wood worksurfaces at the same price as laminate ones and I’ve also managed to source a small stone section for kneading/rolling pastry/bread for 20% of what I paid for my marble slab in my last kitchen.

All of the preparation was done by me, getting rid of all of the grot, prepping and painting. The last two days have been spent with a little “production line” going with me assembling units while DM fits them to the walls, adds doors and handles. They still need their trims but that will wait for another day because it’s more important to me to get the units in so I can use the space.

The thing hanging down in this shot is the cable that will eventually provide under-cupboard lighting.

Last night I fell asleep on the sofa (again, it’s becoming a habit) and when I woke up at 3am, I found myself sleeping with Rosie and Archie, with no sign of David. I went into the kitchen to discover that he’d been putting doors onto these cabinets at midnight last night. I’m impressed.

Not only that but I keep wandering into the room and looking at the cupboards with such a huge amount of pleasure and delight. I can’t stop myself from grinning every time I enter the room. Ah well, you know what they say, “little things please little minds!”