rwrylsin

( Here be Photos )

Edit: Meant to mention; we used Kitchens Squared as our kitchen providers. Relatively small local operation, things went about as smoothly as can be expected of such a project.
Called them today to ask about a couple of holes the plumber missed filling in. Called me back a few minutes later to say the Plumber would call me tomorrow to arrange a time to come fix them. I like that.

Saturday morning saw our new kitchen appliances delivered. Shiny!
I went and gave a fencing lesson, then we dropped around to Kitchens Squared to make sure we were on the same page with the schedule. Apparently we weren't, so good to check. This is of course the reason why I wanted a local manufacturer - so I have the option of banging on their door anytime they don't call me back quickly enough.
Shopped, including yet another Bunnings run, but by that time we were losing light and out of time for actually finishing off the patio. Spent the night frantically emptying kitchen cupboards.

Sunday, David headed to the new fencing venue for the first national comp of the year. After sleeping in I finished emptying the kitchen cupboards, then spent most of the day in the garden. Planting bulbs, landscaping around the patio a bit, and more pruning.

There's a path to access the far side of the house, or there was, it's become a bit overgrown in the last year. But it was a bit daunting so I warmed up with the shrubs further down, found another rosebush under one (struggling, but not dead), and finally was ready to deal with the banana palms.
Turns out they're a lot like bananas. Pulling down dead leaves peels fibrous layers off the trunk rather like peeling the fruit. The center is soft and squishy, and smells of banana. Taking the hatchet to the base of one was both easier than expected and very satisfying.

For an encore I started shifting rocks to the right to widen the path, but then got word the person who purchased our kitchen would be arriving shortly, so I needed to finish the dishes while we still had a sink. I still need to go back out and tidy up all the branches...

David returned home, and the guy had brought his brother to help dismantle which was a good move. As I sort of suspected, the kitchen cabinets were the most solid things in the kitchen, and attached with the intent that they wouldn't go anywhere. They did manage to get most of them out, mostly in one piece, and were impressed by the quality of construction even if it was a bugger to move.

The carcasses over the fridge are now all that is left. They'll have to come out in pieces, running literally floor to ceiling there's no way to lever them out and like the others they are nailed firmly to floor and walls. Hopefully none of the walls are going to fall over without the cabinets for support. Is it normal to have cabinets nailed directly to the joists? ie: no wall behind them? It's a bit disconcerting.

While this was going on, the dishwasher was also collected by its new owner. So now we will have an interesting few days without a kitchen. Will have to clear a path to the laundry sink if we need to do dishes.

Ordered in a pizza for dinner and watched Dr Who around the sounds of kitchen destruction.

The new kitchen still doesn't seem quite real, and the current state is still surprising me when I walk in. The room also seems suddenly very large, despite the boxes and stuff piled in the corner (which also need to move in the next few days).

New kitchen in a month. I'm looking forward to it, and considering options for the old stuff.

Apparently there is a brisk trade in old dishwashers, tradies buy them for parts, and browsing eBay and Trading Post suggests there's fair demand for other appliances as well. As our cooker and dishwasher are both high end brands and still working, there's a good chance we can get someone to pay to take them off our hands.

Not so sure anyone will want the rest of the kitchen, (there are plenty of used kitchens being flogged) but even the possibility that someone will come and take it away (and thus allow the new one to be installed faster) makes it worth listing.
Genuine 1960's kitchen, you know you want one ;-)

The real point of this post however is to link to this 1940's cabinet.

I think my grandparents had cupboards like that, although I can't remember anything specific enough to be sure. Might have been the great aunts, or someone else entirely. I love the glass doors, almost makes me wish I had somewhere to put it.

Almost. If I'm honest, while I love the retro look I would want it to be hiding modern cabinetry behind the facade. Nostalgia is all well and good, but the convenience of soft-close drawers cannot be overstated. It's a shame you can only get kitchens "classic" and "modern" styles without going completely start-from-scratch custom build.

Anyway, 1940's cabinet in a 1960's house would be all wrong, and it would be a crime to put it in the workshop. I shall resist and hope it finds a good home.