Finding the chase and cutting to it

We spotted our house in January 2013 on an estate agents web site. My husband was away, so I took our son over to have a look – he was anti-moving, but I was shattered with the commute and where we were based – anything we did needed the car or motorbike or a long time to cycle.

We looked at three houses before hand, always with an open mind, but having had a double garage (motorbikes, remember!) and people coming round, a private driveway was an essential.

I love our place – I’m realising a dream of being gas-free in a couple of weeks – but like anywhere, it has its quirks. Be warned, these are definitely “boomer” and “first world” problems.

My kitchen took a long time to get into its current format, making the most of its L shape. It has 34m², which is nice, but the way it is laid out means there is only one way you can put anything and have a workable space. (First world issues, I know).

I’m beating this, a little, I hope by buying a butcher’s block. This is a trolley (in this case) with cupboards and drawers that will allow my Kenwood Chef mixer+ to come out of the double cupboard it is currently consuming. This has several pluses, not least the fact I can use it without taking up more counter space. All the bits and pieces will be in the cupboards and drawers, making life much easier and cooking much less involved.

I hope. I have been specifying it on paper for eight months, so this is no rushed decision. I hope I’m right about the cost benefit analysis!

It should also allow a space for the Kenwood after we get the kitchen re-fitted. I have been pondering this for the past eight years (big purchases need to be correctly made and this will make a huge impact for all our lives, twelve times as long as a butcher’s block sounds appropriate, don’t you think?).

The overall plan is to lose four cupboards – one of which is the Kenwood’s home – and 1900mm of worktop, mostly where I use the mixer. Hopefully, the trolley will tide us over for both kitchen’s and the transitional stage. This will allow us to fit our current fridge into the main kitchen rather than sitting in the dining room area: on the plus side, anyone cooking learns to plan or gains a significant number of steps while cooking – it’s not so much a cook’s triangle as a 20′ dash to the fridge.

Of course, this all comes at a cost. Therefore, not happening any time soon. My butcher’s block will be a stepping stone between the old and the new. Helping solidify what we actually need.