Giving the kitchen a polish...

My husband went away to Spain with his friends and I announced that I would be "tearing apart the kitchen" whilst he was gone. Of course, he envisioned cupboards off walls, new worktops and I was just "getting the walls reskimmed, it would take a couple of days, he wouldn't even have to deal with the mess". Because, really, all I was doing was replastering the walls - that's simple right?

I firstly asked all my friends if they knew a decent plasterer - word of mouth is possibly the best way to do things like this! - I got a lot of recommendations and a couple of private "yep he did some work for him and was great, but the work he did elsewhere was shocking" warnings and set about deciding who to choose and who was available. After securing a plasterer (the Lovely Liam) I then discovered that I would be driving Mother-In-Law to the airport for her cruise holiday on the day the work started and would only have about an hour to clear down the kitchen... You can now see that this became a bit of a mare!

So, our poor plasterer arrives, looks around the room, and tells me exactly what needs to go out into the other room and assesses how much plaster he was going to need and set off to Wickes. When he came back, I was ready for a cuppa and then it happened; HE DIDN'T DRINK TEA. OK, this would be alright, I could cope without tea and I left him to it. 

First night, I ate at my cousins home, second night I ate out, Sunday I'm pretty sure I just wondered aimlessly around the house in shock. Liam was doing a great job keeping everything clean and lovely and he went - he even talked me into getting the ceiling skimmed to get rid of artex (what were all those people thinking!?) because he wanted to leave behind a job that was perfect and I mentioned that the ceiling was a bit horrid. FOr this, I am eternally grateful!

So, once husband-man got home and we were still plastering and I was still trying hard to keep everything 'tidy' (next few writings will be about my inherent ability to leave a wake of chaos) Liam was able to shake hands with my husband and give us a few pointers.

BUT we had a kitchen that went from god awful bumpiness to sleek and smooth - we basically liposuctioned those walls!

NEXT TIME: Choosing the kitchen colour!

An intro to all the tools

I shall begin by 'fessing up - I am a woman who likes to think that I can hold my own in DIY. My house proves that this is not the case.


I've recently taken a role at an online tool store and now have access to over 35,000 tools, accessories, hardware and enough access to start playing properly at this DIY game. Looking around, I have found LOADS of sites offering up DIY advice, including our own, but there is limited step by step and tool recommendations. 

So, as i start on a new project, I'm going to be using some of these tools, and whatever else I can lay my hands on to complete the job! I'll be giving honest and frank opinions on how well I, as a DIYer find the tools to use, where one brand out-performs against another and the mistakes that can be had.

If you ever have any advice, recommendations or objections, I'd absolutely LOVE to hear from you!


I'm open to having articles submitted if you feel that I am missing some info or want to share an experience - get in touch!