Refurbished Train Station

My local train station has been undergoing a big refurbishment and for the past year the main access stairs have been closed off. Last week they were re-opened at last and are looking fresh and new. Normally I'm not a fan of the brigh colours required for handrails in public places to provide adequate visual contrast - but these school bus yellow ones look great!

A New Chopping Board

It was time to get a proper chopping board for the kitchen so after much research and debate I finally settled on a beech end grain chopping board from a Sheffield based company called Panga (support the UK!).

End grain is apparently important for keeping knives sharp as at a microscopic level the blade slips between the grains rather than slice accross them.

As for the wood, apparently oak stains if you happen to leave a stainless steel blade on it overnight, and although rubberwood is much more common and just as sturdy as beech I dont like what the grain looks like. This company offer a customisation service so you can get any size board you want and the board is of lovely quality - so I'd definately recommend them!

Some House Guests

My friends Frini and Martin are staying with me while they are between leases and commented on the light pull I have in my WC... which made me realise that this 'news' never made it onto the blog as they are regular readers and would have remembered (thanks guys!).

So here he is... my vintage 1979 Lego Astronaut light pull. I dont like light switches on pulls, but because the wall between the hallway and WC was solid brick it was not possible to easily chase in a conduit and light switch box, and so it remained as a pull. I saw someone with a starwars lego figure as a keychain and that's when I got the idea that it would be more fun to have this little guy hanging out in the deep space of the WC. Suggested addition - a few tiny stars and planet. Something to think about when I next have a bottle of tipex (liquid paper) to hand

Happy (Canadian) Mother's Day

Here is a photo of a little English bunny rabbit that I met in Cornwall to wish you a Happy Mother's Day Muz! Perhaps you will be visited by the deer and fawn you sometimes see in the woods behind your garden... I hope you have a sunny day.

A Happy Mothers day also to my friends who are also now mothers; Julie, Cindy, Monica, Maja and Emily

Kitchen Countertop Samples

Since we are now into May and a quarter of the way through the year, I thought Id check in on how I was doing with the 6 resolutions for the flat that I posted in January.

So far I have successfully de-cluttered, sorted out the kitchen floorboards, and started planning the bathroom renovation. Still to do is the kitchen countertop, which needs to happen before the kitchen tap and hob can be connected. So, to that end, Ive prepared drawings to get quotes and decided on the material for the countertop - a reconstituted stone called Silestone, in the colour Kensho, with a 'Leather' (ie matt) finish. The chosen sample is the one in the bottom left of the images.

Read more about Silestone here: http://www.silestone.co.uk/quartz/what-is-silestone.asp

Sink Base cabinet Type

Bathroom Decision 7

The sink basecabinet comes as a drawer, or a hinged door. Generally Id always opt for the drawer as it is easier to view the contents without bending down, but unfortunately the drawer option only comes with a small 'countertop' which in essence the sink sits on.

I like the sink-bowl-on-counter look, but only for larger countertops (like in the middle image), or for where the sink is much smaller (like the bottom image) but in my case with the rectangular sink I find it looks odd. I prefer the option where the cabinet is beneath the sink so that there isnt a small edge to collect with water and dirt so will be going with the door.

A mini-break to Cornwall

I was away for a long weekend in Cornwall recently, so the bathroom decision making went on hold, and instead my mind was occupied by thoughts of fish and chips, rockpools at low tide, Cornish Pasties, and learning to surf. Above is a collection of images, selected as I like their gradual colour shift from green to violet.