Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!

It's been a month of decision making for Paul and me.  With only block walls and concrete floors as a guide, it can be difficult to make choices so early on in the build, such as bathroom layouts in the roof, when you're not quite sure what the angle of pitch is going to look like.  It's an endless balancing act, trying to achieve the highest quality in the overall product and design, against the inevitable cost that comes with it.

We've finally chosen our kitchen supplier, after having worked with two different companies on the project.  It's been a tough call between the two, as they are both extremely good quality brands.  Alex Beaugeard, from Mark Wilkinson Kitchens, is my contact there and a designer with creative flair, who I've known for a while.  Alex knew that it has always been a dream of mine to own one of their kitchens.  At the end of the day, however, we decided to go with Extreme Design and my contact, Jamie Harding, as logistically it was perhaps more practical (Steve Osborne is using Extreme Design for the house at the bottom of the garden and one across the road which he is also building).  I'd given both Alex and Jamie the same brief, so the designs were more or less identical - I'm going for a 'New England' look, which I hope will prove both timeless and appropriate in either a modern or more traditional setting.  Jamie is great to work with and extremely enthusiastic about the project.  As a passionate cook, the appliances were as important to me to get right as the kitchen furniture itself and I've opted for Sub-Zero and Wolf products.  As well as looking beautiful, the kitchen will be a real work-horse, so investing in some heavy duty appliances will hopefully pay off.

Other decisions now made include external doors and windows (although the front door supplier has not yet been chosen), which should be installed in January, the audio visual specification (we will get services installed for certain elements we can't afford to do at the moment, but may want to do later, finances permitting) and I'm currently trying to bring our sanitaryware quote down to within budget, which is not proving easy, as the things I like always seem to be too expensive!!