Why Lord? WHY?

I woke up today in an absolutely FOUL MOOD. 

Sometimes I wonder what have I got myself into? Or why am I doing this again?

We just finished a house and the client was not happy with the work done. Why should this get me angry? Okay well let's see shall we?

Firstly the house had been left abandoned for THREE YEARS. This is NOT an exaggeration. No one has lived in that house for three years. And before being abandoned the tenant living there (a relative of the client) had gone a little loopy and had started hoarding TONS of stuff, whilst NOT CLEANING the house.

Have you ever tried not cleaning your home for a week? Imagine not cleaning it for a year. 

Then add to that image your husband coming home each day with an item of garbage he found during the day. He does that for one year.

Now add to that image the "little" termite problem you've been trying to ignore.

Now leave that untouched for three years....

THAT'S what we walked into! 

At the Site Visit it took everything in me not to begin feverishly scratching my hair.

And we only had SIX DAYS to undo the damage of years!

But it gets better...

The client's relatives did not give us access for a full two days - which cut our time down to FOUR DAYS. Four days to undo six years worth of damage.

We spent the first two days just clearing rubbish from the front of the house...it was one of the worst jobs ever undertaken.

And yes it was worse than the time we did the house that had a fire. And worse than the time that we did the house that had a dead body for a week. And YES it was worse than the time we did the house that had a flea infestation. It was worse than ALL of those houses! 

Why? Because it had all the stains and difficult cleaning found in the fire damaged home COMBINED with the smells from the dead man's home COMBINED with the itchy-crawliness of the flea infested house.

But we finished it! Yep - ON TIME - by working until 10 every night.

But the client was not happy. He expected MORE.

Sometimes I think people forget we use dust cloths and toilet brushes not BULLDOZERS!!!

Kitchens 101: The G-Shaped Kitchen

See how the Peninsula is used as the "eat-in" function?
Can also be used as extra counter space.

THE G-SHAPED KITCHEN, also called a Peninsula Kitchen, is a U Kitchen with an island or peninsula added in at one of the ends. Usually the island acts as an eating area and therefore connects the kitchen to the dining room/space because of this common function (eating). It is also a great use of space for those who want an eat-in kitchen but cannot accommodate a full dining/breakfast set. Because the kitchen is almost completely enclosed traffic CAN build up – so not too many chefs in this layout.

SIDE NOTE: In case you were wondering what is the difference between an island and a peninsula? An island is stand-alone and unconnected to the other storage areas and counter tops, whilst a peninsula is connected to the other storage areas and counter tops.

Kitchens 101: The U-Shaped Kitchen

U Kitchen Layout and the Work Triangle in one image

THE U-SHAPED KITCHEN has all appliances and counter-tops laid out in the shape of the letter U, therefore the mom/chef is physically surrounded by the kitchen. Also, if space allows an island is often included in this kitchen.

In this layout the work triangle is easily executed, storage is at a premium and more than one person can be accommodated. The best deal for making a West Indian Sunday Lunch!

In my previous post I mentioned that the L shaped kitchen is the third most popular kitchen that I have seen in Trinidad, well the U is the most popular! Once space is tight most Trinis opt for the One Wall, but once space is not an issue the - U is the go-to layout.