Kitchen install

So I can't believe that I am even posting about the kitchen. I mean it's taken a lot of behind the scenes work to get to this point.  We could have easily bought a pre-made off the shelf type of set up, but we decided that this kitchen needed to be really simple in design. Cupboards for this and that were not needed for our country getaways. And in all honesty creating that type of kitchen we felt would only invite wasps and killer bees in to make unwanted nests. After all, we are in the countryside so being able to keep things simple and easy was key for us.

So, the frame was made in a traditional way by marking up and chiseling out joints that locked together like a glove. 

Piecing it all together.

And voila! We have a kitchen frame.

And the moment we both enjoyed the most....installing our sink! Now, we really thought about the sink because farm style sinks don't come cheap and we realistically weighed up the cost, weight and size and what would suit the farmhouse kitchen the best. In the end we went with a bathroom sink! We especially considered the size and weight the most because we have come to know that we cannot impose too much weight on this side of the house since jacking it up. We also know that over time we will need to keep an eye on the level of this area of the farmhouse.

Again thinking about the style of the farmhouse we  chose compressed pine for the bench top in a natural beech wood colour.

Then we just hooked up the sink pipe to the main and we had water flowing! No more washing dishes out in the garden sink! I can't believe I am even typing those words. My camping days are kind of over at the farmhouse and I can actually stand upright to wash dishes. If you have been following along from the beginning of our journey washing dishes outside in the cold isn't much fun. Now I'm not complaining because this little house has certainly given us some fun adventures and an outlet to do some DIY projects in a Japanese countryside setting. Getting away to the countryside also clears your mind and reminds you to appreciate the little things in each season.

Now look at this handsome boy! We thought of going with a black faucet, but for two reasons we didn't. One being that it tied into our toilet tap colour also being brass and again the cost of black faucets (which are trending right now) have boosted the price up! Of course we did think of spray painting it black and we might even still do that, but for now the brass is looking mighty fine.  

I gave the bench top two coats of varnish for protection, while fending off insects trying to make it a landing pad! Remember this was done in the summer months.

We are not totally completed just yet. But we did buy some bamboo blinds because of the strong afternoon sun. As I mentioned in my last post, the open area you can see just above that teapot is where we will install a window for both ventilation and light. We are also putting in some white board all the way around the kitchen walls. Can't wait to share that progress with you all.

Obachan's pickle jars sit proudly under the sink.

                           

And another side view of our sink and faucet.

Keeping the benches open and clear was a key factor for us right now. We don't want any more visitors doing this again anytime soon! Later on we may install some shelves underneath. 

And so, this is our new little farmhouse kitchen at the moment. Still more to complete on the walls, but once that is done it will really come together.