Pinch me someone, so I know it's not a dream. We are cookin' in the house!  Sure, we're still trotting down to the shed fridge for milk. Sure, there's the odd extension cord snaking across the floor. Sure, there's a motley crew of standard lamps for lighting. But once we'd lit that stove, once we'd rustled up our first bowl of pasta and supped by candlelight, once the heavenly aroma of Phil's first in-house loaf of bread had wafted upstairs and down - well, that's when the house became our home. Do take a peek:
(Yes, I have become quite fond of the aerial shot. It does look pretty cool from up there.)


As kitchens go, I've always been more of a free-standing than built-ins kinda gal. Back in antiques shop days (ye gads, was that the 80s?) I couldn't get enough colonial pine dressers - and I had those shelves groaning with Victorian china and depression glass. These days I'm a tad more minimalist. That's not to say I wouldn't love some bespoke, handcrafted timber cabinets. But with the aim of finishing the house in this lifetime - and an increasingly shoestring budget - well, we've quite happily settled with Ikea.


Phil and I have had eyes on Ikea's Varde freestanding kitchen for some time. I do think it's rather handsome in a beefy, square-edged kind of way. And I love those sturdy, no-nonsense legs and stainless steel capped feet. It's a design that manages to look fresh and modern, yet comfortingly cosy and traditional. Ikea is, in many ways, a grand experiment in retail democracy, making good design accessible to all. But that's not to say it's dirt cheap. The selection above retails at around $AU5,000 (still peanuts compared to most kitchens, I know). Yet with a bit of sleight of hand, a bit of shopping around, and a bit of luck, we managed to pull it all together for around $1,500.
So may I humbly present my top 3 tips for Ikea bargain hunting:

1. Always check the bargain basement first: To do this, you need to enter the store from the exit - i.e. the checkouts on the bottom level. It's the Ikea version of running the gauntlet. Just wait for a break in the crowd and, scrupulously avoiding all eye contact with anyone in a polyester blue and yellow polo shirt, cut a headlong dash through the registers and back into the store. Saves so much time, and adds a brief - yet not unsatisfying - rush of adrenalin to an otherwise sedate shopping experience.
One happy day, we had our pick from a palette of Varde glass-fronted wall cabinets, complete with glass shelves and quality German Blum hinges, reduced from $250 to $50.

2. Ebay: There's tons (literally, that chipboard's weighty) of Ikea on Ebay - much of it still boxed and brand spanking new. There's either a lot of people terrified by alan keys and/or Swedish instruction leaflets, or else there's a lot of flatpacks - ahem - falling off the back of trucks (an alarming thought, particularly if you're riding behind on a Vespa).
From Ebay we scored those two big Varde benches, still boxed, for $400 each. Retail price $900 each.

3. Sales: Obvious, I know - but there's usually something on sale at Ikea. Stuff gets discontinued. You've just got to be lucky.
And we were, picking up the last two discontinued Varde cabinets (see either side of stove) for $150 each. About half price, if I remember correctly.


So happy hunting and good luck. Oh, and if you like that white porcelain sink, I need to tell you that it isn't standard. It's a clever Phil hack. How To coming soon.

Heady times here at Eumundi Grand Designs (yes, I'm waiting to hear from Kev's lawyers), with the Dream Kitchen briskly taking shape. Even hauled the stove in this week - and been cooking up a storm - so these photos are already rather stale. Yet still delicious enough to eat, don't you think? For me, floorcoverings work magic: they can turn a dismal building site into a warm and cosy nest overnight. And when the floorcovering in question is Marmoleum - woodgrain Marmoleum, I might add - well it's enough to make this here pussycat curl up in a corner and purr.


How lovely. Just like a giant-sized checked gingham tablecloth - only woodgrain. Makes me want to sprinkle it with daisies, and set up a picnic on the kitchen floor, with cushions and a thermos of steaming tea, and some egg and lettuce sandwiches.
As is customary in this marriage of design obsessives, Phil and I entered into some long drawn-out hemming and hawing over colours. But I'm so happy with the result  - reminds me of a slab of chocolate, with big fat squares of 70% cocoa, 30% cocoa, and creamy milk white. Yum. And goes rather prettily with those Norwegian wood cabinets, don't you think? Okay, Ikea Birch veneer ...


If you haven't heard me banging on about Forbo Marmoleum before - well some might say you're lucky.  But yes if you haven't, go check out Jas and Phil's fabulous studio floor design. You'll also find a few technical details, plus more of me raving. I've been a devoted fan of this beautiful, hardwearing, sustainably manufactured product for years, and would love it even without its impeccable environmental cred.

By the way, these are not tiles. Forbo does indeed make  a stunning range of solid colour tiles - Marmoleum Dual. However, for those of us in Australia they're only available in 5 square metre lots (per colour), which makes for a fair bit of wastage. Besides, I had my heart set on woodgrain, so simply bought rolls and had it cut into squares - which, after the complexities of the studio floor, was more or less a breeze for the trusty David Hayden, one of the chirpiest floorlayers you'd ever have the pleasure to meet.


There you are. Evidence of in-house dining - or at least, coffee drinking. But what seems here a rather bare and lonely space now echoes with the sounds of running water (gasp) and the clatter of pots and pans. It boasts cookware and cupboards and a big shiny stove - and the heartwarming smells of dinner a-simmering.