Kitchen Project - Middle and Middle

 Progress has been made!  Where once we had this totally functional corner:

Now we have this totally yuck corner:

On the plus side, we have theoretically added about 3 inches of space to our kitchen by removing the disused pipes and trunking.  On the minus side, it turns out that the counter was actually holding up most of the tiles.  When speaking to the handyman he suggested we just get the corner plastered and painted rather than trying to tile it again. So now we are waiting for the plasterer to get in touch.  

I am slightly worried this is what it will still look like in 6 months, but I will be more patient than a week. We are just going to paint it white, and then  put the full size fridge freezer there.  Currently the half size freezer is back as a makeshift counter.

I disassembled the large drying rack to gain some counter space.  It has reverted our kitchen to the previous awkward layout with clean dishes next to the cooking space, but at least we have a prep space to the right of the sink now

One thing that has always bothered us about this kitchen (besides the size) is why the draining board is to the left of the sink.  I think it's because the family before us had a full size fridge freezer where we have those open shelves and they wanted counter space next to the fridge, but it means there is a super awkward small workspace between the draining board and the stove.  We are getting a quote from the handyman to replace the worktop and flip the sink around.  It would also be centered under the window then, which would be an improvement too.

So, we are waiting for quotes and plasterers.  I have a mental budget of under £1,000* for improvements that will last us 5 years.  We are at about £250 so far so I'm hoping that we can get it plastered and a new sink and a new counter and dishwasher installed for under that price... but we will have to see what happens.

*not including price of dishwasher.