After trying out a number of different colours for the study we settled on the only colour Chris has so far given a strong opinion on. He struggles to visualise what a colour might look like across a whole room, so getting an opinion from him is usually an exercise in futility. But for once, he did like a particular tester colour. It’s not my favourite, but given that I’ve chosen all other colours so far, it’s only fair he occasionally gets the deciding vote.

I gave the walls their first coat of blue, and all the skirting and architrave several coats of matt white.

The ceiling was perhaps the most complex of all the rooms, with three meeting joints needing covering in wood, and coving at all kinds of angles. To keep costs down Chris suggested using gravel boards to cover the gaps, simply cutting off the corners.

Finally, I filled all the gaps and edges with caulke and gave the ceiling and coving a few coats of paint. All that remains to be done is the bits of coving adding by the windows, but we’ll leave this till the windows are replaced. We also need to buy a carpet. We’ve seen a few second-hand or end-of-roll options, so plenty of choice.

Chris’s big job for the weekend was to get the worktops installed. The major concern for me was lifting them into place. The two very large men that delivered the worktops moaned bitterly that they shouldn’t have to lift something so heavy, and then stated there was absolutely no way I would be able to lift them.

The two pieces of 3m by 1m, 4cm thick oak, weighing around 85kg, were heavy enough to make me pause. After one failed attempt to lift and flip the first worktop, we managed to lift it first on the dining table and then onto the island.

Chris then went to work cutting the edges to shape and cutting out holes for the hob and extractor. He then rounded the edges using a router. A smaller bit of wood has been cut out to create an end panel.

We’d treated the undersides with tung oil already, but once in place and cut to size Chris treated the top. Next we moved the second worktop in place, Chris cutting out the back and a hole for the sink, before rounding the edges and treating.

There’s still a little more work to do attaching a smaller bit of worktop to cover the last cupboard, but I’m relieved the heavy lifting is done. And they already look very fancy with all of Chris’s hardwork cutting them to fit.

So the house is once again in a state of chaos, meaning a temporary kitchen has been set up in the lounge. Still, omelettes and broken eggs and all that.