Day 1 of the Refurbishment

Finally, the project has started. With two guys working 9AM - 5PM, the ugly counter in the reception is gone, shower unit taken out, and save for the gas area, kitchen is bare.
Great progress for one day.

"Before" of the Before and After

After harassing the Managing Agent for 3 weeks, I was FINALLY given a go ahead to refurbish the flat that I became the official leaseholder as of April 30. This 3 weeks is in addition to the 5 weeks of a search for a builder who can take on the job. It was a stressful process, as 2 out of 5 who came in for the estimate barely spoke English, and 1 came in with a very sick child coughing and sneezing non-stop. With all that hassles, on top of figuring out the budget and fixtures and fittings, I can't wait to start the work, pronto!!!

The Flat is a Victorian one bedroom (plus a storage room that could become a study/studio), but alas with a very dated 70's look inside, a shower room (no bath tub), and a tiny kitchen with ugly big counter in the middle of the reception room housing a washer and a fridge.

From the time I first saw the floorplan (not even before I went in for the viewing), I was determined to knock down the wall between the kitchen and the bathroom, create a bigger bathroom (with a bath tub), and bring out the kitchen to the reception room to make it an open plan kitchen. It was supposed to be a small kitchen/bathroom project, but the funny thing about the refurbishment is, once you start a small project, it snowballs into a bigger one, and there seems to be no stopping unless everything is altered.

For those who are curious, I'm uploading the "Before" photos here. Construction starts today, and I will upload the progress.