My New ARTHaven–Fitting the Worktops

When we arrived at the new house today, I was thrilled to see how much progress had been made on my wonderful new ARTHaven. Andy had been cutting and fitting the worktops to the base units. Looking through the doorway from the office section to the ARTHaven proper, this is what you see.

I just love the way the double curve leads you into the room – from the doorway which only allows a shallower unit just inside, widening to the full-depth units, and curving around the corner.

Coming right into the room, you can follow the curve around from the window to the fireplace. I love how this gives the effect of “work-flow” – one work station to the next, in a fluid motion.

The first curve around the corner is where Sheba, my Silver Bullet Cougar cutting machine will live. I can see that there is ample room for the support tables that I want to buy for her, which support the cutting mat and give better results.

The narrower units under the worktop are fixed, and the wider ones are on castors so they will pull out. This means that I can sit at several different work stations around the room, with the mobile unit pulled out and providing an extra surface to work on. Andy is getting me a few more shelves so that I can mix-and-match for my storage needs.

The next picture is a detail shot, showing how Andy has cut the worktop to fit around the moulding of the fireplace. This will all be sealed eventually, to prevent anything falling down between. He’s done a beautiful job.

Moving around the room, Andy is working on the right-hand worktop. This area to the right of the fireplace will be my sewing area.

Another picture, taken when we returned to the house after lunch – Andy has now cut the curve on this worktop.

The worktops are made of heavy-duty MDF. Andy’s original plan was to paint them in matt white, but I have persuaded him to leave them as they are, and simply to seal them with matt varnish. I love the neutral colour which tones well with the floor, and I think they will be much less vulnerable to damage than if they were white – and a more neutral surface to work on. They are quite smooth.

I have got a shabby chic shelf unit from Ebay, which is going above the fireplace as part of my display area, which will be the focal point of the room. I have not yet unpacked this, thinking that it could go over to the house as-is, protected in its packaging, but I may unpack it and paint it here. I chose it for its shape and size, but the distressing on it in the picture looked unnatural, with areas of “wear” that would never become worn in the natural course of things, so I am intending to paint it plain white, which I think will fit better with the room anyway.

It is very thrilling indeed to see my room taking shape like this. Suddenly it is becoming very “real” and I need to keep pinching myself to realise that my dream is actually coming true! With nearly all the boxes over now, and good progress being made on unpacking them in the spare room, I will soon be bringing everything in and setting up.