At last the first phase of the refurbishment programme has been completed and it looks fantastic, even better than we had hoped for.
The restaurant has been completely re-vamped. Gone is the big tiled fireplace, and gone too is the useless cupboard in the corner replaced with an elegant arched alcove. We had the wood throughout the dining room and the hallway removed, that’s doors, door surrounds, skirting – everything, it all went off to be dipped then replaced and repaired where necessary. The years of paint that had built up had left no definition to the woodwork also all that paint had been applied to a varnished surface so just the slightest knock and it chipped. Now the wood looks fantastic, all its definition is back, the finish is stunning and the carpenters that did the work were better than we could have hoped for.
Everything was then redecorated, some new picture lights added, striking carpet and new curtains and the transformation was complete. While I would like to see the next phase, the rest of the ground floor, done before Christmas it may not be possible as I think we will have to close for a couple of weeks to do it and we do not have a clear two weeks between now and Christmas to fit it in.
The sooner the better though as now we’ve finished part one we just can’t wait for it all to be done.