Renovations

We've been doing a gradual renovation of our kitchen for the last 6 months or so. It was a dated 1980s effort when we arrived and some of the doors and drawers were no longer performing as they should. The trigger for the work, though, was a breakfast bar that somehow made our 25ft-long kitchen cramped - even friends complained about it. I'm not much good at building new things, but I discovered I am quick and zealous in my destruction.

An electric wood sander, clear varnish, lining paper and freestanding kitchen units (thank goodness for Gumtree and Ebay) have meant the process so far has been DIY-able, even for me, and fairly affordable. Where I've been stuck in deciding what to do is under the windows. I couldn't get a clear idea without seeing what there was to work with, so I ripped out some more units one afternoon. I was hoping for the wood panelling and wall to be in fairly good nick so we could go for yet more freestanding units, but this is what we found instead.

I'm guessing the bamboo wallpaper is 1950s or 1960s. I thought I should take a pictuer for posterity as a professional - yes, in the end, I had to admit defeat - is coming to build something shortly that will cover this up once again.