A famous poet once said “You can create something that is pure genius, but you have to get your timing right,” and this has never been so relatable.

My life is currently all about timing and I feel like I’m in the middle of a high-stakes game of Jenga where one wrong move at the wrong time could mean the whole tower comes crashing down. But if we get this right, we could be living inside our ChatGPT AI renders and eating dinner on new crockery instead of paper plates.

When we added the floor tiles to our online basket and we placed our kitchen order and selected a mid-November delivery date it all felt so far away. Fast forward a few months and here we are flying by the seat of our pants speeding towards some non-negotiable deadlines.

If the kitchen arrives before the floor is levelled, before the underfloor heating is installed, and before the tiles are laid, the renovation wheels will officially fall off. We have used every ounce of space in every cupboard and the shed, loft and garage are fit to burst so I don’t have a kitchen-sized space to store it if things don't go to schedule.

Dreaming about the day our AI dream becomes a reality. Here is the kitchen design.

placeholder image — Dreaming about the day our AI dream becomes a reality. Here is the kitchen design.

We are currently living our very own Julia Donaldson version of ‘A squash and a squeeze’ (parents with kids of a certain age, if you know, you know). Open a cupboard at your own risk and if you’ve lost something you need it’s likely you may never see it again.

I had never really thought about the precise order of a renovation and was fully focused on the finished result but it turns out there is a strict sequence. There is an intricate juggle act of aligning independent trade diaries in which to achieve this far off finish line. And a delay in one phase of this process creates a cascading effect through the entire renovation timeline.

In the early days of the renovation if a plumber called in sick it was no big deal. Now if someone can’t make it you better believe I’m doing a deep dive on social media to find out their address and turning up at their house with a bowl of chicken soup and strict orders to get to site.

Don’t get me wrong it’s thrilling to finally see things coming together and feeling in many ways that the end (at least of living in a building site phase) is in sight. It just feels like the next two weeks NEED to go precisely to plan to achieve this.

Reporter Kate Mason is taking on the renovation project of a lifetime

And it’s going to be a stressful few weeks because the one room we have been living out of downstairs has now been completely emptied after my husband’s last minute decision to put underfloor heating in there too. So the fridge/freezer, TV, furniture and our make-shift kitchen have all been packed away or relocated and we officially now live upstairs.

As I sat in my camping chair in the living room watching the kids use felt pens all over the carpet (which was hours away from being ripped out and thrown in the skip) I had to look around and laugh, hoping that one day I would look back on this squatter-style image and think, "Wow, it really was worth it."

Keep up to date with all the progress by following @ohgodweboughtavicarage on Instagram.