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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

My new kitchen...

'On days when warmth is the most important need of the human heart, the kitchen is the place you can find it'.


(E.B White)

Welcome to my new kitchen! It's not quite finished as you can see (still needs painting and a bit of decorating) but I couldn't be happier with it especially the way the new bamboo floor contrasts with the all-white cabinetry and the way the oven is given prominence by doing away with any overhead cupboards. I'm not so convinced about my choice of a smaller pantry (what was I thinking?) as I didn't realise just how much room you lose with those nifty slide out shelves. Still, it has led to some pretty ruthless culling (way past its use-by-date fish sauce anyone?) which can't be a bad thing.

One of the things that used to really depress me about our kitchen was the view from the front door. You'd open the door ans see a blank paling fence out the window and a freestanding dishwasher with a basket on top that we used to put recycling in. You then had to shimmy past that dishwasher to get to the toilet (before we closed off the doorway as part of the bathroom renovation). All most unsatisfactory!



Now I see this when I come in the front door at night...


So much more satisfactory! Some of the best changes have been small ones . The view out the window is so much more welcoming now that it includes a burst of colour from a hanging basket and some little red window boxes. The window boxes are full of my favourite herbs which means I don't have to go out into the backyard in the dark anymore to pick those essential last minute herbs. I also love my new sink and tap (really!). Again it's not a big thing but the previous one had hot and a cold twist taps which always seemed to end up covered in cake batter or schnitzel crumbs especially when cooking with the kids. It also had a fixed faucet so you couldn't swing it out of the way when you were washing up (many a plate met its maker after accidently colliding with that damn faucet!). Now we have a mixer tap with a flick control and a double sink with strainer plugs and it's amazing how much more streamlined that little detail makes things.

I feel slightly embrassed about the size of my enormous new oven (900mm) in such a small kitchen but it's so much more efficient than the old one (so much so that I've already burnt my first batch of biscuits!) and I figure if you love cooking as much as I do (and increasingly the kids too) it's worth the investment.

There's still plenty of room for improvement - I haven't worked out where to put the recycling station yet and we have a space on one wall for a nice dresser/ sideboard or bookcase but for now I'm just going to enjoy getting to know my new oven and using up all that new bench space...

6 comments:

  1. Caz, I love your new kitchen. Isn't it fun to have new things. I also did away with the over head cabinets in Roberts Creek. I can't reach them anyway and they do make a space look smaller. I did, however, end up putting some display shelves in to showcase my collection of mid century Kitchen stuff. Enjoy your new play room and keep those cookies coming. Hope to see you over the school hlidays.

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  2. Thanks Sophie!

    Loretta, I'd love to see your 'collection of mid-century kitchen stuff'. Maybe over the holidays? Still not sure of our plans yet. Talk soon...

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  3. Ooh smart...I'm not sure how I missed this post...I didn't see it in my feed...

    Anyway congratulations...I hope you have lots of fun family times making food and memories together in your lovely new kitchen.

    Deb

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  4. Thanks Deb. I'm struggling to keep up with everything too! Glad you like the new kitchen. I've been following and enjoying your blog but still having trouble commenting. I'll email you for a catch up again soon.

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  5. Wow! Your kitchen design is simple but yet very stunning! It’s been a year already, I’m sure your kitchen is finished. Post pictures of it too. Thanks!

    -Anthony Selby

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