Kitchen Essential

It was important though not to lose sight of the kitchen’s primary purpose. I have long disliked the placing of a hob or stove in a row of base units because it detracts from the symbolic significance and historical roots of the hearth. This partly explains the popularity of an Aga or giant solid- fuel stove comfortably placed inside a chimney breast. The stove is the focal point of any kitchen and wherever possible this should continue. Many families want to use a variety of built-in appliances, a composite stove was designed for the collection. This enabled the cooking appliances including an overhead canopy (containing an extractor) to be houses independently in one substantial piece of furniture, a little akin to the old ranges in Victorian kitchens. The stove could have its dignity back. Continue Reading »

The central counter is without doubt the recent biggest improvement in kitchen design that has come into its own! Its recent ancestors are those centrally placed ‘working’ tables found in most large kitchens in England from the eighteenth century until the 1930s. Their scrubbed sycamore surfaces coped well with all types of food preparation, and in the smaller farmhouse kitchens the tables were used to eat at as well. By the 1950s with the development of factory-made built-in units we were all put to work on laminated plastic surfaces facing walls, which was anti-social and in planning terms dispersive. By placing a piece of furniture in the middle of a room, activity is drawn towards the centre. Continue Reading »

The creative process is fascinating and full of mystery. Quite apart from never knowing where the ideas spring from in the first place, how are the connections made between the many different aspects of the design process? Gradually like making a jigsaw puzzle, the easier shapes — the corner and edge pieces — are assembled and provide a sketchy definition. Then a few middle clusters appear and provide a hard centre. And bit by bit the rest falls into place after a lot of experimenting on the way. Continue Reading »

Traditional or modern, useful labels or cliches. Most kitchens are marketed under one of these descriptions, and the results are predictable. A ‘traditional’ kitchen is made of aged or stained wood with raised panels, doors, a scattering of suitable mouldings, a bit of fretwork, china knobs throughout and brass-trimmed appliances. If it is expensive or up-market, a few extra luxuries may be thrown in. Its ‘modern’ counterpart will have a consistent melamine finish, probably white, chrome handles, stainless steel appliances, plus various special features related to whichever company’s products are on offer. The differences are only just perceptible. Continue Reading »

Plate racks are great inventions. Mistakenly many people think of them purely for draining plates and so on, when their function is as much to do with easy access and storage. Having designed around ten different versions, I am beginning to get to grips with their problems as well as advantages.

Initially I started off by holding the plates in position with dowels at the back and location slots at the front. This allows the rack to be used for thick pottery plates and soup plates. A little more care is required when storing the plates because you have to fit the plate into the front slot. Continue Reading »

Dishwashers are no longer considered luxury appliances. They are near-necessities in the modern kitchen.

If you still feel traces of guilt about using a dishwasher, take heart: it is a much more hygienic method of washing up – tea towels and dish cloths are perfect breeding grounds for germs – and, if you choose the model with care, it uses no more power and water than washing up by hand.

A few checks will make sure you are happy with the model you buy. First, find out the length of the shortest and the longest cycles, and the amount of water used – the lower the numbers, the kinder it is to your pocket and the environment. Continue Reading »

Eating outside is one of the great pleasures of life. A simple lunch achieves cordon bleu status if served in the fresh air, and there is no more enjoyable way of passing a summer evening than a leisurely dinner outdoors.

Even in a small garden it is worth setting aside an area for a table and chairs. Ideally your spot should be sheltered from the wind; it should catch the winter sun, but offer shade in the hot months. No, you can’t change the course of the sun, but you can grow deciduous plants that let warm rays through in winter and cast dappled shadows in summer. Continue Reading »

Not long ago, sinks and taps were the most boring things in the kitchen. Now they are among the most colourful.

Sinks and taps can add a touch of glamour and good looks to every kitchen. Indeed, the variety of styles and finishes now available calls for careful selection.

Sinks

Finance and space, for most people, are unalterable influences on the choice but, working within those parameters, you should also consider how you will use the sink.

Probably the most important factor is whether or not you have a dishwasher. If you do not, the prime purpose of the sink should be to make the task of washing up as easy as possible. Ideally, you should have twin bowls and double draining boards: Continue Reading »

Tiles still make the best wall surface between kitchen worktops and overhead cupboards.

They are easy to clean and make a watertight seal between walls and worktops as well as providing an opportunity for colour and decoration.

The most important thing to remember when tiling is to think it all out carefully before beginning. A careful sketch based on laying the tiles out on the worktop is worth the time it takes and will almost certainly reduce the likelihood of mistakes that might not become obvious until towards the end of the job. Continue Reading »

TOPS

The requirements of a worktop are that it should be tough enough to cope with all sorts of attack, yet sufficiently good-looking to be a design element in the kitchen.

The worktop is probably the most hardworking part of the whole kitchen; over the years it has to stand up to all sorts of abuse from knives, hot saucepans, water, kitchen chemicals and certain foods.

Some materials wear better than others or are relatively easy to repair; think about these things when you’re deciding what to use for your worktop. You should also consider what maintenance will be required, and how often; whether splashback edges and corners can be well sealed; if you have a long worktop, how many joints there will be; and then, look at the relative prices of the different materials. These are the practical considerations — after that it’s a matter of making your decision purely on aesthetic grounds. Continue Reading »

Start with a well-designed kitchen; mix that with a carefully thought-out colour scheme and personal decorating touches, and the result will be an individual and interesting room that will be in keeping with the rest of the house.

While the working parts of the kitchen are vitally important, so too are the decorative aspects — you want to create a room that you feel happy working in. There’s no point in having all the latest appliances and high technology if you’re miserable every time you set foot in the kitchen. Think just as carefully about colour and the decorating of the room as you do about every other aspect. Continue Reading »

A scalloped heading is often used on café curtains. They look particularly good when hung from wooden curtain rings.

1 To work out the amount of fabric required, measure the width of the window and add 3 cm for seam allowance. Measure the length from the rod or track to the desired length of the curtains. Add 5 cm to the lower edge to allow for the hem and add 1.5 cm to the top edge for the scallop heading. Continue Reading »

As soon as you walk into the country kitchen, it’s as if there’s a huge welcome mat at the door. You see it in the lovely comfortable clutter, the warm timber, the informality and the deliberately mismatched old tiles in the splashback. Bowls of fruit and vegetables on display — perhaps just one type, such as lemons or pears — indicate a love of nature. Herbs and spices are decanted into pretty jars; farmhouse loaves sit on the breadboard; wire baskets full of eggs add to the mood. Continue Reading »

Kitchen Storage Behind Closed Doors

Cupboard storage ideas are only as limited as your imagination.

• Glass doors can often be incorporated into cupboard design — these are generally at eye level to show off colour-coordinated china and glassware.
• Plastic-coated wire baskets are popular for storing numerous items from pots to vegetables.
• A tea-towel rack may be useful in a small narrow space. Continue Reading »

With all of its pots, pans, bags of groceries and delicious comforting aromas, the kitchen is the heart of the home. But it does have a dual role to play: it has to be efficient yet comfortable and inviting.

Planning a kitchen may seem daunting at first, but most of the important decisions will be common-sense ones. Then you can spend time on the fun things like colour schemes and the overall ‘look’. Continue Reading »

The most informal arrangement, the eat-in kitchen can fit into almost any shaped room as long as it’s not too small.

A great benefit of this layout is that the cook need never feel left out from what’s going on at the table. On the down side of things it is impossible to close the door on kitchen mess. Continue Reading »

You need more than money to create a kitchen that looks good and works well. Far more important is a sense of how you actually want your kitchen to work, plus a knowledge of basic planning principles.

The layout of the room, rather than its size, has an enormous impact on its level of efficiency. It’s worth taking your time over the planning stage to avoid what could prove to be costly and annoying mistakes. Continue Reading »

Apart from making sure that it is not easily breakable, there are no special requirements when selecting crockery and cutlery for camping. Naturally, it does not make sense to take along the family’s Dresden china or parts of a complete dinner set which would be ruined if one piece went missing. But the other extreme of using only disposable plastic knives, forks and spoons is also not the answer: Continue Reading »

The ultimate hangover cure or early-morning beverage! This is a customized recipe, but as the results will testify — well worth the effort.

• 2 parts vodka
• 1 small can tomato juice
• dash Tobasco sauce
• dash Worcestershire sauce
• freshly ground black, green & white pepper
• half crushed garlic clove
• sliced & diced lemon pieces (with rind)
• 1 celery stick Continue Reading »

For those uninitiated in the ways of the Long Island Ice-tea here are some ground rules: Do not underestimate the power of an LIIT. One is normally more than enough, but inevitably leads to a second — very seldom a third. It contains all ‘white‘ liquors and is by far the most forgiving to the cocktail maker. Continue Reading »