Kitchen Essential

The perfect kitchen is toasty and warm in winter, cool and airy in summer but, alas, the situation is often reversed.

The Kitchen Floor

However magnificent they may look in an old farmhouse, cold, grey flagstone floors don’t conjure up a sense of winter comfort. The fact is, if your feet are cold, so is the rest of you. Ironically, in the right location, solid floors are an important factor in maintaining a good ambient temperature. 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 »

A buffet meal is ideal for occasions where there is to be a large number of guests such as christenings, weddings and similar gatherings. It may also suit a smaller gathering such as an informal supper with friends after the theatre or an evening at home where a dinner around the table might be more formal than you want to make it.

When planning the table arrangements and flowers or other decorations, think carefully about a colour scheme or theme to suit the occasion. For example, if the meal you are planning is to celebrate a silver wedding, choose white flowers with silvery foliage, silver candles or white candles in silver candlesticks and trimmings of furled silver ribbons. Silver serving dishes and silver cutlery will help to set the scene and if you don’t have these yourself, you can hire, or possibly borrow them. If the occasion is a christening, you will probably choose pink or blue as the predominant colour, and flowers should be delicate and unfussy.

The next most important decision is where to place the table. Continue Reading »