My favourite room: the kitchen


My kitchen - the hub of the house and one of my favourite rooms. It is a simple kitchen, quite small (petite) but has everything I need and I love working in it. It is particular lovely in winter when it is warm and cosy. My sons spent many hours sitting on the stools watching me cook and eager to lick the bowl and wooden spoon when I had finished baking. Its a space full of very fond memories and one or two that aren't so good (but that's life).
This is the view looking into my kitchen. I have a lovely large window at the end which makes washing up enjoyable.  No, we don't own a dishwasher - something that raised the eyebrows of the company who designing our kitchen! They couldn't understand how a woman could cope in a kitchen without a dishwasher. With only two of us, we really don't create that many dishes and I quite enjoy washing up. 
Yes, red is a favourite colour of mine and I have quite a few bit splashed around my kitchen.  Red says "cheery and joyful" and I just love that in a space like this.  I have found that leaving the food processor on the shelf (it is very heavy to move) means I use it far more than I ever did when it lived in the cupboard.
It is a great workspace and many a "masterpiece" has been created here!!  The red cloth is covering the no-knead dough waiting to be made into bread.  I love that bowl - it is very heavy and large (looks old fashion) and perfect for my dough to grow overnight in. 
This is the messy corner, fortunately it is tucked away and can't be seen when you first walk into the kitchen. This is still a work in progress! 
Once upon-a-time I use to have these sieves hidden away in the cupboard, but they are used often, so why not hang them on the wall. A kitchen, whilst it should look inviting, should be a  comfortable workshop where the tools of the trade are in reach.  Men (in their sheds) don't puts all their hammers and chisels in a drawer, they all hang on the wall, easy to reach.
I have been slowly collecting these French Provincial glass jars with their fun rooster lids and whilst I could keep them all in the cupboard, I thought they look so much better on display.  Yes, there is a jar with jelly-beans, they belong to my husband! 
When I tell people I am very organised, its true. Being organised and tidy makes housework so much easier.  This kitchen is quite simple to maintain as everything has its place. I also never go off to work in the morning unless it is neat and tidy. However, my husband is home all day (he is retired) and it doesn't always look as good when I get home (but not too bad). 
I am quite the fan of my spice drawer! It is directly below my workspace and all I need to do is open the drawer and there is everything I need. It really does work well for me. 
My eldest son said something funny the other day.  He said he loved looking in my pantry as he really likes all the little boxes of food I have. I keep these well stocked so I never run out of anything I might need when cooking. This pantry has 6 shelves all full to the brim with dried and tinned foods.
And finally - I find my husband needs a space in the kitchen where he can dump his sunglasses, keys and those oddments he has in his pocket like nails and screws.  This is his little place and the one place I don't tidy up. It is also where I keep the bigger items in the kitchen (such as the slow cooker, the bread flour, those favourite bowls and the Kitchen Aid) making them easy to grab and use.  I don't have a lot of cupboard space (or perhaps I have to much "stuff"), but there really isn't any space in the cupboards for these items. 

What do you like best about your kitchen?

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Comments

  1. My kitchen is quite large with oceans of bench space. I hate cooking but when 7 people crowd into that space I am glad we went large when we designed it!

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    1. Fortunately I wouldn't ever have more than four in my kitchen at any one time - mostly just the two of us and a cat or two. Perfect for us!

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  2. My favourite things about my kitchen:
    - It is big. After having a super pokey kitchen in our last house, I was so thankful to have a big kitchen.
    - Having a walk-in pantry (I like to buy ingredients in bulk, so it's wonderful to have the space to put everything and be able to access everything easily).
    - Having a big fridge to store lots of food and bulk ingredients!
    - Having an oven that has a side opening door - this makes it so much easier for the children to be able to bake safely.
    - Having lots of bench space - because I love having baking sprees when we bake lots of things (either by myself or with my family), having lots of bench space is really important to me!

    I truly am so very thankful for the kitchen the Lord blessed me/us with. It is also one of my favourite places in our house, and a place of so many memories and lots of fun (sad times too, but the good memories are wonderful)! :)

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    1. Oh, and I have red accents in my kitchen too (I LOVE red for its bright cheerfulness!) :)
      Love the red in your kitchen - such a contrast to the darker colours, and so bright and cheerful! :)

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    2. With just the two of us, this works really well. And we don't buy in bulk anymore as it doesn't really work when there are only2 mouths to feed. In fact I have reduced what I had stored away as it was taken us forever to get to some of the food and some things were going off. Your kitchen is lovely and I like the light airy feel to it.

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  3. My kitchen also has red accents. I haven't posted any pics since we moved, I'll have to share them with you. Maybe Sophia will snap some photos...but I should wash the dishes first!

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    1. I took my photos just after i did the dishes and wiped down the shelves!!! It would be nice to see your kitchen:))

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  4. I love seeing your kitchen and like it very much. Mine issomewhat like yours… small and I have red accents also; I can't seem to stop finding and wanting red. I just got some red bowls and casserole dishes. I like your spice drawer. Also, love your rooster tops on the big glass jars. It is nice to have a cozy kitchen. I have loved redoing our cabinets and painting etc. last fall… a much needed project.
    Have a great day.

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    1. i am a bit like you - when I buy new things for the kitchen I and drawn to the red!! and its a habit I can't seem to break. But then again, it really doesn't matter. We use to have a horrible little kitchen with narrow work tops so it was wonderful to rip it all out and start again, and since then I have treasured my little space!!

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  5. Hi Jo, I really enjoyed a tour through your kitchen. I don't really know what I love most about my kitchen, I just love having a kitchen with good working space. Before we moved upstairs in our home last July, my kitchen downstairs was tiny, just a kitchenette, so I am very grateful for the extra space to cook, bake, make jams, watch my children cook, do science experiments and lots of other things. :)

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    1. A work bench that is a good size is so useful and when we were designing ours, we had one idea but the designer had a far better idea which really increased the space we have (which isn't huge). I like to be able to spreads out with plenty of room.

      Hope you week has been enjoyable.

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  7. I love your spice drawer! Mom always put her spices on shelves and I have followed suit. It never occurred to me to put spices anywhere else.

    I love the colors in my kitchen. It keeps it a bright and happy space to work.

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  8. I love this little look into your kitchen!!! The red splashes of colour are lovely!
    hehe it's nice to enjoy washing the dishes - I sure don't so feel free to come over anytime ;-)
    I really love your spice drawer, seems handy to have it quite close by.
    I think the kitchen is my favourite room too - but only because I have to share my craft room with work haha!
    As Nigella Lawson said "When I'm in the kitchen, I'm happy"

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    1. I like washing up for two people!!! And I am not one to use lots of pots and often wash as I go so I never have a heaps of dishes at the end of the meal.

      I love my study too - but there is food in the kitchen, which is why it ranks number 1!!

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  9. Now I must get a LARGE OLD FASHIONED BOWL for my bread to rise in! Love your kitchen but with a family of 5 (2 of them growing boys) I would never cook again if I did not have a dishwasher! Thanks for the tour.

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    1. I was given those old-fashion blue bowls - there are 4 in the set by a dear friend who has MS. They are very heavy bowls, far too heavy for her so she gave them to me. I haven't used the large one until now and it is perfect for bread making.

      When I was young and there were 6 of us in the house, I use to love washing the dishes and making sure my older brothers did all the drying up!! Mum had no troubles with me doing this task - quite a different story when I had to dust!!

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