Dream Kitchen

It started on 11th,January and was supposed to be completed on the 1st of February. Everything was underestimated, the time for the electricians, the fitter, the plasterer, the painter and the worktop people. It was finished on the last day of February. And then I could start on bringing up the boxes which have been stored in a container down the bottom of the hill in Monmouth since we moved here at the end of May. It has been lovely to see so many of my things not seen for so long but there has had to bee a huge downsizing of bits and bobs (this isn't finished yet). I have emptied 35 removal boxes and there are still a few left to go, sigh.
 So here are the pictures of my dream kitchen.

 From the seating area. In the background on the left you can see the dresser I commissioned last year in the dining space.

 From the door in the hall looking into the kitchen. Those two drawers below the toaster hide the bins.

 From the dining area.

 Dining area.

What it really looks like in use. I have three of these chopping boards which lip over the worktop. They are brilliant for serving as the plates don't get cold on the quartz worktops. They are also brilliant for prep work as you can just scrape all the peelings into your hands. And when the wear out? Just go back to Ikea and replace them, lols.

The lighting was very important to me. The cupboards above and below have tapes of LED lighting. These can be dimmed when we are in the dining area entertaining.One thing is wrong and I should have insisted it was put right but in the end finished is better than perfect. I had asked for these cupboards to have four or six panes of glass in them, instead they arrived with 10 silly little panes each. Far too cutesy for me. I feel the same (but not quite as strongly) about the two little doors over the extractor unit, twee beyond belief.

Drawers, lovely drawers. The cutlery drawer dividers were made by the kitchen company.and work exceedingly well. The spice/herb solution is from Ikea. I had to get a hacksaw to cut them down to fit. They are also excellent.

 Knives and blades, another Ikea solution. Never feel you have to go completely down the bespoke route when the solution is out there for just a few £s.

This fitting for the crockery is bespoke and had to be because the drawer is a non standard size. If you think your china would be smashed to smithereens in this arrangement, rest assured, it does not move.

Every cupboard below the worktop with the exception of the sink and the corner cupboards are drawers. This helps me so much with my fibromyalgia. Anything which cuts down on the pain is good.

My mixer garage (DH calls it the Kenwood docking station). All I have to do is slide it out to use it. It even has its own dedicated socket in there. (had you noticed how many double sockets I have? Great isn't it?)

Something I have never had before, a warming drawer. I can fit 8 plates, 4 vegetable serving dishes and a gravy boat in there. Love it.

Even my fridge is a drawer with pull out shelves (I have extra fridge space with an American Fridge/freezer in the utility room).
 

I haven't needed a garbage disposer since I lived in London in the 70s and the sun shone on the cupboard where the rubbish bins were. This new one seems more powerful than I remember, but that could be my memory. I do remember it eating silver teaspoons. It will be so good come the summer not to worry about flies round the food bin.

I was going to blow a lot of money on German ovens because they were the only ones I could find which had a 5 year onsite warranty in white with a microwave combination oven matching the main oven. Then I saw these in Ikea. Less than half the price, made by Whirlpool and with a 5 year onsite warranty with Whirlpool not Ikea (that would have worried me). In my last kitchen I had a LaCanche range cooker with industrial strength heat production. Sadly my Fibro meant it was painful to use so these split level ones work for me.

I am also impressed with the induction Hobb (not Ikea unfortunately, they don't do any that are not black). In the early days it was hard to get one which would either go down very low or very high. It is as fast as gas (which we don't have in the village). This one works very well.

Even the dishwasher is from Ikea/Whirlpool. It's brilliant, it detects not only how much is in the dishwasher but also how dirty it is. AND brilliantly it has a little red light which shines on the floor in front of the machine so you can see it is running. And when it has finished, a little green light shows.

I hope you enjoyed seeing what has been going on these last few weeks. I have hopes it means I can get back to quilting now it is done. I am having so much joy cooking real food again in a kitchen which functions.