Welcome to our kitchen. Fancy a coffee or tea? Biscuit? It's small. More than one person in there and it's a bit crowded. It's never going to be featured in World of Interiors or Pinned on a mood board for someone's dream kitchen. But I like it.
I love cooking but only do it at weekends. Rev T cooks during the week as he's home.
It's full of memories. The Tubblet's drawings. Mainly from her Junior School period. The plates and mugs Rev T and I choose in Woolworths just after we got married. The wedding presents from Allders. The Italian ceramics we bought in Florence on our honeymoon. The glass jars we picked up during a rare trip to Ikea. (We don't go there often. It never ends well. One of us wants to buy all the things. The other makes me put them back). The plant I haven't yet killed. Black fingers. My lovely cookbook collection packed with goodness and new tastes. The fridge full of magnets bought back from holidays to remind us of great places and time spent together. Artwork to make the walls less bare. The dock for music to sing along too.
The cupboards and drawers are full of Useful Stuff. Pots and pans, dishes, cutlery as well as food. They get cleaned regularly but there is always a sachet of Birds Custard or similar lurking at the back of historical significance. The things we need all the time - oil, pasta, sugar, cooking utensils - are where they can be grabbed easily. Everything else is put away. Neatly. Ish.
The cupboards and drawers are full of Useful Stuff. Pots and pans, dishes, cutlery as well as food. They get cleaned regularly but there is always a sachet of Birds Custard or similar lurking at the back of historical significance. The things we need all the time - oil, pasta, sugar, cooking utensils - are where they can be grabbed easily. Everything else is put away. Neatly. Ish.
I'm writing this post for two reasons. One, I love looking around other people's home and suspect others are just as nosy as me. Two, because there are too many Pinterest perfect kitchen posts out there and I wanted to show something more real. Yes, that is recycling ready to be put out on the counter-top, dishes stacked to dry and washing up waiting to be done in the sink. One of the items is a Lego Movie cup from McDonalds. Call the mum police. We have a live one ...
That's probably everything. What's your favourite room in your home? Let me know in the comments. Point me to posts where I can have a peak.
Oooo cosy kitchen! It is such a hub for family and visitors and general happy times. My favourite place is our bedroom, but I think this is going to be taken over by the bathroom when have it renovated in a few weeks. I Love Love Love baths!! #bigpinklink
ReplyDeleteBaths are the best! Enjoy your new bathroom once it's done :)
DeleteI love my kitchen but it can be a pain to keep it clean and tidy. In my last house my kitchen was teeny, one person only, with 4 doors off it so no space at all for cupboard or worksurfaces. I had one wall cupboard, one floor cupboard. We had no room for the fridge. It had to go elsewhere. My kitchen now is huge! I have a dining area with a table and chairs. I have two fridges! I have three worksurfaces, five floor cupboards and four wall cupboard and one floor to ceiling cupboard. In my old house I had no drawers, now I have 5! I haven't got around to making it lovely though, I need to put my touch on it, make it mine. Your kitchen looks adorable, lived in, real. I want mine to look like that too.
ReplyDelete#BiggPinkLink
You've described my dream kitchen! I'd love a bigger one that you can get a table in that acts as a kind of family gathering point. Have fun making your kitchen feel like yours. That's the fun bit apart from the cooking :)
DeleteI love looking at people's homes and I love how this is 'real'. Thank you for sharing 🌟 #MG
ReplyDeleteThank you. Glad you enjoyed the post
DeleteI'm so with you on the value of sharing 'real' things, so few people do these days!! Your kitchen looks lovely and I'm glad you're so happy there X #mg
ReplyDeleteThank you for the lovely comment. We are happy there :)
DeleteI love this, such a great reason to share this post. As much as I love a pinterest kitchen, living room, bathroom etc, they can all get a bit samey can't they. I definitely think somewhere that makes you feel happy and warm inside is as great a room as you'll ever get :-) Lovely post, thanks for sharing it on #MarvMondays. Emily
ReplyDeleteThere was one kitchen with loads of bowls of lemons - more than you'd ever use, even if you drank all the gin, made several drizzle cakes and a load of lemon curd. It just tipped me over the edge! No one has that many lemons!
DeleteI love my kitchen, it's not perfect, but it's great for now. For me the kitchen is definitely the heart of the home. :-) x
ReplyDelete#dreamteam
That's such a great way of looking at it. Thank you for the comment
DeleteWhat a lovely post! We ripped out our kitchen before we moved in last year, and it's still not finished, but it's such a lovely space. I grew up with a tiny kitchen so I was excited to have one where more than one of us can fit in there at a time!
ReplyDelete#dreamteam
Hope you can share posts when it's done! I love looking at other people's kitchens :)
DeleteThank you for sharing! Pinterest has a way of making people feel completely inadequate. Post of real kitchens reminds me that those pins aren't actually the norm. Your kitchen looks cozy and actually used :)
ReplyDeleteMaybe a series ... Real Interiors!? Pinterest Imperfect? I can manage 3 rooms. The Tubblet's bedroom is probably a little too real and she wouldn't agree to it. Rev T has already said his study is off limits for the blog.
DeleteAhh you have a lovely little kitchen. I love to see a home that is real and lived in and not a show home. I also like to have a nosy around peoples houses like you mentioned haha. We are currently having a new kitchen and I'm so excited. I'll do a tour once it's done! #TwinklyTuesday
ReplyDeleteTweet me when you do! I love looking around other people's houses.
DeleteMrs T, your kitchen is perfectly lovely! And it's gigantic compared to the kitchen I had for the first 8 years of our marriage. But I loved that tiny kitchen and produced some huge meals in it. I don't think I've posted any photos of my kitchen other than the countertop or stovetop in some posts. I'm going to go look now and come back and give you a link or two in another comment (which you may feel free to delete, if you like).
ReplyDeleteIt's bigger than my first kitchen which was like a corridor with appliances and a few cupboards. But, like you, I had some great times in there.
DeleteMrs T, you can see my stove/cooker in this one. http://www.delightfulrepast.com/2010/02/how-to-make-proper-cup-of-tea.html
ReplyDeleteAnd a bit of the "U" end of my U-shaped kitchen.
http://www.delightfulrepast.com/2010/02/early-lesson-in-mise-en-place.html
I've only ever had a yellow kitchen my entire adult life. I must always have a yellow kitchen!
Thank you! Why yellow?!
Deleteoh I love sneak peeks into homes! That is what you are describing, a home, not a house, but somewhere full of love an memories, your kitchen sounds perfect! In my last home I had a huge kitchen, it was gorgeous, but now we have downsized I have a little kitchen and I am still happy. The whole home is smaller, but I am happier, we are happier, I like being together more, sharing spaces. My favourite room???? Hmm that's so hard. I love my downstairs living area as it has all my favourite collections and books and photos we have taken, plus my antique writing desk, but then the upstairs lounge is where we all come together on evenings and weekends, where we watch kids shows, play board games and laugh, so I guess I will go with upstairs lounge! #mg
ReplyDeleteThat sounds lovely :) I do like watching A New Life Down Under every so often as some of the houses they show are beautiful, but very different to the ones here.
DeleteI like a room that looks lived in. I see no point in those minimalist, show house type rooms that looks like it has never seen a human let alone a family. #bestandworst
ReplyDeleteI don't mind minimalist interiors if they look lived in. A few of them are too picture perfect for me.
DeleteMy favourite room is my kitchen too! Especially when hubby cooks dinner on a Friday night and I can sit and drink wine at the breakfast bar #bestandworst
ReplyDeleteAh that sounds great! I love Fridays too :)
DeleteIt's just how a kitchen should be-lived in, and full of the things you've collected, and treasures that you love! I agree-it's easy to fall into the trap of wanting Pinterest perfect rooms-I've tried to do it to most rooms in my house, but the natural lived in look is always better! And also mainly the only option with 2 teeny ones around! My favourite room is our bedroom-it has 2 huge sash windows and loads of light, and I love our huge French bed! I've never done any interiors posts, but I'd love to one day, as my blog 'grows up' a bit!!
ReplyDelete#bigpinklink
It is! We have a teenager so lived in is our go to interior design theme. Look forward to seeing around your home when you feel ready to share :)
DeleteLook at all those magnets... I'm assuming you travel alot?! 😉😍
ReplyDeleteWhen we visit a place, I usually pick up a magnet ... That's at least 17 years of work! Our fridge is also tiny! But you're right, it looks bad ...
DeleteAhh! Your kitchen is lovely and bigger than mine. hehehe Ours is tiny.
ReplyDeleteI love having a good nosy at other peoples homes.
#bestandworst
Glad you enjoyed it. :)
DeleteI think the kitchen is the hub of a modern house, whatever it's size. Mine is massive but much less cared for than yours with cupboards falling apart. It is still my favourite space as it is where I cook, chat and eat with my family #ShareWithMe
ReplyDeleteYou're right, it is. The church did a bit of work on the kitchen before we moved in - which we're really grateful for. It wasn't as lovely before. (We knew the previous Minister so we'd been to the house. This is quite unusual. Normally you don't see the Manse until you're invited to apply for the role)
DeleteI love our kitchen too (apart from the rubbish and recycling everywhere too. It's so bright and warm when the sun shines and I sit in there for ages. I like the look of yours...so many memories. thanks for sharing with #bestandworst x
ReplyDeleteAh thank you, glad you liked it. Hope you're well settled into your new home now. :) Thank you for hosting each week
DeleteThe kitchen is the heart of the home!! It says a thousand words about the owner... Yours is full of warmth, coziness, family and love...Adore the artwork !! (I also have my own Rev... :) Rev J) Thank you for sharing with us!!! #globalblogging
ReplyDeleteThank you for the lovely comment :) And pleased to meet you. Always great to meet a fellow vicar's wife
DeleteGreat idea, showing the real thing. I'm nosy too, thanks fot the show around:) #globalblogging
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it. :)
DeleteIt's nice to see normal! Our kitchen is quite narrow and photos are hard to take! I'd love to have a big kitchen diner! My favourite place is Zach's room as the decor is amazing! Thanks for linking up with #TwinklyTuesday
ReplyDeleteOurs is really narrow too. My photo poses were hilarious. I'd also love a big kitchen diner, but maybe one day. Thank you for hosting each week :)
DeleteHow i love to see a normal kitchen - I feel very inadequate when I see all the inst-perfect homes. Thanks for linking to #sharewithme
ReplyDeleteNothing inst-perfect about our house! Thank you for hosting each week :)
DeleteThanks for letting us have a peek at your kitchen, it's so nice to see something that's real and fully functioning. It makes a change from seeing those pinterest kitchens that look amazing, yet look as though they have never been used. Thanks for sharing with the #dreamteam
ReplyDeleteI love a Pinterest kitchen, but sometimes it gets very overdone. Which is a shame
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