The kitchen

I love cooking, so kitchens are always important to me. When I moved here I have decided that I will live in the part of the house which was unused by the previous owner. There was no heating here, it smelled of dampness and all in all looked depressing. The original 1857 kitchen which was in this unloved part of the house was fairly small with the ladder leading to the attic which was used as storage. I used cupboards from the “new” kitchen that previous owners built (photo below). The fronts of cupboards were orange but the “bones” were good, probably better than Ikea kitchens.

Below is the original 1857 kitchen, which was extended long time ago from the arch towards the window and possibly had the double door in the arch originally (??).

Below is the view away from the window, so it shows how small the room was. The floor tiles were original, but too damaged to be saved. We tiled on top of them. The brown door leads from the small entry hall which leads to the garden. I removed it to gain more space; it was partially eaten by woodworm and smelled really bad anyway.

Below: This is the new view from the window. I had floors tiled with cheap tiles and used orange cupboards are painted grey. I kept the dishwasher and washing machine the owner left behind. They are good makes (Miele and Samsung) so will be with me until they’ll stop working. There is a small pantry behind the narrow doorway. I bought a nice sink and a pretty battery for it. They were not very expensive but look like they were. The cabinet underneath the sink is Ikea one.

The photo above: I love those floor tiles, they look like concrete and fit here really well. I fitted bamboo counter tops. Not very expensive, antiseptic and perform very well. I used those for many years in a few properties and they are easy to clean, last long and need oiling with sesame oil only every 6 months or so. The cabinet housing the oven is Ikea, we made the front for the underneath drawer from the left over bamboo and it ties it all nicely together. I used the mechanism from an old roller blind which was hanging here and glued my favourite oil cloth on it.

The wood stove above is the old Westfalia you can also see in the third photo above. I had it built up with bricks and tiles to keep it warm for longer. There is no other heat source here but this little wood burner performs very well. The chimney it goes to warms up walls and on warmer winter days I use it to warm the kitchen, the dining room and my office. I found the tin bucket I use for wood in one my sheds.

I am very happy with this pipe near the ceiling. The air from the hood is blown outside through it. I wanted something inexpensive that would look industrial and old fashioned and it does, just for a few Euros. Bought new handles for cupboards to make them look old. I painted walls with eco lime paint so walls breath freely. I like to use metro tiles in kitchens and the shower in the bathroom is also tiled with them. Had some left overs so why not use them? Although it didn’t cost me much to renovate it, I love this kitchen. If I was doing it again I would go the same route.