Planning a New Kitchen Design

We’ve been in our house for four years now and like many parents still have the “to do” list when it comes to things we wanted to achieve around the home. The boys have had their bedrooms redone twice since we moved in to suit their growing needs, the dining room has been a dining room, a playroom and a dining room again, the lounge has had a little attention, even Roy’s Man Den (a large workshop out the back complete with sofa and dart board) has been done out. The one place that has had very little in the way of anything is my kitchen.

I adore my kitchen as it is, and you can probably see why from these photos. I have a Belfast sink, wooden worktops (which take more looking after that you’d think), white Shaker-style cabinets and my personal favourite, the original bread oven. Sadly this doesn’t work however is fabulous when it comes to offering storage; the top section makes a brilliant bread bin!

k5

Despite the kitchen looking great here there is an under-stairs pantry (no door which is a shame), a decent space between the pantry and the bread oven and by extension a separate utility room that leads off from the kitchen which in itself is a generous size. The utility room is being renovated (read as mostly ripped down and rebuilt) at some point which will make it significantly better looking and with a new flat rather than slightly sloped concrete floor better for shelving and storage too.

What I really am looking for just now is some help on the kitchen design front. I’m looking for ways to brighten the space which most of the time doesn’t get a lot of light, to add a pop of colour without taking away from the traditional charm and to find a way to make the most of the existing space as well as the walk-in pantry and the space between (not big enough really for a table and currently has a bin there but it seems wasted somehow, perhaps something wall mounted?).

As you can see from my Pinterest “Kitchen Love” board I’ve already started pulling together ideas and will be visiting Homify for more inspiration. With spring on the way (hopefully) now seems like the ideal time to start planning and getting started so today I’m asking if you have ideas for me. Do you have a similar kitchen? What colour / touches would you add without cluttering it up? I’m excited to get started but right now am not quite sure what I’m getting started with.

Hopefully before long I’ll be posting before and after pictures!
k4

Written in collaboration with Homify.

 

New Suite Virgins

Here is something you don’t know about me…. I’ve never owned a brand new sofa or suite. Seriously!

The first home Roy and I moved into came furnished with an old Chesterfield suite (Looked nice but was damn uncomfortable!). We then inherited some soft squishy blue sofa from family and later a gorgeous oak framed set that lasted us years but died spectacularly when I sat my large pregnancy bum down on one end and it conceded defeat and collapsed (not my finest moment).

After that there was the orange duck filled suite (never again, those damn feathers got everywhere), a catalogue fake leather thing which I’m not counting as new as it was so naff and broke (yes broke) within a week. Now we have a quite nice honey coloured suite that I got in a house clearance sale for £60 but would have paid £300 for easily.

There you go, my somewhat murky sofa past. What we have at the moment is actually ok but I really am looking now for something that fits the room and the family properly. It may be my Yorkshire roots or frugal mindset but I do balk at the idea of paying out for brand new when I know I can get cheaper. The difference is of course that if I want quality I am going to have to pay for it.

Having not really done the whole suite browsing thing I’ve been quite surprised at how reasonable a suite is nowadays. When we first moved in together a brand new suite was a luxury that we just couldn’t afford. HelloSofas for example have a wide range of sofas which tick all of our boxes and won’t have us eating baked beans for the next twelve months.

Being a new suite virgin however I am asking for your  sofa wisdom. What is your top piece of advice for choosing a suite? We have no pets but do have two small monkeys, Roy and myself to seat. I’d love to hear what you think the must do and must not do points are when sofa shopping, particularly online.

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Photo Credit

*Remuneration has been received for the writing and posting of this post yet the content is my own and true to my own thoughts, feelings and experiences.