What makes a great kitchen?

What makes a great kitchen? For me it is about 3 things. Location, view and bench space.
Location for me means that the kitchen needs to be where the action is.
I have been fortunate to have lived in places that have been designed by award winning architects and have appeared in the high end design mags. (It is WHO you know, right?)
In these types of properties we always did A LOT of entertaining. The last thing that the host wants is to be removed from the action. So as is the case with most house designs or renovations in Australia of late, the kitchen, dining and lounge areas morph into one.

I need to be involved with my guests and interact as comfortable whilst cooking as I would be on the lounge with them. The kitchen really is the heart of the home.

View; it goes without saying that by being centrally located the view from the kitchen is into the rest of the home just like in the image above.
But for me view goes above just being able to see my guest and household. Of still feeling part of the conversation. I remember days at a home I used to live in, washing up at the sink, looking out at a fog covered sporting field seeing little kids playing soccer. Their bodies stirring up eery shapes in the fog as they ran around.
At another home, I was in the penthouse looking back at the city. Daydreaming mind you whilst performing mundane tasks, but the view outside sure did help.

Lastly, bench space. I really need, like, love BIG benches. Not because I make such a mess in the kitchen, I usually tidy as I go, but I have many things going on at once I need the space. Plus it makes for a good seat when having a beer and chatting to someone else while cooking.

What makes your ideal kitchen??

Peace, Abby

What to do with Shoes!!

Shoes, who doesn't love shoes? I used to have the same pair in a variety of colours. I could easily go an buy a new pair every day of the week.

We are all familiar with the shoe cupboards that celebrities have. Rows and rows of colour coordinated shoes.
So I am not going to go there. Where I do want to go is what to do with your shoes if you live in a household  that removes their shoes at the entry? Where do they all go??
After travelling through China I can see why they take their shoes off at the entrance. I have even been to open homes where my shoes had to come off before entering.

So let's look at a few ideas for storing your shoes neatly at the entrance to your house.
First can off the rank is a pretty standard wire rack. Might look good for a while, but it may be exposed to the elements and become rusty, filled with spider webs or just ugly.

This cute cupboard hides a smelly secret.

I really like this idea, very simple and able to be as small or large as you need.

This looks great when not is use, but I can imagine all the marks left on the wall would be a nightmare.

What do you do with your shoes??

Love Abby

Best Laundry Ideas for a confined space.

I have a laundry at home,tucked under the staircase. Great that it is using up space that might be wasted but it could be better designed.
I love the Europeans with their laundry appliances in the kitchen. Makes perfect sense, all the plumbing is there and it saves having another room just for cleaning your clothes.

I have been to many apartments and small terraces where the laundry is behind a cupboard door in the bathroom. Or behind sliding doors in the hall way.
This great idea uses the same amount of space as a single shower cubicle.

Here is one that uses the kitchen's idea of hiding the fridge in a cupboard but hides the washing machine.

Using the kitchen cabinet to hide the washing machine is also a great idea when space poor.

Love Abby

Floorboards vs Tiles

This topic is a hot one right now in our house. I have a little 1 year and we have 3 levels of tiled floors. Not the most practical flooring for a baby starting to walk around.

So something more forgiving than a rock hard surface is called for.
Having lived in terraces and cottages for half my life I love floorboards. Practical, easy to clean, beautiful to look at and each one different to the next.
If you have pets like I do, you want something that can be cleaned easily. I should add kids too.
Carpet is nice underfoot but expensive to replace and too much effort to clean. I prefer to keep this to the bedroom and even then to a large rug under and around the bed.
Concrete is just too harsh and slate is too 1970's.

What do you have at home??

Love Abby