Island Style

At this time of the year, whether we like it or not, we tend to spend a great deal of time in our kitchens. The season of festivities means gatherings of friends and family which usually revolves around food. Our kitchens, which are perfectly adequate during the rest of the year, suddenly seem far too small for the amount of people and food populating them!

Don't you envy the size of this kitchen island with all the fabulous space around it? You could easily accommodate 10 people around it, all chopping, stirring, carving and assembling, while you just issue orders with a glass of wine in hand. Sounds like my type of food prep!

I also like this idea of neighbouring islands - one for food prep and one for laying out the completed dishes.

One of the important features of a great kitchen island is to have the right lighting above it. It not only has to be functional, but beautiful as well. No spot lights please!

  Whether you opt for a pair of lanterns....

 

 

 

 ....a gorgeous chandelier...

 ....some hanging pendant lights....

 ...possibly with an industrial edge...

....or a double pendant to make a real statement.

 

 You could choose something more contemporary...

 

 ....maybe a wooden version...

....or even a glamourous Tiffany style....

....but whatever the style of your island and the state of your lighting, I wish you many wonderful hours in your kitchen with all your favourite people!

 

 

 

 All these lights are available from https://www.parrotuncle.com/. 

Look out for their Christmas Specials.

Till next time

Sharon x

View from my kitchen island

 I once read an article on kitchens that said instead of making your kitchen the heart of your home - find the heart of your home and make that your kitchen. In other words, find the area of your home that is the natural centre point, the area where your home converges, and have your kitchen there. Not everyone is lucky enough to be able to do this, but when we renovated our house 18 months ago, we were able to do exactly that! It is a double volume space and is in the centre of our L-shaped house.

This was before the island was installed. The units on either side of the range cooker are inexpensive carpenters workbenches that you can buy from any hardware store.

This was the inspiration for my kitchen. It is the cover of a recipe book which epitomised the French farmhouse feel  that I was after. (The author is Marlene van der Weshuizen. She lives in Cape Town and has a home in France and runs cooking schools both in South Africa and France.)

The area is double volume so the chandelier had to be hung from a great height!

We bought the huge chandelier for a song! It used to hang in the Artscape Theatre complex in Cape Town.

The shelves to the left and right of the range cooker house my silverware collection and everyday crockery.

This is looking up from behind my island. Our bedroom is through the door you can vaguely see on the left and the children's wing is to the right. The chalkboard you can see is where I write the children's weekly schedule so I can see at a glance what kit has to be taken to school.

This is another view from behind my island towards the staircase.

This will explain the layout better.

This is the view looking past the family room to the pool.

And this is the view straight ahead towards my entrance hall and patio.

And this is the view towards my dining room on the left.

This is a view from the landing near the childrens bedrooms. They often chat to me from up here and, if they're feeling brave, through down their dirty laundry!

This picture makes me feel a bit dizzy!

. This is a view from the upstairs landing outside our bedroom. You can see the kichen layout better. The island was made by my brother who has a furniture manufacturing business. The top is oak and I have a big slab of marble in the centre where I do most of my food preparation. The island is over 2 metres long.

And here we have a night-time view

 Hope you enjoyed this little tour.


Till next time

Sharon x

Kitchen Critique

I'm sure many of you will be heading to your kitchens to cook a wonderful Valentine's meal for those special people in your life. Which of these amazing kitchens would you like to be cooking in?




I love the elegant chairs combined with the rustic table. I love the butlers sink and the big window above it.  I don't love the light fitting or the blind fabric. I would have chosen a beautiful French toile and a crystal chandelier. Or is that too predictable?

 

I love the central island, the pot racks and the beautiful pressed ceiling




This is a different view in the same kitchen. I love the shelves in the background for storage and display, but would maybe have chosen a different light fitting over the table. I also love the wooden floor.



I love the light fittings and the floor, but am not so in love with the barley twist legs on the island.

 

Again I love the light fitting and the amount of light coming into this kitchen. I might have opted for fewer overhead cupboards and linen blinds rather than rattan/bamboo?  



More lovely light fittings and the colour of the island is beautiful. The upholstered stools wouldn't be the most practical option in my household! I would consider painting the beams a lighter colour to make them less oppressive

This is the same kitchen again as in the 2nd picture. The range cooker and copper pots are just fabulous.

This kitchen has quite an interesting layout. The big cooker hood in the middle makes a great feature and I like the industrial look of the island on the right.

Which one is your favourite?

I am linking to the blog below for the newbie party.
http://debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com/

Till next time


Sharon x

All kitchen pictures via House Beautiful