When it came to designing the kitchen, we knew there were a few must-haves: two ovens, large fridge and freezer, induction hob, and a pantry. I obviously love to cook so having a functional kitchen was really important- we needed plenty of storage and prep space as well as a good triangle set up. The kitchen triangle is the shape between the fridge, oven, and sink and, since most things we do in the kitchen involve going between the three, having a good triangle makes for a functional kitchen. Having the kitchen totally empty meant we were able to play around with different layouts by using tape and cardboard on the floor. IKEA also has a really handy kitchen design tool on their website so we were able to enter the dimensions of the kitchen and play around with different layouts before working with our kitchen designer.

Storage is a huge thing in kitchens and we wanted to make sure we had plenty without cluttering up the walls with high-level units. We decided the best way to do this would be by adding a pantry to hold all the food and to bookend the run of units with a full-height fridge and freezer on one side and tall oven units on the other. This keeps the majority of the wall open, which keeps things feeling light. We built the pantry ourselves using the doors from built-in wardrobes that we took down, both as doors and shelves. Knowing we wouldn’t be able to get exactly the same look as the cupboards, we decided to paint the doors the same colour as the walls and bought leather door pulls. The columns with the ovens have big storage cupboards above and below the ovens, giving plenty storage, and the island also has plenty of space for all the pots and pans. We used some floating shelves that we had from our first little shoebox house to display pictures, cookbooks, and some family heirlooms. I would have liked to use wooden shelving to soften the room a bit but, because of their weight, they wouldn’t work on the plasterboard.

One of the trickiest parts of designing the kitchen was the fact that all the showrooms were closed so we couldn’t actually go in and see things in person and instead had to take a leap of faith. In the end, we went with a handless Shaker style cabinets to get something classic but with a sleeker look. The fridge, freezer, and dishwasher are all integrated so that everything is smooth In the same vein, we decided on a light grey for the wall units and a dark grey for the island. The contrast isn’t huge but is enough to keep the kitchen from looking bland. The countertop was probably the hardest to choose without seeing in person but, in the end, we’re really happy with it. We chose a composite stone, quartz for my Americans, in a color called Snowy Ibiza, which was worth getting just for the comedy value. It’s white-ish with grey veins so it keeps the kitchen bright without being too bland. Although it’s hard-wearing, we’re a little bit paranoid about damaging or discoloring it because it’s so light so these cork trivets get a lot of use.

Appliances are, of course, super important and a big investment so need to be picked carefully. For the fridge and freezer, we wanted tall, integrated columns that would keep food fresh for as long as possible so we went with AEG. These are so spacious and are really efficient. We chose to put them next to the pantry to make unpacking groceries easy and this was definitely the right call. The ovens we a bit trickier to decide on- I wanted something big enough for the Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys but not so big they would take forever to warm up. We also didn’t want any appliances on the countertops so we wanted combination oven can do more than microwave. Neff was the best choice since their Slide & Hide has a quick pre-heat option, in additon to looking cool, and the combi oven has a lot of functionality. To keep things symmetrical, we also got a warming drawer, which is great for keeping food warm, no surprise there, when I’m cooking a big meal or if we get takeout.

Our village doesn’t have gas so we had to go for an electric hob and induction was a no-brainer. These are much more efficient than normal electric cooktops since they only heat up with they’re in contact with a pan and they heat up really quickly. Because of the set up of the kitchen, we couldn’t have an extractor hood so we went for the Nikola Tesla Elica, a hob with an extractor in it, which I now call the spaceship because of what the buttons sound like. Our dishwasher is boring but it works and I’m very grateful for it. The most important appliance is, of course, the wine fridge! We put the wine fridge on the corner of the island nearest to the double doors so that, one post-pandemic day, we can have parties with the double doors open and people can wander in and help themselves to a drink without walking another 10 feet to the real fridge.

The day the installation started, I was so excited I think the kitchen fitters must have thought I was very weird. I kept making excuses to come in and see what they were up to and how things were progressing. Luckily, they were dog people and happy to have an excuse to see Fen when I was feeling nosey. Installation started the first week of August and took about a week, excluding the appliances which were the biggest delay in the whole kitchen install. Because of the pandemic, there were long delays in supply chains which really hit our timelines. Our kitchen was handmade based on the size appliances we chose so we couldn’t just swap them out for something that was in stock. The kitchen company really did the best they could but it did take a few extra weeks to get everything in. There were times I was cooking on a hot plate in the almost-done kitchen because our spaceship hob still wasn’t available and that phase seemed never ending. We were also without a sink so had to use a bucket outside to wash dishes for the 2-3 months between taking the existing sinks out in the whole house and having the new ones put in. The final day of the countertop fitting and appliance install was SO exciting after so much hard work and waiting.

Now that it’s done, I am really happy with how the kitchen turned out. Our hopes for a functional kitchen have definitely come true- there is plenty of room to prepare food and enough storage for all my kitchen toys. I’m also really happy with how it looks, to the point that I make sure it’s completely clean at the end of the day so I come down to a fresh, lovely kitchen every morning. For anyone who knows how indifferent I am to tidiness, this is clearly a big deal. The long days and hard work were certainly worth it and I really do love being in this kitchen.