I miss my kitchen in Ireland. It was a labour of love and the result of months and years of obsessively scouring 'Country Homes and interiors', 'Country living', 'Beautiful kitchens' and 'Ideal Home' magazines for inspiration on what might be my 'dream kitchen'. Utterly convinced of what I wanted, but unwilling to pay the inflated prices being asked in Ireland, I commissioned a hand-painted, distressed, wooden kitchen from somewhere in Derby (I found it on ebay).
On a cold winters morning, sometime in November 2006, me, DH and our then one-year-old (who is now six-year-old boy) headed off on the ferry to Liverpool in a rented long-wheel-base-van, to collect it.
We met the kitchen-maker in an Ikea car park in Warrington, where we transferred the units into the back of the van, and then headed back to the ferry which was due to depart in three hours. Eight hours later, as we drove around a small village in Wales, with one-year-old yelling in his chair between us, we were followed into a cul-de-sac by a lilting Welsh policeman who kindly asked where we were going. We finally made it to the ferry, three crossings later...
Similarly, my pillar box red fridge was bought from a company in Germany over ebay since it worked out half the price for the same item in Ireland.
The dining table was painted cream and distressed, with two large benches either side for the kids. I had a beautiful large hand-painted dresser filled with little bits of pretty china and decorative biscuit tins.
The overall effect was very pretty in a shabby-chic way and I loved it and I'm now beginning to recall that I actually cooked in it, in fact, I did everything in it and spent many happy hours sitting at the kitchen table, reading the paper, chatting with friends over coffee and drinking red wine with DH into the wee small hours.
Which brings me to the purpose of this eulogy about my kitchen: I think that kitchens here in the UAE have something to do with the demise of my enthusiasm for cooking. Kitchens here are ugly and small since they are the preserve of the maids and staff; functional, not decorative.
Our first kitchen in Al Ain was dingy, dark and ugly, with flimsy plastic cupboards and harsh strip-lighting and almost immediately on moving in, my interest in cooking began to wain. In fact, I actively hated being in it and would shuffle in to the fridge to refill my wine glass but other than that, avoided it at all costs.
The kitchen here in RAK is better, but it's still not very attractive. I really believe that you have to feel comfortable and happy in your kitchen if you are to spend any time in there. In my opinion, a kitchen should be the heart of a home, where the family come together to eat, chat, socialise and, it has been known, to dance!
In the UAE, houses are built around the public areas where guests are entertained: either in large hallways/reception rooms or living rooms. Staff shuffle in and out from the kitchen (which is sometimes an outhouse to the back of the house) bearing trays and teapots.
While this truth may hamper my experiment, it won't defeat it. After all, the kitchen here in RAK is bearable, but I do pine for my lovely kitchen which, sadly, never felt quite perfect during the three years I lived there and I was always seeking ways to improve it -- just goes to show that we're never satisfied with what we have.....
Where would you rather cook?
On a cold winters morning, sometime in November 2006, me, DH and our then one-year-old (who is now six-year-old boy) headed off on the ferry to Liverpool in a rented long-wheel-base-van, to collect it.
We met the kitchen-maker in an Ikea car park in Warrington, where we transferred the units into the back of the van, and then headed back to the ferry which was due to depart in three hours. Eight hours later, as we drove around a small village in Wales, with one-year-old yelling in his chair between us, we were followed into a cul-de-sac by a lilting Welsh policeman who kindly asked where we were going. We finally made it to the ferry, three crossings later...
Similarly, my pillar box red fridge was bought from a company in Germany over ebay since it worked out half the price for the same item in Ireland.
The dining table was painted cream and distressed, with two large benches either side for the kids. I had a beautiful large hand-painted dresser filled with little bits of pretty china and decorative biscuit tins.
The overall effect was very pretty in a shabby-chic way and I loved it and I'm now beginning to recall that I actually cooked in it, in fact, I did everything in it and spent many happy hours sitting at the kitchen table, reading the paper, chatting with friends over coffee and drinking red wine with DH into the wee small hours.
Which brings me to the purpose of this eulogy about my kitchen: I think that kitchens here in the UAE have something to do with the demise of my enthusiasm for cooking. Kitchens here are ugly and small since they are the preserve of the maids and staff; functional, not decorative.
Our first kitchen in Al Ain was dingy, dark and ugly, with flimsy plastic cupboards and harsh strip-lighting and almost immediately on moving in, my interest in cooking began to wain. In fact, I actively hated being in it and would shuffle in to the fridge to refill my wine glass but other than that, avoided it at all costs.
The kitchen here in RAK is better, but it's still not very attractive. I really believe that you have to feel comfortable and happy in your kitchen if you are to spend any time in there. In my opinion, a kitchen should be the heart of a home, where the family come together to eat, chat, socialise and, it has been known, to dance!
In the UAE, houses are built around the public areas where guests are entertained: either in large hallways/reception rooms or living rooms. Staff shuffle in and out from the kitchen (which is sometimes an outhouse to the back of the house) bearing trays and teapots.
While this truth may hamper my experiment, it won't defeat it. After all, the kitchen here in RAK is bearable, but I do pine for my lovely kitchen which, sadly, never felt quite perfect during the three years I lived there and I was always seeking ways to improve it -- just goes to show that we're never satisfied with what we have.....
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| In this..........? (which is a bit like my kitchen in Ireland) |
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| Or this................? (RAK kitchen) |
I know what you mean. It's those dreaded lights and washing up in front of a wall rather than a window. Depressing. I love my UK kitchen - cream cupboards, black range, spotted tablecloth (wipe clean vinyl!) and a view of my garden complete with daffodils at this time of year.
ReplyDeleteSounds lovely foxtrot, like mine...crazy how dissatisfied I was with it!
ReplyDelete