Nanna's Knives. Utensil.

We have various inherited items within the kitchen, some are never used but are kept purely for nostalgic reasons (there’s that word again).

These knives belonged to my maternal grandmother – Frances. My mother thinks they were probably a wedding present, and despite the box being a little worn at the edges, the six knives within are just like new; I suspect they were rarely used – or perhaps ‘kept for best’. I actually love the box label more than the knives! and perhaps it is about time they were put to use?

In total contrast to these beautifully kept knives, in the same drawer we have something that belonged to D’s mother – it is the most basic of implements – we assume it was used to lower eggs in and out of boiling water? I think on average I probably use ten percent of the objects within this particular drawer, maybe it’s time to spring clean?

Sewing Cabinet

On the other wall to the right of the door as you go in, is another shelving unit. On the bottom shelf on the far left is a small folding cabinet.
The sewing cabinet is wooden, and has lots of compartments. Most people had one of these in the 1970's. It holds many delights: ribbons, ric-rac, threads and buttons (some of which are still on their cards). My favourite item is a small needle-case with the inscription that reads, 'Trouble Are Ended When They Are Mended.'(second pic down)

Green Cabinet

There isn’t really enough room for this cabinet in the kitchen – or anyway else for that matter – but I like it too much to sell.

I actually bought this from T, who was moving house and had nowhere to put it – her loss was fortunately my gain. She bought it from a junk shop in Nottingham and when I first knew her she lived in a house with a very tiny kitchen, this cabinet with the drop down leaf was her only work surface in the entire kitchen, good going on her part I think! When I initially bought it, it was for a house with a dining room, where it fitted more comfortably – this seems to be an ongoing issue with the furniture in this house!

The Typing Pool Upstairs

So, we were going up the stairs ... at the top you turn back on your self and walk to the end of the hall into this room. It's traditionally supposed to be the 'Master Bedroom,' but we have it set up as a library/ work room/ spare bedroom. It's where our collection, of 18 (and counting), typewriters live. Aren't they lovely?

As you can see, we haven't 'restored' the door yet. It did have two large pieces of hardboard (a common occurrence in this house) nailed to either side, for that 70's flush look. Amazing that the original bubble glass and door was underneath - good old DIY'er Albert again.

From top[ left, an Olivetti Valentine 1969, Adler Tippa 1971/72,  next shelf from left: Olivetti Lettera 22, Olivetti Lettera 32, next shelf two Imperial 66's 1959, last shelf from top Olivetti Adding Machine, and a Hermes 3000.
Yes the cases underneath all contain typewriters too!

Light. Bright. Extravagance

The kitchen faces north, east, east and our main aim has been to make it lighter and brighter – we refitted the kitchen after a couple of years of living here, and painted everything white including the floor, which is now becoming nicely worn.

As you can see the room was previously painted a quite dark blue/purple. We also removed a lot of the wall cabinets, partly because the wall was damp and secondly it made the room seem bigger without them!

We put in a planning request to change the window to patio doors, but as the house is Grade II listed – the request was unfortunately rejected, I would never buy a listed house again – too restricting, although as discussed in the previous post I can fully appreciate the system for preserving houses.

The white light fitting above the table is the most extravagant item (in monetary terms) in the entire house. We first saw it in a shop in Nottingham, but dismissed the idea of buying it because of the price. However, I coveted it for several weeks and eventually found an ex-display model on the internet; I really wrestled with decision of whether to buy or not to buy – and eventually managed to justify it to myself because of the slightly reduced price of the display model.

I must admit to being a little shocked by its size when it first arrived (it looked so much smaller in the shop!) but luckily the house has tall ceilings, and it does double as an excellent drying rack! 

Through the door and up the wooden hill

Well, think it's time to leave the snug - the original door was still in place here, but had been turned into a sliding door, faced with hardboard(!) It had some old wallpaper set into the door frame, so instead of stripping it - we just painted over the top to tone it all together, as I quite liked the look of the paper.
Out in the hallway you can see the side of the staircase - this was all blocked and faced with hardboard, but the original stair case was still hiding underneath - so it awaits some restoration - as do the stairs as you can see. I quite like the trace of the unpainted surface, left from where I suppose there used to be a stair runner at some point.

Multi-functional. Table setting.

Sunday morning

Sunday evening

Working table

Tea party table

The kitchen table is probably the most used area in the house; it acts as a place to eat, work, read, drink, talk, and more. The table is relatively new due to the fact that I burnt the previous one by leaving a candle burning away.

The chairs are a mix, some inherited, some new, and as mentioned in an earlier post, non-matching. This wasn’t a deliberate decision initially – in all other houses that we have lived in, we always had a pew on one side of the table and chairs on the other, so there has never been a case for buying four matching chairs. The pew looked wrong here as the proportions of the new table meant it couldn’t be placed against the wall; more chairs were gradually added, initially four, now six.

You can see the pew in the photograph above,  taken shortly after we moved in.

As a child, whenever we sat down as a family to eat, we all had ‘a place’ where we sat and this never changed. Mum was nearest to the kitchen, whilst I sat opposite my Dad and next to my brother. D and I have more chairs and less people to accommodate so we don’t follow any ‘regime’ in terms of where we sit – however, it is more practical for whoever is cooking to sit nearest the oven or hob, and I do have a preferred place to sit when I use the table to work at.