tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post3843862721877999408..comments2024-01-05T06:16:49.932+00:00Comments on Expat Mum: What's Changed in the UK since 2006? - KitchensExpat mumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17798190669591053390noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-51800908980403268352012-09-01T20:25:37.756+01:002012-09-01T20:25:37.756+01:00Well, this is very timely. My new kitchen has been...Well, this is very timely. My new kitchen has been "knocked through" to the dining room, to make a bigger, open plan space. Trouble is, I've therefore lost a wall, and the counter space that went with it, BUT the kitchen is too long and thin to have space for an island. So what can I do? I'm sadly lacking counter space (especially since I've filled up the counter space I do have with a toaster and a microwave). <br /><br />Still preferable to separate kitchen and dining room, both leading off the hall. Yes, it's a 1970's house. Seems a bit silly to have designed it without having a door from the kitchen to the dining room, but having both leading off the hall, but perhaps there was a logic to it then.Iota https://www.blogger.com/profile/08507184283437057648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-63243880141255153272012-08-31T21:51:28.760+01:002012-08-31T21:51:28.760+01:00I hate my kitchen - it's just not quite big en...I hate my kitchen - it's just not quite big enough in any dimension, and it's badly designed so the space isn't used well. If there's more than one person in it, we always seem to be falling over each other. Wish we had some money to have a new kitchen! Or indeed a new house. British kitchens generally suck.<br /><br />At my friend's house we always sit at the island to have coffee, so I'd quite like one of those, especially as it would give visitors somewhere to sit while talking to me. My mother in law always leans against the dishwasher, so I have to ask her to move so I can get to it, then she leans against the fridge, then... you get the picture. I just want to shout "JUST GO OVER THERE AND SIT DOWN OUT OF MY WAY!"<br /><br />Not sure I like completely open plan though. I like being able to keep cooking smells out of other rooms, and I don't always want to hear the TV if someone else is watching it. Mrs Baumnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-89846024174694062072012-08-30T07:57:06.678+01:002012-08-30T07:57:06.678+01:00Our house is all kitchen and now I even regret hav...Our house is all kitchen and now I even regret having a living room, we never use it. I should turn it into a pool room or something. Funnily enough though I find its the Americans who cling to their dining rooms especially here in the Bay Area where I find the architecture very trad.About Last Weekendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04716571630418078937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-16150897293788028262012-08-29T17:08:03.941+01:002012-08-29T17:08:03.941+01:00We knocked our house down last year and rebuilt it...We knocked our house down last year and rebuilt it and our new kitchen is my fave room - huge and it encompasses dining table, breakfast bar area (with just 2 stools!), sofa & armchairs - interestingly the house has been designed in New England style xAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-43866264128787689622012-08-29T14:25:10.553+01:002012-08-29T14:25:10.553+01:00That's the way they do it here Trish, although...That's the way they do it here Trish, although I have to say I got sick of doing everything in the kitchen - watching TV while the dishes were staring at me wasn't very relaxing. In this house, I deliberately made the kitchen just a kitchen, although it has a family room right off it with double doors so can feel like one room when I want it to.<br />Expat mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17798190669591053390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-31038344013121596252012-08-29T08:54:36.631+01:002012-08-29T08:54:36.631+01:00When we moved into our current house in 1994 it al...When we moved into our current house in 1994 it already had an island even though the decor was quite old-fashioned. It's always suited us so when we've updated it (twice now) we've kept the central island. It probably helps there are only three of us so we can happily eat at it as a family. Doesn't feel right having more than that number around it for a meal, so have a dining table in another room. <br />I think it was the spacious kitchen that was the main selling point of the house: I spend so much time in there - a great hub of the home. Trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00119443727504215312noreply@blogger.com