Kitchen with a few redeeming features

You know how I have been ranting about Betsy's kitchen issues, well here is the proof. Now from  a distance this almost could be seen as cute or quaint. Actually, somehow my very average photography has made it look more appealing and significantly larger than it really is.  I do realize that  there are much uglier kitchens around the traps. The biggest problem with this kitchen is frankly that it is beyond the white paint makeover.

Ok let me explain. Tasmanian oak to me is just very late 80's, as is the chequerboard vinyl floor. The fake granite laminate benchtop is pretty inoffensive really. The big problem is that the layout of this room is  a complete nightmare and even if I paint the whole thing white it is still one of the least functional kitchens ever conceived. The only functional stretch of bench top is on the right hand side and what you can't see is the microwave nook that is exactly at head height directly above that section of bench. So in order to chop veges or make lunches I either have to put my head in the microwave or squat down to gnome height. Also anyone using that section of bench completely blocks access to the dishwasher and all the cutlery and baking equipment. And don't even thing of trying to get to the bin.

The only redeeming features are the huge stove and the open shelves that allow me to display my love of colourful crockery, a tiny remnant of my sadly missed old kitchen. You see, in order to gain the wonderful garden I had to give up my wonderful designed just the way I liked it kitchen. At risk of sounding precious, it is very hard to go backwards with a kitchen. But, I was upfront with Legoman, before the purchase of Betsy it was clearly spelt out that her kitchen was not going to last more than a year or two at best, and he was agreeable. In theory that is, now we just have to save up for it.

I love red in a kitchen. My old kitchen had a red wall above the stove, this one just has lots of red bits and pieces which I actually like somewhat better. Can you believe that these white brick shaped splashback tiles are back in fashion again? Same cannot be said for black and white chequerboard lino that has been clevely designed to look dirty all the time in order to camouflage real dirt!

These scales had pride of place in my old kitchen, love the colours all together. I like having all different sorts of mugs, mainly as I am not responsible enough to have a set of anything as I am really clumsy with crockery. The absence of glassware is due to the fact that we have managed to drop every piece we owned and have given up and reverted to Ikea plastic cups all round, even adult visitors.

These cups are in my mind are specimens of absolute perfection. Fantastic size, shape, thickness of rim and assorted Cath Kidston designs. Legoman produced four for Christmas and another four arrived for my birthday. They are priced at a very reasonable $6 each over at this amazing place for anyone else who loves anything Cath Kidston. Best to search under Cath Kidston as this site has so many homewares it can be a little overwhelming and a search under "cups" may well produce 76 pages and 876 individual items.......who has time to trawl through all that?

Lastly my glorious chook egg basket that has was given to me a decade ago and just set up a yearning for having my own chooks and fresh eggs on the bench that has finally been realized. I wasn't able to get a good shot of the pokiest pantry in the world that likes screams " look at moi" in the middle of my living/dining room. Actually competes for the feature laundry for "what the?" design feature of the house. I spend all day looking at  the two of them and plotting how to bump them both off.....