The Farmhouse Kitchen

Many years ago I saw my dream kitchen. It belonged to the owner of a cattery I used to take my cat to (funnily enough). She had a massive kitchen. It was large and rectangular in shape. The cupboard doors were made from honey coloured pine. There was an aga, of course, throwing out warmth and the smells of baking. Cookery books were piled up everywhere and there were herbs growing on the windowsill above the huge ceramic sink. There were also modern gadgets; a KitchenAid and a snazzy coffee machine. She also had one of those American style fridges that are twice the width of a normal fridge.

I had serious kitchen envy.

The part of her kitchen that I loved the most was the enormous table that sat comfortably in the middle of the room . It was made from a warm, warn wood. The chairs were made from the same wood. On each chair was a blue cushion and on each cushion was a sleeping blue cat. The table must have seated twelve people (or cats) quite easily. On her table was a jug of tulips, a blue coffee mug and a newspaper.

I've always wanted a kitchen like that.

When we were looking for our house, I fell in love with our kitchen. It's not huge, there's only room for a standard sized oven and fridge. There is room for a table at one end. It only seats four, but it makes me happy. My kitchen is warm in the winter and cool in the summer. When the sun is blazing outside it's great to retreat indoors. Our table gets a lot of use. It's my desk during the day and in the evening. The children use it to do their reading homework and to build their Lego models. We also eat every meal there. 

My kitchen is great, but it's not quite my dream kitchen. I must have bored Andy with talk of the farmhouse kitchen at the cattery. One day recently we were in the middle of a sort out. Some large boxes were left in the middle of the kitchen floor for a few days. They were just the right size for book bags to be dumped on them.

Once the boxes had been there for a few days, I asked Andy when they were going to go back into the garage. He said to me You said you always wanted farmyard kitchen. I replied, No, I always wanted a farmhouse kitchen. On reflection I think he was right the first time. I mean, would you like these in your kitchen?