Behind The Scenes: My Kitchen in London

One thing you probably don’t know about me is that I am a moaner. As much as I try to keep a cheerful and optimistic attitude in life (I know I’m a very lucky girl!), I also love complaining about things from time to time. Maybe this comes from being such a perfectionist in everything I do, but always notice when something is “not perfect” or at least is not “how I would like it”.

Naturally it was never going to be easy for me to find the perfect home to buy in London. To find a nice two-bedroom property in this city you have to compromise on something: layout, space or location. Something I wouldn’t compromise on was having a modern kitchen with lots of light and luckily I found a flat that offered both.

I spend a lot of time in my kitchen, at least 1-2 hours a day, usually more during the weekend. Our kitchen is an open space connected to our dining and living room, so now that I work from home it’s become even more important for me to make this space comfortable and functional.

Recently I was asked by Wren Kitchens, a UK manufacturer and privately-owned family business with 35 years of experience, to write an article on how I would improve the layout of my kitchen. I wouldn’t change a lot, I love the way my kitchen looks.

I love this space because it’s bright and modern; I love the wenge colour of the cupboards and breakfast bar table; I also love the gas hob and that there are many sockets to use my appliances.

Then last Saturday I spent literally the entire day in my kitchen, prepping and cooking food for a large group of friends I had invited to dinner. So after spending 10 hours inside the kitchen I could certainly point out a few things that I would change about it!

What I don’t like about my kitchen workspace is that the counters are small, so when I’m chopping vegetables or making pastry I can never fit all the ingredients on the counter. And if I’m using the chopping board, there is no space for someone else (cue: my husband) to wash the dishes at the same time. We have a dish-washer but we barely use it, as I don’t have many pans so I often have to wash one and re-use straight away.

One side of the kitchen is floor-to-ceiling windows, so we cannot add new cupboards but we don’t have enough storage space for all my props and appliances. I like a clean and minimalistic look, so I try not to clutter the kitchen counters with too many things, but at the same time I don’t know where to hide things anymore! Keeping pots and pans on the floor is never a good look!

One thing that I love is our breakfast bar table, which is something we got custom-made as it wasn’t originally in the flat. It’s great when we have friends over for dinner: I always serve the aperitivo and drinks here, so my guests can enjoy a glass of wine and snacks while I finish cooking the meal.

I have always wanted a kitchen space where guests can interact with me while I am cooking, but my breakfast bar is small and even though we can fit two stools, it’s a bit tight if two people sit together at the table.

I played around with the “design your own” function on the Wren Kitchens website and I came up with two layouts that I love for a bigger and more functional workspace. What I would really love – if I had the space – is a kitchen island in the middle of the kitchen, like this one:

Wren Kitchens – The Linda Barker Collection

I love this kitchen island from their Linda Baker collection: it would be large enough for all my baking experiments and to have breakfast with my husband in the morning or for aperitivo with friends in the evening. I would remove the table and chairs from the side and just have bar stools like the ones in this picture. I love bar stools! :)

Wren Kitchens – “Autograph”

Another detail I love about these kitchens is the white tiled wall, as it’s easy to clean unlike a white wall like the one I have in my home now.

This other layout from the Designer collection and it has everything I want: a kitchen island, long counters, plenty of cupboards and three wall shelves where I would show off all my props and accessories! :) I love the granite counters which would make a lovely background for my food photos!

Wren Kitchens – The Designer Collection

Both kitchen layouts require a bigger space than the one I have in my flat, so I can only dream for now, but hopefully one day I will have a home with the “perfect” kitchen!

What would you change about your kitchen and which features are most important to you? I’d love to know your opinion, so please leave a comment!

Disclosure: this post was written with help from Wren Kitchens. All opinions are my own.