Cooking Up a New Kitchen
Arriving at the decision to do a little reorganisation, redecoration or remodelling of your kitchen can sometimes seem like you are cooking up a storm of problems. If you’ve ever felt too overwhelmed to try an overhaul of the kitchen, this approach to the challenge might help.
Rather than contemplating the kitchen as one big project, break it down into small, manageable and practical mini-projects. Trying to do everything at once is a sure-fire way to get you hot under the collar without being anywhere near an oven.
To begin with, have a plan. Focus on what you want to achieve with certain aspects of the kitchen by answering a few basic questions.
Giving Your Hallway the Wow! Factor
If you’re thinking of decorating, the hallway can be the forgotten area of the home since it is usually seen as a space to be passed through to be able to reach connecting areas. Being a ‘transient space’ has its disadvantages as homeowners would rather spend time, money and effort on decorating ‘living spaces’. That’s a real shame because it’s the first part of your house that visitors are greeted by and who doesn’t want to create the best first impression? With some forward planning, the right wallcoverings, lighting and storage, your hallway can acquire the wow! factor.
Colours and coverings
Selecting the most appropriate colours can help make the entrance to your home as light and attractive as possible. Dark hallways can be a bad idea in smaller homes so heavy and strong colours on the wall need to be avoided. On the other hand, should you live in a period property that has far more space, then classic colours that are in keeping with the general décor (like greens and reds) can enrich the look. For narrow spaces, select neutral colours on the wall.
Changing the colour on the walls will make a significant impact on the sense of space. Some people like to continue the colour scheme used in connecting rooms while others select a colour that complements and gives a different look. Wallpaper has undergone a huge design revolution recently and wallcoverings with neutral colours and embossed designs look fantastic. If you’d rather paint but need a cool feel, wall stickers can bring some interest to the walls.
Adding to the walls
With many hallways being narrow and long there’s usually a premium on floor space so utilise the walls to create your design statement. A properly placed mirror reflects light and helps to make your hallway look bigger – given the space is the entrance/exit point of the home, a mirror also allows everyone to check how they look when coming or going.
Photos are also a great idea to give your home an individual touch. Black and white prints offer a real chic appearance while a selection of different sized photo frames give your hallway a gallery feel. If you’re going to add a piece of art to the walls, make sure it will be lit correctly to benefit from the full effect – a long, narrow picture light will provide you with the right look.
Advice on Buying a Range Cooker
When it comes to buying the ultimate cooking appliance that will add a touch of class and quality to your kitchen there is no better oven than a range cooker. For amateur and professional cooks alike, range cookers provide all the necessary features to ensure food is cooked to its absolute best. There are a number of manufacturers of range cookers such as Aga, Rangemaster, Brittania and Falcon, but before you go investing in a new range cooker there are a few things to take into consideration.
Range cookers
Modern range cookers are built with the latest intelligent technology to make sure your cooking experience is as easy and functional as possible. Advances in the systems used to operate range cookers means your oven will be convenient, versatile and economic.
One of the first decisions you’ll need to make is the amount of flexibility you’ll require from your oven and hob. Consider what your cooking habits are likely to be and then choose a range cooker that will provide enough burner types, sizes and numbers as well as enough ovens to cope with the demands placed on it. Make sure that the size of range cooker you buy can fit in the space allocated in your kitchen.
Once you know how big your range cooker needs to be, you’ll have to make a decision on fuel type. In many respects this will be dictated by the supply to your home but you should also consider what best suits your cooking needs. Gas and electric cookers – known as dual fuel range cookers – are the most common type with gas burners on the hob and electric ovens. Gas offers the best controlled heat when cooking on the hob and electric ovens are best for speed and multi-functionality. If you go for a four oven range cooker you’ll have the option of using a conventional oven, fan oven, simmering oven and ceramic grill.
Your range cooker should have a variety of systems to aid your cooking experience. One of the most practical pieces of technology fitted into modern ovens is the electronic programmer. This is of great benefit to people with busy lifestyles or families as you have the option to program when the oven is to start and finish cooking. Features such as fast pre-heat can bring the oven up to cooking temperature quicker than conventional ovens saving you both time and money.
AGA & Rayburn Cookers Explained
The king of range cookers is without doubt the AGA. First introduced to England in 1929, it quickly became the cooker of choice for English society, particularly for those who lived in medium and large country houses. Now the AGA range cooker, and the versatile Rayburn range cooker, can be found in rural and urban homes up and down the country.
One of the main questions asked by anyone looking to invest in one of these cookers is “what’s the difference between an AGA and a Rayburn?” In this article we’ll explain the basics.
Caring For Your Knitted Garments
Whether you knit garments yourself or you have received a gift of a hand knitted item you need to know how to care for it properly so the natural fibres stay in the best shape possible. Hand knitted garments take time to make and show the talent of who made it. You do not want that talent to go to waste by reducing the life of the clothes. Caring for items created with wool knitting yarn takes some special care that is not necessarily difficult, but needs to be adhered to in order to preserve the garment.
Type of fabric
The type of care that is required will depend greatly on the type of yarn. If you have an alpaca fibre you will need to care for it differently than cotton. Hand dyed yarns will need additional care in comparison to natural fibres. If you are the one who made the outfit, check the label on the skein of yarn for any special instructions. If you received it as a gift and it is possible, ask the person who made it what it is made of and how it should be cared for. If you are unsure, handle it as if it were regular knitting wools. Regular wool should be hand washed using cold water and lain flat to dry, making sure you shape it before it dries. Washable wool can be washed in the laundry as can cotton, linen and ramie, using the gentle cycle. Synthetic fibres can be laundered with the rest of your clothing.
Ethical Cooking Gifts & Tips
You might say that ‘ethical cooking’ is a strange term but when you think about it you’re probably already following a set of ethics every time you cook a meal. There was a time when free-range eggs were the exception rather than the rule, now of course it is frowned upon to be buying eggs laid by battery hens. If you take a look through your cupboards and you’re likely to find fairtrade or organic products. However there is more you can do. If you, or someone you know, is a keen amateur chef then there are plenty more ways to make cooking even more ethical including buying ethical gifts for the budding Gordon Ramsay in your life.
Ethical cooking and dining
Whether you’re cooking the family meal or you’re having a dinner party for friends, there are a few easy steps you can take to ensure a successful and ethical dinner:
Joanna Perry Hand Painted Murals
I create original hand painted wall murals to enhance any room. I’m based in Cheshire and cover the whole of the county and the North Staffordshire area. My contemporary and children’s murals at www.kidswallmurals.co.uk are an exciting and original alternative to wallpaper as well as a cost effective solution to re-decorating a room.
Whether it’s to theme a nursery, update a child’s room or enhance a living space, you can have any style or design, tailored to suit your specific taste and budget.
The Design
As an experienced muralist, all of my murals are drawn free hand with no stencilling or projections involved. This allows me to transfer your ideas directly onto the wall with no scale or design restriction. I can work to all scales and budgets, producing either simple colourful wall murals to enhance a style of room – or completely theme a room in intricate detail. No project is too large or too small, and every project is treated with the same personal care and attention. When producing an interior scheme I can either translate your specific ideas directly or if you would prefer I can produce imaginative design creations for you. You may already have a room decorated and decide you want to take details from a border, curtains or duvet cover and create a mural to finish the room off.
Healing Problem Houses
We’ve all heard someone say ‘that’s a sad house’. Either more than one person living in the house has passed on, or people become sick. Perhaps the house has seen more than its fair share of divorces or arguments. It may be known locally as a ‘haunted house‘. The atmosphere surrounding the house is negative, and no-one seems to know why. Maybe you own such a house and want to sell. Or maybe you’re tired of being sick all the time. The good news is: there is a cure, and it will work.
Look After Your Leather
Leather has traditionally been used to give the feeling of luxury to automobiles and furnishings. Hand-built cars and furnishings were trimmed in leather and exotic woods. This tradition continues today on the production line, but as production techniques have changed, so has the leather, it is now much thinner and needs more careful care. In addition, leather is now tanned with recyclable materials which reduces process times and waste by-products, but also results in the attractive "smell" traditionally associated with quality leather being lost.
The need to care for such leather finishes has lead to the creation of specialist leather care products such as Liquid Leather which clean, soften, protect and restore all leather articles from jackets, handbags and saddles to car and domestic seating. The Liquid Leather products are available with Scotchguard ™ for water and dirt repellence and the latest formulation even adds the traditional "smell" to new and old leather products. A full spectrum of leather colours can be treated with Liquid Leather and the range also includes specialist leather furniture care products such as Scuff Master leather dyes which are able to cover unsightly "scuffing" or rubbing that can often result in areas of heavy or continual usage.
Organise Your Garage Storage
Every home should have garage storage for your vehicles, or anything else that you would like to keep safe. From cars to bicycles and gardening tools, there is something you can buy to help you keep things organised. I am sure you wouldn’t want to have a bike at the front while another on the corner of your garage. This would be a mess, not to mention the fact that you have to find each and every thing at a different place. Why the hassle when you can group things accordingly?
Get a bike stand to store as many bicycles as you have in your household. Perhaps your son and daughter have their own bicycles and it would be great to have a designated place for them to store it. You might even have your own bicycle. Why not keep all the bicycles in one place so that it is easier to get it when you need it?