Monday 4 June 2018

Everything but the kitchen sink

Throughout my two years and a bit of blogging, I have regularly shown you some of the kitchenalia we are collecting.

Some of you have asked to show a bit more of my kitchen, so by popular request, here's a little peek into what must be Dove Cottage's most colourful room.

This post will only give you a general idea as it is barely scratching the surface of our collection, which was begun even before we moved to Dove Cottage!



You'll probably recognize the frock I'm wearing from my previous post, as we took most of these photos on the same day.

For good measure, I have added one of my vintage aprons. These can generally be picked up at charity shops and flea market for next to nothing, often proudly displaying their wear and tear, as well as the odd faded cooking stain.

The one I'm wearing is one of my favourites (well, you know, it's green!) and in perfect condition.



I'm sure it will come as no surprise that Dove Cottage doesn't have a classic, fitted kitchen. It is, in fact, a mix and match affair, which we have added to over the years.

Pride of place is taken by this vintage kitchen cupboard, which was already in situ, and one of the original features which sold Dove Cottage to us.

Not only does it have oodles of storage space, it has the added bonus of a glass fronted display cabinet.


This is, of course, the perfect place for showcasing our ever growing collection of smaller kitchenalia as well as some other odds and ends.

There's a whole section dedicated to soaps and washing powders, while the rest is a jumble of baking paraphernalia, small gadgets and other curiosities, mugs and glasses, vintage Tupperware, and a small selection of family heirlooms. 

It is becoming ever more of a challenge to fit it all in, yet still we keep adding things. In fact, we have added another treasure since these photos were taken.



Standing in the doorway between our dining room and kitchen, this is the view towards the back door and garden.

On the left, just visible behind the kitchen table, which doubles as a work space, are our fridge and cooker, with a small run of traditional kitchen cabinets, and a sink unit beyond.

The units were already there when we bought Dove Cottage, and although they are a little tired looking, not to mention a bit boring, we have yet to replace them, which I guess we will do at some point, together with the very impractical white glazed floor tiles.

On the right is a charity shopped vintage cabinet, again featuring glass sliding doors, above which three long shelves have been put up for displaying even more of our vintage kitchenalia.



This is the view in the other direction, taken from the back door. The top of the cabinet has some kitchen essentials: scales, an enamel jug full of utensils and a tray containing condiments as well as our kitchen timer.

The traditional kitchen scales aren't vintage but rather bought new in a kitchen shop in Lyme Regis back in 1997, before we moved to Dove Cottage. Earlier during that same holiday, we'd seen lovely vintage kitchen scales in an antique shop in Exeter, but didn't buy it as according to Jos we had nowhere to put it. As it goes, we regretted it almost instantly, so we settled for this new one instead.

At the far end is yet another charity shopped cabinet - again featuring glass sliding doors - which holds most of our Boch crockery. 

On top is our treasured Teasmade, a French coffee pot, a Wedgwood butter dish found in an antiques centre in Wales and a battered Wright's Biscuits tray, a lucky find at a local flea market many years ago.

I don't remember where the copper jelly mould came from.


The hanging plate rack was one of the first items we added to Dove Cottage's kitchen. It has a shallow shelf below the rack itself, as well as some handy hooks, but we still ran out of space, so that there are now Thermos flasks, a ceramic poodle decanter with four tiny cups (see here), as well as some other bits and bobs, living on top of it.

We've made use of  the mantlepiece on the left too, which contains our collection of coffee grinders. These two Bakelite ones, in green as well as the usual reddish brown, are the rarest.


Crammed between the mantlepiece and the cupboard are yet more shelves! These are shallow Tomado shelves, a rarity in itself, picked up at Blender Vintage Shop when they were still trading.

They contain coffee pots and filters as well as some odd pieces of crockery. 

The vintage creamer (top left) and Tala Cook's Measure both came from Cardigan Antique Centre.




Returning to the shelves above the cabinet, let's have a look at the stuff which is crammed on them.

The top shelf has a set of vintage ceramic canisters. The larger ones were a consignment shop find which we brought home about twenty years ago. They have a sailing boat design and proclaim their contents in French.

The smaller set, with their contents written in Flemish, were a recent gift from my friend Inez, and they match a salt cellar and tea canister we already owned.


The middle shelf holds vintage tins in all shapes and sizes. 

One of my favourites is the Smith's potato crisps tin, which we unearthed in an Alladin's cave of a shop in Leominster, Herefordshire, called Utter Clutter! I'm sure the same could be said of Dove Cottage by now ...




The jelly moulds and pastry cutters, both from Tala, were found in a delightful antique centre in  Newcastle Emlyn, Wales.



Another favourite is this colourful and fabulously illustrated tin, probably dating from the late 1950s, which used to contain Brinta, a Dutch brand of porridge.


The bottom shelf, like the top one, has a blue and white theme.  You can see part of the shelf in the bottom right photo of the next collage.

Centre stage is taken by our small collection of T.G. Green items, a Cornishware bowl and salt shaker and an orphan crockery set in Blue Domino. This set was bought in the village of Lower Solva, Pembrokeshire, back in 2011.



The bread bin came from a shop specializing in kitchenalia in Rye, East Sussex. The "family scale", its twin recently spotted in the 1910's episode of Back in Time for Dinner, holds my collection of vintage aprons.



The French fries potato cutter (again, it should be Belgian fries, as it weren't the French who invented them) came from a small shop in Wells, Somerset, on a visit in the early noughties.


1960s and 1970s kitsch, clockwise from top left: a small boxed hand blender, Emsa serving bowl and dishes, atomic Tupperware salt and pepper set and Emsa cheese dish.




The orange enamel colander and utensil holder both came from the Expo 58 shop, while the glass light fixture was picked up in the aftermath of a charity shop retro event, when it was reduced to half price.

Even the gingham curtains were charity shopped. If I remember correctly, we paid € 5 for the pair!

Finally, these wooden signs, although not old, nor kitchenalia, are testimony to a very important member of the Dove Cottage household: Phoebe!

That's all I have time for now, but I promise to show you more of our kitchen treasures in another post!

46 comments:

  1. Better than a museum! Your collection of tins really are worthy of a museum display. I loved having a tour of your kitchen, and look forward to future looks around Dove Cottage.

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    1. Thank you, Goody, our kitchen really is my favourite room, even if because of chronic lack of time I am not much of a cook ... xxx

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  2. WHAT a treat for the eyes! SO exciting to see all your treasures in the kitchen! I love all the food packets!!! You really do have a veritable museum in there!x

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    1. Thank you Kezzie, we do call Dove Cottage our little museum ... xxx

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  3. Ann so exciting to see your kitchen....and this wonderful things. I love it, it look friendly, colourful and cozy. ❤️
    Thank you !
    A very huge hug Tina

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    1. Thank you so much Tina, I'm glad you love it! xxx

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  4. Beautiful! So utterly adorable and heartwarming! I absolutely love your kitchen!

    Dove Cottage must be built around the same time as the cottage we live in - we have very similar cupboards, I believe made back in the 1940s, maybe early 1950s? Our color scheme is also pretty similar, though some of the cabinets were painted later in vintage color scheme (aqua, yellow, off-white... and we have red counter tops - original features).

    I just love to see all the little details, the vintage tins ad containers, pots, dishes, everything is so full of personality! You look so charming and happy in your vintage dress and apron standing proudly and lovingly among your beautiful collections!

    Wonderful post! <3 <3 <3

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    1. Thank you, Natacha! Dove Cottage dates back from the 1930s, but unfortunately a lot of the original features were gone by the time we bought it. The kitchen and bathroom were a later extension. xxx

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  5. Thank you for this! You have such a gorgeous kitchen, and it's so neat and ordered, each part of your collection in its proper place. I love the pic of you in your apron.

    Our kitchen is put to shame, but we do have grand plans for it, to make it more vintage!

    Xx

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    1. You're welcome! It would be "utter clutter" if we didn't keep it neat and ordered ... xxx

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  6. wow!
    its an actual museum! a tiny but very colorful one. i love the color of the walls and that build in cupboard is gorgeous!
    but one question i have to ask: who does the dusting and cleaning - we all know that things in kitchens do collect much more then only simple dust.....????
    or is this question to much proper german housewife? ;-D
    hugest of hugs! xxxxx

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    1. Thank you Beate. Jos does most of the cleaning, as he is retired, but obviously not everything is done on a weekly basis. I'm afraid you'd have to lower your standards a little living in a tiny museum ... xxx

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  7. Your kitchen is fantastic! I really love that cabinet, it's the perfect setting/backdrop for so many of your treasures.

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    1. Thank you Mim! That cabinet is like the Tardis. Would you believe it holds most of our kitchen stuff? I do admit it's in need of a lick of paint, though. xxx

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  8. It's lovely to see your kitchen, I can almost imagine joining you for a coffee at the table! I love the kitchenalia and it looks picture perfect against the painted walls. xxx

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    1. Thank you Sally, and you're always welcome to join me for a coffee! xxx

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  9. what a fabulous kitchen, so cute!, I love all the 'kitchenalia' you've been collecting, and also love all your beautiful homeware, the pots, the tins, all those details make me smile!!
    I like how the turquoise color of the walls enhances the white cupboard and all the colorful details!
    besos

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    1. Thank you Monica! I had a feeling you'd love the colour of the walls ;-) They used to be yellow, but we repainted it when we had new windows put in a couple of years ago. So much better! xxx

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  10. What wonderful treasures you have in your kitchen! It looks absolutely fascinating and it's all on display which I love. I love tins and have quite a collection. I use them for my baking ingredients, mostly, but did give quite a few away when I got the new kitchen.

    Years ago I gave my daughter the exact same Smith's Crisps tin as yours!

    I do hope you manage find more lovely kitchenalia on your holiday trip.

    xxxx

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    1. Thank you Veronica! It's hard to resist kitchenalia, but then again it's becoming increasingly hard to fit it all in ... xxx

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  11. I am so glad you gave us this wonderful peek into your fabulous kitchen. I adore the turquoise walls and the red gingham curtains! My favorites, and it is certainly hard to choose here, are the wonderful illustrated tins and blue and white dishware. I so enjoyed this post. I hope you do more of these kinds of posts. I also love your apron.
    ❤️❤️❤️
    Elle
    https://theellediaries.com/

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    1. Thank you Elle, I'm so glad you loved this post. The turquoise walls and red gingham curtains are a lucky match! xxx

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  12. My goodness Ann, your kitchen is amazing. So much to discover, I bet your guests are in there for hours looking at all your treasures. The gingham curtains are fab.xxx

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    1. Thank you Fiona! Once, a man who came to service our heating, asked Jos if he could have a go grinding coffee using one of grinders, as it reminded him of his nan ... xxx

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  13. Oh my! It's like a museum for kitchenalia! Such a fun colorful collection. Love the tins. Also the cabinets with glass sliding doors.

    Theresa

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    1. Thank you Theresa. We do tend to take it for granted, so this post was a real eye-opener for us too! xxx

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  14. This almost looks like it was taken from a movie set. What an incredible collection you have!

    Suzanne

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    1. Thank you Suzanne, sadly we are running out of space! xxx

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  15. Wow! You have so many fabulous treasures in your kitchen, Ann! I love Phoebe's wooden signs! I've got a similar wooden sign in my kitchen that says "The cat lives here: you're just visiting!" ;) XXX

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    1. That's so true, isn't it Sasha? Cats really are the masters of our homes, while we are their servants ;-) xxx

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  16. oh my goodness, you've got so much into the space. It makes my kitchen seem really rather dull by comparison., but then I'm waiting to rip it out and start again ... one day!
    I love the enamel utensils in the final picture, and the curtains are so sweet.
    Thank you so much for sharing
    xx

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    1. You're welcome, Hazel, I'm glad you love it. The enamel utensils reminded Jos of the ones his Mum had. They're a quite recent find. xxx

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  17. Oh, this is astounding - what a trove of treasures you have! I have to say, it makes my own collection of glass look positively skimpy in comparison, ha! Thank you for the tour!

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    1. You're welcome, Sheila, I'm glad you loved it. Posting about it has made me look at it all with fresh eyes! xxx

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  18. Goodness me, you ought to open your fascinating kitchen up to the public and charge an admission fee! What a wonderful collection of retro kitchenalia. I love those vibrant blue walls, they really show all those groovy colours off to their best advantage! xxx

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    1. Haha, yes, that's what we keep telling people. We repainted the walls after we'd had new windows put in, and lived with several test panels for a while before deciding on this colour. Best decision ever! xxx

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  19. How many little treasures in your kitchen! You have a lovely vintage tin collection ...
    I have been visiting flea markets more often recently and the problem for me is now to find room in my home to expose things!!

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    1. Thank you Dan! We have started implementing a rule that we only buy something at a flea market, we have to know exactly where to put it! xxx

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  20. Ann I am in absolute awe, your kitchen is amazing!! What a fabulous collection, beautifully displayed and yet also a perfectly functioning kitchen. Love it!

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    1. Thanks Gisela, it really pleased me that you love it. xxx

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  21. OMG I am in LOVE with your kitchen!! It's made me want to get my vintage tins out again, (not that I have as many as you but I do have a few corkers). I especially love the vintage cupboard you inherited when you moved in.

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    1. Thanks! I've noticed you have quite a colourful home yourself! xxx

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  22. Yay someone who has more stuff than me heehee. You’ve got some fabulous pieces. Isn’t it hard to resist bringing it home, especially when they are bargains. I love all the colours. Much better than some of the modern kitchens you see now xxx

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    1. I wonder if there is anyone who has more stuff than me? Apart from one of those hoarders on the telly ... xxx

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  23. Loved reading this post Ann. I love the vintage cabinet. The quality of the wood! They don't make things as sturdy anymore do they. I would like to find some Jelly moulds like the ones you have. Sunday afternoon tea at mums always had jelly and cream!
    Laurie xx

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    1. Thank you Laurie, these jelly moulds shouldn't be difficult to find. xxx

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