At the risk of appearing controversial, which is certainly not our intention, we have never regarded the kitchen as the heart of the home nor as somewhere in which we wish to spend much time. For the first eleven years of living in Budapest we were fortunate to have a full time housekeeper, Tímea, and were more than happy for the kitchen to be her domain. Nowadays we rely upon Irén, who is truly a National treasure, and who comes in to assist with the heavy work but which does not, alas, normally include cooking or taking overall command of the kitchen.
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| A jib door opens to reveal the kitchen |
That, unfortunately, is left to us. Unlike the modern trend for kitchens, a space where the entire family, friends too, may gather, be seated, and entertained, ours falls far short of that - too compact, even if we wished, to accommodate a sofa, television or even a table of a size to qualify as a dining kitchen - it is purely functional which is exactly as we like it.
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| The kitchen painted in Breakfast Room Green |
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| Open shelves house everyday items |
That said, we do have what in Hungarian is referred as a ‘kamra’ which roughly translates as a utility room and which accommodates additional storage shelves and cupboards, the washing machine as well as a second sink. However, it has to be admitted that the arrangement does, whatever, necessitate a great many journeys backwards and forwards between the two rooms.
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| A painting by Levente Herman fills a wall |
Would we have it any other way? Probably not. We do, of course, come across images of the most up to date kitchens which impress by their size and purpose, most often referred to as ‘living spaces’, and which are designed to fulfil the every need in today’s world. Simply, they are not for us.
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| Out of sight, out of mind |
It is always with a certain amount of relief that we close the door!
It's ironic that in North American houses, kitchens keep getting bigger and more elaborate the less time and ability people actually possess for cooking and baking.
ReplyDeleteDarling Debra,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
This seems to be the case in England too.
An enormous room which represents the space in which to live but where no cooking seems to take place. Just reheating of something processed. The kitchen could really just be a cupboard with a microwave.
Dear Jane and Lance,
ReplyDeleteUpon seeing the first photo of this post, my first thought was of a dolls house, where you can open the walls to access the rooms for play. And even now that I know this is a human-sized jib door and (very pretty, by the way) wall seat, it will now be associated with a dolls house in my mind forever.
Who does the cooking then, when you're not eating at your favourite restaurant (or somewhere else)?
I love my kitchen, although it is neither stylish nor modern, and most of it was already there when I moved in more than 20 years ago; the cabinets and appliances would not have been my choice, but I am an expert in making do.
What I love is its size; I have a small dining table in one corner, comfortably seating two, and easily moved to the center of the room to seat four, on those rare occasions when I host an actual meal and not just nibbles and drinks.
Also, during the week, the kitchen floor - supplemented by a thick folded blanket - serves as the place where I do my regular exercises to keep scoliosis, my life-long companion, in check.
Most of all, though, I love the larger of the two windows, facing east. Padding into the kitchen to be greeted by a glorious sunrise or, later in spring, full morning sun, is a wonderful start to the day.
Cooking and baking usually only happens when O.K. is here. When I'm on my own, two or more weeks pass easily without me using anything apart from the fridge, the coffee maker or the toaster.
Darling Meike,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
The jib door and the wall seats [there are two] are original features of the apartment. When we came here some 25 years ago the seats were broken and the bathroom was in the place of the kitchen. We were lucky to find skilled craftsmen who repaired the seats and fitted the kitchen. The hall walls were bare and we covered them with fabric which would have been how they originally were meant to be.
Your kitchen sounds extremely multi-purpose so we can definitely see your need for space. The light sounds wonderful, something we very much miss as our kitchen window faces an internal light-well which only really brings in light at the height of summer!
Lance is the chef but would rather not cook. However, we both love food and eating so needs force us to be acquainted with the kitchen. There are so many wonderful cafés, bistros, and restaurants in Budapest with food from all corners of the globe that we would, given the finances, eat out all the time.
Hmm... I have just written a lengthy comment, but it seems to have vanished into thin air... I'll wait until tomorrow, and when it has not resurfaced, shall try and remember what I meant to say, and type it all up again.
ReplyDeleteDarling Meike,
DeleteIt arrived safely.....:):)
Hello Jane, it's so interesting to see how small the kitchen is in Budapest. The doors opening to the kitchen are quite impressive. After a few remodels, though, I now love my kitchen. I cook everyday and bake. People always seem to gather in my kitchen, which can sometimes be awkward when I'm preparing a dinner party. I love entertaining and setting a pretty table. Regarding your comment that my fork and spoon were not in the proper placement: in the U.S., it is indeed proper. An additional fork and spoon are placed above the plate for dessert. I belong to quite a few tablescape groups, and we all set our tables in the manner I placed mine. Thank you for your compliment on my festive table. Happy holidays. 🎄
ReplyDeleteDarling Linda,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
We found your blog of interest after discovering it through another blog chum. And, as you were writing on the topic of table decorations, it was a topic on our minds.
In early days of our blogging we were aware of a number of tablescape bloggers in the US and were always amazed at the quantities of china, glasses and flatware that they had to demonstrate their creative table settings. You too seem to have a wealth of tableware and your latest arrangement looked very festive.
In the UK it would be quite wrong to set the spoon and fork outside the knife and fork and, just a further point, dessert is only fruit, otherwise it is pudding, which is only eaten with a fork [yes, even custard] even though a spoon and fork are laid at the table. The standard is possibly that which would be employed at Buckingham Palace for State Banquets. And there, fish is always eaten with two forks...but that, as they say, is another story.
No Christmas decorations here in Budapest yet...Christmas Eve is the time for putting up the tree. Wishing you a joyful Christmastide.
Hello! Thank you very much for visiting my blog! I have to say that I love the ‘breakfast room green’ colour!
ReplyDeleteWishing you a very happy Christmas! Sal 😁
Darling Sal,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
Well spotted. It is indeed Breakfast Room Green by Farrow and Ball. When we first came to Budapest this paint was only available outside Hungary but now there is a local stockist. And so, initially we painted the whole apartment Farrow and Ball's Lime White [91 litres sent from England] and now we have a rainbow of colours on the walls of our rooms.
Wishing you too a very Happy Christmas.
Hello Jane and Lance, Compared to mine, yours is a trophy mega-kitchen. In Taiwan kitchens tend to be very small and utilitarian. Mine is a little larger than usual, but still small and with no place to put even a chair or small table, and a minimum of shelves and cabinets, with no drawers at all. There is also only one small section of countertop, no oven and only two burners for pots*. Still, this never stopped me from frequently entertaining groups of people, and since the footprints of apartments are inelastic, the small kitchen leaves space for a large, comfortable central dining room.
ReplyDelete--Jim
*Of course, Asians all have rice cookers, and I bought a small tabletop oven which I managed to wedge in there somehow.
Darling Jim,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
Your kitchen arrangement sounds ideal. Small yet perfectly formed, we are certain that you have every inch of space planned to perfection. And, how wonderful that you have a separate dining room, something which we enjoy too.
It is so good to entertain friends away from the kitchen and, we imagine, like ours, there is nowhere for people to linger over the cooker.
`We have never had a rice cooker but it sounds as if we are missing out there. And, we do like rice.....sure that we could squeeze one in!
Hello Jane and Lance!
ReplyDeleteYour tucked-away kitchen looks and sounds ideal to me. I am not one for entertaining as I cook (I'm not one for cooking or entertaining, really) as I'm hopeless at multi-tasking, so having somewhere to disappear to (while any guests that I now regret inviting are seeing to the wine and gin in the living room or garden) would be a godsend!
Darling De Vice,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
We cannot believe that you are a reluctant entertainer given the nature of your highly entertaining blog. We are certain that your guests enjoy every moment in your company, especially as there seems to be a liberal supply of wine and gin readily to hand.
Alas, we have no garden in Budapest since that would be perfect for putting a distance between the guests and the kitchen. In our gardening days we used to entertain at the top of our two-acre garden at a table lit by candles. It was dangerous amusement to find our way back to the house late at night with the candles blown out!
We have a small galley type kitchen. When my husband and I prepare meals, our son says it is like a ballet, as we have to carefully and gracefully watch our steps! My husband has celiac disease and it is almost impossible to eat out. We have to cook! Your place is lovely.
ReplyDeleteDarling Kay,
DeleteThank you for your kind comment.
We absolutely love the idea of the kitchen ballet and can readily imagine the beautifully choreographed pas de deux as the time comes for the washing-up waltz!!
It is sad that you cannot enjoy the delight of eating out but it makes good healthy sense to cook your own food. In Budapest our local market is just a few steps from our door so it is great to be able to see what is fresh and in season and bring it home to enjoy.
I like your kitchen - I think we all work with the size we have! lol
ReplyDeleteDarling Sandie,
DeleteThank you for your kind comment.
Yes, the important thing is to make the most of what one has rather than wishing for more or less. Happiness comes from being content and thankful, we believe.
Dear Jane and Lance,
ReplyDeletemy kitchen is small, just enough for the two of us.
I wish there was a meeting place for more of us like the old kitchens had when I was a child.
My grandmother had a stove in her kitchen that provided warmth, and we gathered around it to talk, eat, and even play cards.
It still lives vividly in my memory.
I will never have a big kitchen and my grandmother died a long time ago and I can't go to her kitchen. I miss her and her kitchen too!
Éva
Darling Éva,
DeleteYour grandmother's kitchen sounds to have been wonderful and we have no doubt that the food she produced was delicious. A beautiful memory to have which keeps her spirit alive in your heart.
But, we would never wish for a kitchen that we could virtually live in. Indeed, if we could have a wish granted it would be to have a cook. No more food shopping, no more thinking of what meals to have, no more washing up just enjoying every mouthful in the dining room. Bliss!!
When we remodeled our American kitchen lots of years go, we went smaller, not bigger. I do not like to eat a meal looking at the pots and pans that prepared it. Our kitchen is big enough for me to cook and small enough to be able to shoo out anyone who wants to help me. We have a dining room for meals.
ReplyDeleteDarling Mary,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
Well, we certainly think that we three would be kindred spirits as far as kitchens go. Like you, we really do not want to sit on top of an oven or stare at a sea of dirty pans whilst trying to eat dinner. And, yes, how wonderful it is to have a kitchen which cannot accommodate those helpful individuals who will not leave one alone to cook!
Some years ago we wrote in praise of dining rooms...we remain of the same view today. However, we would not mind drawing up a chair at your table:):)
After years of tiny little minute sad kitchens, Thank God! we finally have one that has room to move in! We are cooks, both of us, and it seems like the very lap of luxury. I think your apartment is very chic! I too admire the green color, and the little hidden doorway with a settle that folds out? SO COOL!
ReplyDeleteDarling Steve/Paul,
DeleteThank you for your kind comment.
Alas, neither of us thinks of ourselves as a cook and even the thought of entering the kitchen fills us with dread. However, we can very well see how two real cooks would find the restrained space claustrophobic and we are delighted that at last you have a ballroom of a kitchen to conjure up your culinary delights. If only we lived closer....we would be happy to bring the wine/champagne/drink.
We love the Breakfast Room Green walls which we also have in our outer hall. We read in the Farrow and Ball catalogue that the colour was perfect for deterring flies....not sure about that claim .....but it does make the glasses and china sparkle.
The seats [there are two] in the hall are fixed and are original to our 1870 apartment. They would have been intended for people to sit [uncomfortably] whilst waiting to be invited into the Drawing Room. They were in pieces when we bought the apartment but a clever carpenter restored them. Delighted that you think them COOL!:):)
Dear Jane and Lance,
ReplyDeleteI find your secret little kitchen absolutely delightful and I'm loving the Breakfast Room Green it is painted in, which I'm finding very restful.
There's nothing wrong with having a small kitchen and separate utility room, and I'm sure the journeys between the two is no hardship.
Thank you for sharing these snapshots of your home!
xxx
Darling Ann,
DeleteThank you for your kind comment.
We have so enjoyed painting various rooms brighter colours and although we thought that the Breakfast Room Green might be a little dark, it has proved not to be so. Indeed, perhaps it is the case that if a room tends to be on the dark side, it is best to go with that in choosing decorations.
To complete the picture, we shall have to feature the 'kamra' or utility room one day. Along with a multitude of appliances, it holds what we call the 'Czech Republic' - a wooden dresser which we use as our pantry. It almost arrived home when it came to Budapest:):)
Wow! That certainly is a hidden kitchen! Most new houses around here have kitchen, dining area and family room all in one big open space!
ReplyDeleteDarling Jeanette,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
Yes, it seems as if the world over kitchens, sitting rooms and dining rooms are being combined into one open space. We certainly have never wanted this as there never seems to be enough space for furniture with those arrangements. And, we just wish our guests to enjoy the food we prepare rather than see every detail of how it was made and the washing-up waiting to be done.
It looks more like a bathroom.
ReplyDeleteWell, that certainly is a different point of view.
DeleteWe have yet to see a kitchen with a bath/shower in it or a bathroom with a cooker in the middle....but, who knows...
I don't know if anyone ever has the perfect kitchen -- or anyone without a fortune to spend on it! But you've done well indeed!
ReplyDeleteDarling Jeanie
DeleteThank you for your comment. We appreciate your taking the time and trouble to write given your own difficulties.
We are firmly of the view that nothing is perfect in life and that is absolutely fine. Perfection can be a very debilitating thing to pursue, it is so much better to be content with "good enough".
However, it is absolutely amazing to us what some people spend on a kitchen. We would much rather spend the money on a cook.:):)
I wasn't aware there was a "modern trend" in kitchens. Yours looks nice, even if you don't regard it as a "hearth".
ReplyDeleteDarling Kirk,
DeleteThank you for your kind comment.
How refreshing to pay no attention to trends. This is definitely a mantra which we share. Our view is that everything comes into fashion at some point, so we just have to wait and then we shall be absolutely on trend. After all, most of our things have lasted for a hundred years already!!:):)
The Breakfast Room Green paint certainly cheered up the kitchen and made it less clinical.
I agree. A good friend of mine always said don't follow a trend, be a trend. Trends to me say follow. Why? I say march to your own drummer, and personal style.
DeleteDarling Mitzi,
DeleteHave no fear, YOU are STYLE.
Always a tidy kitchen as you can hide it away. We have a very small kitchen which is a compact one, a separate dining room to eat our meals. It was the trend down here awhile back to have a 'butlers' kitchen but these days the kitchens are getting larger which I'm not that fond of.
ReplyDeleteTake care, Jane and Lance.
Darling Margaret,
DeleteThank you for your kind comment.
Indeed, there is much to be said for a small kitchen. First, one never walks very far to prepare the food. Secondly, it does, as you say, make one tidy as otherwise there is not room to work. And, finally, one cannot live in the kitchen. That, for us, is the biggest advantage of all.
We have never heard of a "butler's" kitchen but that does sound rather grand. If we could have a butler and a cook then that would be an ideal combination....perhaps with a chauffeur too!!
Keep warm...very very chilly here in Budapest.
Hello Jane and Lance,
ReplyDeleteI have popped in to comment for the first time since I also came back to blogging after a break although I see you both on myInstagram which I have kept going.
I like a kitchen to be a place where I can shut the door and keep it separate from my living space. Modern apartments in Britain now have integral kitchens and living space which is not to my liking. I have recently been looking for an apartment and am most put off by this design.
Your kitchen arrangement looks lovely. I do not do a lot of cooking and I would be happy with your design. I have a separate utility room and sink in my old farmhouse. It tends to double up as a quick space to wash and apply my make-up in a hurry before going out!
Darling Rachel,
DeleteThank you for your kind comment on your return to Blogland.
We are very much in agreement with you on the topic of kitchens. We certainly do not wish to LIVE in the kitchen and wonder if other people really do or do the house designers think that this is what they want? Our bet is that in a few years time, all the walls that have been taken out will be put back as people realise that having separate rooms gives one more space not less.
One floor living is really rather convenient and we hope that you find an apartment to your liking. We are sure that your farmhouse is wonderful but houses need so much more attention and maintenance and are harder and much more expensive to heat in our experience. New World...new apartment.... So good to be reconnected here.
As with Meike above, I do not know what happened to my comment, it seemed to disappear! Rachel
ReplyDeleteDarling Rachel,
DeleteFear not, it is safely here after moderation:):)
We renovated our kitchen last January - it's no bigger, but somehow feels more spacious. We don't eat there though, having renovated our dining room at the same time we now enjoy sitting at a table to eat and converse. Every now and then I just go and sit in the dining room to admire it! It's nothing special, but I still really like it!
ReplyDeleteDear Alison,
DeleteWe tried to find you in Blogland, and hope that we discovered you and that you are called Alison of View from the Teapot. If not, apologies.
It makes such a difference to reorganise things in any room. As priorities change, it is a good idea to rethink and renovate as resources permit. We share your enjoyment of a dining room - somewhere to eat without seeing the debris of cooking and where one can linger with guests in conversation.
We love that you get joy by simply going to look and admire the dining room renovation. All these things costs time as well as money, so it is good to take time to really appreciate the finished product.
If we are in the right [place, we shall look forward to reading your blog posts too.
You found me!
DeleteHurrah!
DeleteA parquet floor, upholstered door, and matching chair with no visible means of support----all this and a peek into such a Sanctum Sanctorum as your KITCHEN! Feels as if we've been presented keys to the city by a mayor in his best Fascia Tricolore.
ReplyDeleteYou've cultivated such a separation between life as you live it and so many necessary everyday things, that like our two grandchildren in Georgia some fifteen years ago, who kept asking their parents to take them back to the "hotel where Ganner and ganjin live," there seems a magical veil between daily realities and your aura of mystic DWELLING in a place not familiar to many of us. Our hotel suites of endless Dr. Pepper and big cigar pretzels at midnight, before they went to bed in great billows of pillows named "Fairy's Nest," and "Warrior's BiVVV-Wack," and endless days of all the fun we could cram into a three-day visit. That kind of Not Real, or at least unfamiliar in its mystique.
And that place is so uniquely fitted with everything to hand, all the necessaries, that Mole and Ratty could spread up a fine feast with no trouble at all. It's a lovely, easy-to-work-in color, despite my PINK propensities in the downstairs kitchen (two shades, with one a brighter tint around the walls, circling eye-blind-white counters and countertop and the formidable presence of Miss Frankie of the six burners and ox-wide oven on another wall. There's a smoothly paler graduation of almost-sunrise to the archway and exit walls. The upstairs one is Fifties Ranch to the T, with the long-wearing Autumn Gold countertops and that yellow little-squares linoleum with the lifespan of a sequoia. Those places mean BUSINESS, and have survived twenty-eight years of our rambunctious use plus the forty years of former users.
We of the everyday wonder how you sustain sustenance with such nonchalant regard of a kitchen, and now you've so delightfully proved that adage of social magnetism.:
And You Two, with your fabulous repartee and delicious stories to tell from all the world, plus delightful interludes and adventure which seem to follow you---You have solidly confirmed that YOU CAN DINE OUT ON Personality and Eclat; We'd every one feed you, just for a conversation.
Darling Rachel,
DeleteThank you for your kind comment.
As always, you read between every line and uncover the true essence of our lives. The food for us is, as you say, just a vehicle, an excuse if you will to lure anybody and everybody with a story to tell into our home. It is just as well that, for most of our guests, they realise that, at an English dinner party, the food is generally inedible but it is the conversation that is the main event.:):)
And, now, if we read the lines correctly, we have discovered that you have TWO kitchens which include an ox-wide oven and six burners. Now that is truly a magnificent and highly serious cooking arrangement. Indeed, surely you are able to conjure up a feast which would put a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace to shame. We are in AWE.
If only we were neighbours instead of separated by an ocean....then just imagine what a ball we could all have!!
What an amazing kitchen, a dual purpose room that is served as a kitchen and as a panic room, a place to hide from invaders. One could quite happily quaff a Veuve Clicquot in there whilst being pillaged.
ReplyDeleteDarling Mitzi,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
Of course, you have unveiled our true intention for this hidden room. Yes, it is our [not so now] secret hideout to escape from the real world.
We have yet to experience being pillaged but anything can happen here behind what used to be the Iron Curtain and which we now refer to as the Net Curtain. So, it is good and prudent to have an escape room. Now, all we need is the Veuve Clicquot.....but the local sparkling is only £4 per bottle so we can have plenty of those in store for any emergency.
Two things.
ReplyDelete1- Being in a kitchen a lot and loving cooking, I think you have a very accessible kitchen and well appointed. I think it's rather charming. I'm so over these big, flashy kitchens with top of the line everything-clinical and cold with no personal style to them.
2- Don't worry about being controversial. As the legendary Mae West use to say- " Those who are easily shocked, should be shocked more often."
Darling Mistress,
DeleteThank you for your kind comment.
We do wish that you were nearer to come and love cooking in our kitchen. We would happily repay with washing up and providing drink and entertainment. We are good at these things but really dislike the whole process of providing the food. Whatever, the kitchen is compact and easy to get around. We wonder how many miles other people walk in their open plan "living areas" to provide a simple meal.
We LOVE your Mae West quotation. Alas, we fear that we may shock and be controversial without even realising. But, as we often say, so better to be talked about than never mentioned at all.:):)
Hi, thanks for visiting my blog! You both seem like very cultured world travelers. So I imagine I will see and learn quite a bit from you. I have never seen a hidden door like this! It really does make the kitchen truly out of sight! Your little apartment seems delightful and just right for both of you. So, who does the cooking? Do you go out to eat much? And are you both originally from Budapest? I bet it is gorgeous there!
ReplyDeleteDarling Ginny,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
We divide our time between Devon in the UK and Budapest in Hungary so that may seem to make us world travellers but really we are not. We just have a very few special places that we move between. However, if you have never been to Budapest, then you may find that of interest. The city is extremely beautiful and the culture very different from the UK.
The jib door to give it its correct name is very common in English country houses. Sometimes looking like part of a bookcase, but they are ingenious for hiding rooms or places that one wishes to keep away from visitors.
We do like to eat at our favourite restaurant, Rosenstein, but we would be ruined financially if we ate there all the time, so needs must finds us in the kitchen.
We had never been to Hungary when we first came some 25 years ago and have no Hungarian connections. It made for a great adventure which continues to this day.
We were amazed at your decorations and, perhaps, it will surprise you to note that in Hungary, the Christmas tree is put up on Christmas Eve....and decorating starts then!!
Our kitchen is quite small with no table; but extremly efficient in it's layout with lots of counter space. We do have a dining room off the kitchen and that's where we take our meals. We don't tend to entertain groups so it works out fine for hubby and me, and when our daughter comes to visit, the 3 of us. I find it funny that kitchens have become larger rooms with tv's etc when lots of families do very little cooking compared to my growing up years.
ReplyDeleteDarling Sandy,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
Yes, it is strange that, as people seem to cook less and less, their kitchens become bigger and bigger. We find it so strange that anyone wishes to virtually live in their kitchen rather than have separate rooms which, in our view, are much more versatile.
We think that you have pinpointed the key issue and that is if the kitchen is well organised with a good layout, then size does not really matter. Indeed, people with cavernous kitchens must walk many many miles a day.
What a lovely kitchen! I love furniture that you can fold away or "hide", space saving ideas! Wonderful!!!
ReplyDeleteDarling Linda,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
Yes, folding furniture can often be a great way to bring temporary additional seating into a room and then disappear into a secreta hiding place. In the kitchen we have a cupboard which extends back into the corner and then swings out when one opens the cupboard door. We thought this an ingenious use of space.
There are a few problems with a very small kitchen:
ReplyDelete1. husband and wife cannot work in their together
2. there is not enough space for kosher facilities i.e meat and milk on separate sides
3. you cannot fit a breakfast table in, so you have to carry your coffee out to the main eating area, and
4. because of the cupboards being on each wall, you cannot have big glass windows.
Otherwise, no problems :)
Darling Hels,
DeleteThank you so much for your comment.
You make some important points here and we offer our solutions to the small kitchen drawbacks and secrets of a happy marriage.:):)
First, although we have a tiny kitchen space, when we are both in the kitchen [rarely], we have clearly identified workstations and do not stray.
Secondly, we have never catered for kosher meals but we could operate separately on two sides as our kitchen table could double up as a worktop.
Thirdly, we do have a table in the kitchen and it can miraculously take two chairs for what we call a kitchen supper. But morning coffee and tea are taken in bed:):)
Finally, we have no wall cupboards as open shelves on one wall and artworks on the rest prohibit this. Nevertheless, we do have two windows which open onto a view of a wall.
So, you see, we can operate successfully in our tiny kitchen, the problem is that neither of us wants to be in there. Where oh where can we find a cook??
We have had both small and large kitchens and currently a small galley style kitchen in our apt. While the larger kitchen had more counter space (always a plus) it also meant that Patrick and i could work in it together. Now, we also do a ballet described in a previous comment as counter space is limited. Our solution has been to take turns preparing dinner and the other person does the cleanup. How wonderful that you had Tímea to handle the cooking.
ReplyDeleteDarling B,
DeleteThank you for your comment.
We love the idea of people doing ballets in the kitchen....Swan Lake, perhaps, but then that would need a retinue of other swans!!
We find the best way to manage ourselves and the cooking is to define our individual roles. For us, one chops and washes up whilst the other creates the gourmet delight to be eaten. It seems to work without incident:):)
It was the Golden Age of Budapest when we had Timea as our full-time housekeeper. Sadly, like all Golden Ages, it came to an end.
that's interesting how it is tucked away. Reminds me of an apartment in New York......regardless I like what you have done with it.
ReplyDeleteDarling Gill,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment.
The jib door is quite a surprise for many of our guests and it does hide the kitchen wonderfully well.
We know what you mean about New York apartments and find that many designers make incredible spaces from very small rooms. Our overall apartment is large, some 200 square metres, but we do not want to use the space for a kitchen. We prefer to have a capacious dining room.....and a piano.:):)
Waving hi as I make my blog rounds. Happy New Years to you.
ReplyDelete