The Simple Things

Taking time to live well
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Taking Time to Live Well

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Roominations

Lottie Storey August 29, 2018

What’s your favourite room in the house? On page 34 of September's The Simple Things team meditate on the indoor spaces that they love best – and ask you to share yours

Kitchen by Iona Bower

Too often described as ‘the heart of the home’, I’ve always thought of a kitchen as ‘the engine room’. Nowhere do I feel more capable than here, at the helm, Gardener’s Question Time chattering, kettle bubbling, and something lovely on the stove.

There’s something about a buzzing kitchen, for sure. I once considered too many gadgets naff, but these days I get a warm glow from my breadmaker, coffee machine and juicer chugging happily. I recently reached peak smug when I purchased another freezer so I could whip out a pork ragu or a crumble at a moment’s notice for unexpected guests. (I may or may not drop this into conversation à la Hyacinth Bouquet: “I was just passing my second freezer, when...”)

I’ve had teeny bijou kitchens before, lovely in their own way (mainly for being able to shout “No room for two” (while flapping at intruders with a tea towel). But

now that I have a big kitchen, I love it.
Half is ‘kitchen proper’, where the burning and swearing happens (and the second freezer lives –

did I mention my second freezer?). The other half is ‘dining and lounging’: a teak table, stained with memories: spilt glasses of red, children’s careless paintings and a deep scratch from that time the cat evacuated it too quickly. There’s also a sofa, because a good friend told me every ‘proper’ kitchen should have a sofa to accommodate poorly children, off school.

And in one corner, I have an office; despite having a study, I’ve finally admitted I just want to hang out in my kitchen. It’s where I naturally retreated in labour to moo loudly; where I take friends-in-crisis for medicinal G&Ts; where I’ve feasted, feted and felt a bit green the following morning. Something pulls me to my kitchen and it’s not just the biscuit tin.

READER SURVEY

Tell us which is your favourite room and why and – if you wouldn’t mind – answer a few questions about The Simple Things, too. There’s £200 of John Lewis vouchers to be won! thesimplethings.com/blog/roomsurvey.


More from the September issue:

Featured
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Sep 25, 2018
Happy mail | 5 newsletters to subscribe to
Sep 25, 2018
Sep 25, 2018
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Sep 24, 2018
Nest | Hydrangeas
Sep 24, 2018
Sep 24, 2018
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Sep 23, 2018
Old railway tracks
Sep 23, 2018
Sep 23, 2018
InNest Tagsissue 75, september, reader survey
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The Simple Things is published by Iceberg Press

The Simple Things

Taking time to live well

We celebrate slowing down, enjoying what you have, making the most of where you live, enjoying the company of of friends and family, and feeding them well. We like to grow some of our own vegetables, visit local markets, rummage for vintage finds, and decorate our home with the plunder. We love being outdoors and enjoy the satisfaction that comes with a job well done.

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