Dreams of a Vintage Kitchen

Some people count sheep to get to sleep but I occupy my mind with interior design schemes for the house in Cognac we are moving to next month.  One of the bigger challenges that we have to overcome is the kitchen. The existing one is a funky orange number but we would like to move the main kitchen to the lower ground floor leaving the orange one as an utility room/come museum of 1960's design .

I've heard people pay good money for vintage kitchens like this one!

It's a big project because the space on the lower ground floor is currently damp and dark but what first caught my attention was the fact that the beautiful staircase (crystal knob and all!) leads all the way down there instead of changing to a more utilitarian one.  

OK so it's a bit shabby but it will brush up beautifully in time

Putting on my Sherlock Holmes cap I took in the lovely red and white tiles at the bottom of the stairs and moving into the workshop found an old fireplace hiding behind a desk and deduced that the old kitchen may have been on that level originally.

Original features in old houses are to be cherished although they
sometimes take some elbow grease to bring back to life

The very well hidden fireplace was a lovely find

My next discovery was a little room off the workshop that I thought would be ideal for a pantry and to my delight I found in the corner just inside the door some lovely old tiles above an old stone sink.  This may not seem very exciting to most people but I was truly thrilled that my hunch seemed to be correct and that we would be restoring the house back to it's original layout.

The original pantry that will be shelved out and much loved

Whenever I choose a look for a room I try to let the house talk to me rather than impose my ideas on the house.  Because the kitchen will be situated on the lower ground floor it will only get direct sunlight in the morning so it will potentially be a dark space so there is a danger of it being oppressive and dingy.  

Can you see the potential yet?  You think I'm mad don't you?  It helps if you squint!

The obvious temptation is to have everything in white and pepper the ceiling with spotlights in the hope of brightening it up a bit but often I think the best course of action is to actually work with what you have and to go with it.  With Spike being a chef we need a good strong working kitchen that is designed well and my needs are to create an interesting eclectic ambiance (and for Spike to cook me yummy meals).

The old cluttered workshop inspired me to choose an industrial/bistrot look and I could immediately visualise intimate lighting in the little snug area, industrial spots for the working part of the kitchen, stainless steel worktops and mirrors galore... the more distressed the better.

I envisage aluminium atelier doors to give it that Parisian artist's workshop look and a polished concrete floor because not only is it hard wearing and ideal for underfloor heating but the high sheen finish will hopefully bounce a bit of light around too (as will the mirrors).

Parisian style atelier doors would be ideal for the entrance

A view of the back of the house showing the potential kitchen
at ground floor level

A couple of weeks back I was looking on a my favourite French classified website called Le Bon Coin.  It's an invaluable resource that has all sorts of things for sale from cars and houses to antiques and chickens... you name it they sell it.  Anyway, I was interested to see if I could find some kind of marbled topped table or bistrot bar to use as a kitchen island instead of buying one off the peg from a kitchen supplier.   To my delight I came across an old butcher's counter that would fit beautifully into the space and was not far from us in La Rochelle.  I will be back on Le Bon Coin once we have made the move to source a small industrial coffee machine (oh joy!)

Exactly what I was looking for - a real vintage centrepiece for the kitchen

I kind of wish I had seen the counter after having moved as we found it weighed a ton when we went to pick it up but the chance of someone else snapping it up was too much of a risk so we hired a van and a friend is kindly storing it for us.  

Many people we know think we're nuts to leave our voluminous, light country kitchen but we have often commented that it's size is rather wasted on us because we tend to eat at a little bistro table in the living room so we cook and run (unless we have guests).

Our beautiful kitchen we created from from a formally unpromising space 

The only potential problem with my plan for the new kitchen (aside from the obvious damp issues) is that when we do entertain the dining room will be up a flight of stairs and I am not known for my dexterity and elegance when it comes to carrying food (soup is definitely off the menu for a start!)  

All may not not lost though!  I have been tapping walls (a nasty habit that all serial renovators have) and there is a place that looks like it may have been a shaft for a dumb waiter at some point (fingers crossed) but without getting the sledgehammer out there is no way of knowing for sure so I will have to wait until we get the keys to get to the bottom of that one and no doubt the house will have many more surprises to present to us over the next year or so.  

Industrial Chic

I love lots of different styles of interior design but I have always envied people who have loft apartments so that they can pull off interiors with industrial pieces or vintage design classics that have come out of commercial or institutional buildings.

Is it possible to die of envy?  I really hope not!

Vintage industrial trucs... so cool!

In France they call this the Atelier style and it is largely influenced by many of the old workshops that have been converted into quirky living accommodation in the heart of Paris.  I was lucky enough a month or so ago to have come across this striking turquoise blue desk lamp and was thinking of keeping it but wasn't at all surprised when someone snapped it up almost immediately.  

An authentic industrial lamp from the 1950s

I prefer to see items where the signs of age have been preserved

I adore old filing cabinets and big factory suspension lights and am often horrified when people sand them back and respray them losing all their natural patina.  Old industrial clocks are another of my loves but the nearest I have managed to get to one so far is this little alarm clock I picked up at a flea market a month or so ago.  

1950s Bayard Alarm Clock - See Etsy Shop

Aluminium workshop windows and doors are also very much a la mode and give a real sense of atmosphere to large open plan spaces.

Create the look of a French 'atelier' with metal windows and doors

As with any fashion there are lots of reproductions on the market but mixed with genuine vintage finds they can compliment a design.  I would however steer away from large lettering spelling ATELIER or other similar items as in my opinion they really kill the authenticity of a space.

While I'm on the subject is it just me or are there other people out there that don't see the appeal of words like LOVE, HOME, PEACE and all the other large letters that seem to be littering people's otherwise lovely homes?

My advice would be, if you're tempted, to just keep on walking!

Having said all this I must confess to being guilty of this myself as I have a little reproduction enamel sign with CUISINE written on it in, yes... you've guessed it, the kitchen.  It is design choice I still regret but unfortunately it is well and truly stuck to the wall (thanks to a combination of screws and 'no more nails') so it has become something of a permanent feature (I will have to move now!).

Why, oh why, oh why did I think that was a good idea...
the stale bread is for the chickens in case you were wondering!

This sign is not only a constant irritation to me but is also a daily reminder never again to stick words stating the annoyingly obvious on the wall!.

Oh well I suppose I'll just have to KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON.... (or eat cupcakes or any of the many other versions of the famous phrase currently gracing what seems like virtually every home in Britain and beyond!