Size doesn't matter..it's what you can do with it that counts...

The subject matter is Kitchens..what did you think it was?

I am always being asked by clients ,"do you have a big kitchen?" and the answer is no, my house is mid 1930's  and I love to work in  a small space  that is organized and that is the key.
My kitchen overall space is 10ft x 10ft my actual moving around space is 7ft by 5 ft ( because of cupboards, stove and fridge..but it is organized!)

I have 8ft shelves that hold all my spices at low levels away from heat at ceiling of kitchen, all my appliances, electric stand mixer, food processors, blender.

I store all my plastic bags, foils etc on top of the fridge so I have easy access.
The less I have to open a door for anything all the better.


I keep my knives sharp and in a knife block..I don't like having to open drawers to get a knife.

I am lucky that I have a dry store outside where I can store my flours, grains etc. as the house gets too warm, and I don't like to store my flours in the freezer.


The smallest kitchen I ever worked in was the galley of the  jet of my boss  when we flew from London to Kuwait on regular trips, stopping in Corfu, and Beirut ( dodging bombs on the mountains), but again all that will be in the book lol
The other galleys of the yachts I worked on varied from something a little smaller than my own kitchen..where  dinner ended up in the Med after the captain decided to rev up the motors, and my kitchen window was open, to one which was about 20ft x 30ft...and just too much movement when we hit the waves...(  again the book)....on land
I have worked in some very big houses, with "designer kitchens" in Los Angeles/ Beverly Hills/Malibu/Holmby and Hollywood Hills and found 90% of them totally ill equipped for ACTUAL  EASY WORK in them.
In some you have to walk miles between the fridges and the kitchen counter/or sink.
Others the designer kitchen ranges and ovens were too hot to stand close to without passing out from the heat...the extractor fans in private house tend to be so quiet that they pull nothing out, then when a great extractor fan is installed that is all
you hear throughout the house...because of earthquake  building codes most house here in So Cal are not made from  brick so sound travels very easily.

So if you are planning a kitchen makeover..ask the person who uses it to work with the designer, and don't get stone/ceramic sinks unless you are prepared to lose most of your crockery and glassware as they don't bounce off ceramic; nor a designer "restaurant size oven/stove combo" unless it comes with a massive extractor fan..that extracts away from doors and windows!

In most of the designer magazines, if a kitchen is massive with flower arrangements..it is NOT a  good working kitchen in my point of view.


Now Fridges & Freezers..try and place them away from the stove as far as possible, have the doors open away from the heat.
Try not to open the fridge-freezer when the oven is on. and in warmer weather turn down the temperature of the fridge as more hot air will keep going in every time you open the fridge.


Recycling....try and recycle everything from your kitchen..plastics, glass, foil, paper, and also kitchen food waste, don't throw it down a waste disposal and polute the oceans & drains ( we don't need to feed rats in the sewers they are not going to be extinct  in the next 100 years)..put all your kitchen food waste in the green garden garbage cans ( green in USA are for garden waste) then it can be turned into compost. ( that is if you cannot compost at home)
All grease and fats, pour into old cans/oil containers and take to local recycling office or sanitation dept. ( check local listings) for them to recycle..allowing food to go into city dumps is tragic..it does not compost down as there are too many plastics,old diapers etc.... so it just rots and becomes toxic to the Earth, without which we cannot grow all our fantastic veggies and  fruits.

To all readers worldwide.( yes I am now global!  I have readers in Russia, India, Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand). Just get organized in your kitchen and you can produce anything well....I hope this is helpful...and please recycle.