Kitchen
Kitchen design & decor
Ideas for a traditional British kitchen: cottage and Shaker styles, the Welsh dresser, the ceramic sink, the range, and the colours, lighting and storage that tie it together.
Featured
Cast Iron Pans: Seasoning, Cleaning and Rescuing Rust
A cast iron pan or Welsh bakestone lasts for generations if you look after the seasoning. How to clean it, re-season it and bring a rusty one back.
Kitchen design
How to Freeze Food Safely: What, When and for How Long
Your freezer is the best tool for cutting waste over Christmas. The right temperature, how long food keeps its quality, and the defrosting rules that matter.
Kitchen design
How to Thaw a Frozen Turkey Safely (and When to Start)
A large frozen turkey can take days to defrost in the fridge. When to take it out of the freezer, how to make room for it, and how to tell it is fully thawed.
Kitchen design
Set Up a Christmas Drinks Station (and Keep the Kitchen Free)
Move the drinks out of the cook's way: what a self-serve drinks station needs, plenty of alcohol-free options, and the drink-drive rules.
Kitchen design
Storing and Displaying Whisky at Home: A St Andrew's Day Guide
Whisky keeps for years if you store it right, and lying it down is the classic mistake. How to keep a bottle at its best, and show off a collection.
Kitchen design
How to Lay Out a Christmas Buffet
Plates at the start, cutlery at the end: the buffet layout that stops queues, plus how much food per guest and how long it can sit out.
Kitchen design
Decorating the Kitchen for Christmas (Safely)
Garlands on the dresser, a wreath on the back door and dried oranges at the window, with the fire-safety rules that keep greenery away from the hob.
Kitchen design
What Your Kitchen Appliances Cost to Run, and How to Work It Out
A simple formula tells you what any appliance costs per use. How the oven, hob, kettle, microwave and slow cooker compare.
Kitchen design
How to Clean Your Oven Before Christmas
Before the busiest cooking day of the year, a clean oven heats evenly and stops last year's spills smoking. Methods from gentle to heavy-duty.
Kitchen design
Gifts From the Kitchen: What Keeps, How to Pack It and When to Make It
Homemade gifts are the ones people remember. Which treats keep long enough to post, how to pack them, and a making timetable.
Kitchen design
Christmas Leftovers: How to Store Them Safely
How quickly to cool the turkey, how many days leftovers keep in the fridge, and what freezes well, from the Food Standards Agency.
Kitchen design
Declutter Your Kitchen Before Christmas: A One-Weekend Plan
Clearing out now makes room for Christmas food and gadgets. A cupboard-by-cupboard plan you can finish in one weekend.
Kitchen design
Hosting Christmas in a Small Kitchen
Feeding ten from a galley kitchen is possible. How to free up worktop, oven and fridge space, and the jobs to do before the day.
Kitchen design
The Christmas Larder Checklist: What to Stock and When
A printable checklist of what to buy in November, what to leave until Christmas week, and how long each keeps.
Kitchen design
How to Set a Christmas Table: Place Settings, Crackers and Centrepieces
The cutlery order that never confuses anyone, where the crackers go, and a centrepiece that still leaves room for the turkey.
Kitchen design
Kitchen Fire Safety: Alarms, Fire Blankets and Chip Pans
Most home fires start in the kitchen. The alarm that belongs there, what to do if a pan catches fire, and why water makes it worse.
Kitchen design
Kitchen Condensation and Mould in Winter: How to Stop It
Streaming windows are a warning sign. Why kitchens get condensation in winter, the habits that cut it, and when mould is a health risk.
Kitchen design
Buying Vintage and Antique Kitchen Furniture: What to Check
Old dressers, tables and chairs bring real character, and real pitfalls: woodworm, wobbly joints and old lead paint.
Kitchen design
Deep Pan Drawers or Cupboards? Why Many Kitchens Are Switching
Pull a drawer and everything comes to you; open a cupboard and you kneel. How deep drawers compare, and what to put in them.
Kitchen design
Kitchen Extensions and Orangeries: What You Can Build Without Planning Permission
A single-storey rear extension can often go up to 3 or 4 metres without full planning permission. The limits, exceptions and design choices.
Kitchen design
Christmas Dinner: How to Plan Your Oven and Hob Space
One oven, a turkey and six side dishes: a timetable that fits them all, plus safe defrosting times from the Food Standards Agency.
Kitchen design
Storing Wine in the Kitchen: Racks, Fridges and the Places to Avoid
The spot next to the oven is the worst place for wine. Where to keep bottles for Christmas, and rack versus wine fridge.
Kitchen design
Kitchen Corner Cupboards: Getting at What Is in the Back
The corner is where saucepans go to be forgotten. Carousels, pull-outs, corner drawers and blind-corner fittings compared.
Kitchen design
Kitchen Table Sizes: How Big a Table Will Your Room Take?
One number decides whether a table works: the space to pull a chair out. Sizes for 2 to 10 people, round, square and long.
Kitchen design
Hanging Plates on the Wall: A Kitchen Display Guide
How to hang decorative plates safely, plan a pleasing arrangement, and choose plates that suit a traditional kitchen.
Kitchen design
Dishwasher Sizes: Full-Size, Slimline or Compact?
Standard and slimline widths, how many place settings each holds, and integrated versus freestanding dishwashers.
Kitchen design
How to Organise Your Fridge: What Goes Where
The right temperature, which shelf for raw meat, leftovers and dairy, and simple habits that keep food fresher and safer.
Kitchen design
Integrated or Freestanding Appliances? Pros and Cons
Hidden appliances behind kitchen doors or freestanding ones you can move: how they compare on looks, cost, choice and repairs.
Kitchen design
Fridge Freezers: Which Type and Size Suits Your Kitchen?
50/50, 70/30, American-style or separate larder fridge and freezer: how to choose by space, household and the way you shop.
Kitchen design
Boiling Water Taps: Are They Worth It?
How boiling water taps work, the space and running costs to plan for, safety features, and who they really suit.
Kitchen design
Induction, Gas or Ceramic Hob? A Practical Comparison
How the three main hob types compare for speed, control, cleaning, pans and installation, and which suits your kitchen.
Kitchen design
Draining Boards and Dish Racks: Drying Up the Easy Way
Built-in drainers, dish racks, over-sink racks and drying mats compared, and how to dry dishes hygienically.
Kitchen design
Glass-Fronted Kitchen Cabinets: Display Without the Dust
How glazed cabinet doors show off china and glass while keeping dust off, and what to put in them.
Kitchen design
Under-Cabinet Lighting: Strips, Spots and Where to Put Them
How under-cabinet lights stop you working in your own shadow, and how to choose between LED strips and spotlights.
Kitchen design
Kitchen Worktop Height: Getting It Right for You
The standard worktop heights, how to tell whether yours suits you, and simple ways to adjust it.
Kitchen design
Heating a Kitchen: Radiators, Plinth Heaters and Underfloor
Where to fit heat in a kitchen with little free wall, and how radiators, plinth heaters and underfloor heating compare.
Kitchen design
In-Frame Kitchens Explained: Is the Look Worth the Cost?
What makes a kitchen "in-frame", how it differs from standard units, and the pros and cons before you buy.
Kitchen design
Kitchen Sink Materials: Stainless, Fireclay, Composite or Enamel?
How the main sink materials compare for noise, scratches, chips and stains, and which suits which kitchen.
Kitchen design
Kitchen Bins and Recycling: Fitting It All In
Pedal, pull-out and multi-compartment bins compared, plus where to put the food caddy and recycling in a small kitchen.
Kitchen design
Knife Storage: Blocks, Magnetic Strips and Drawer Inserts
The safest ways to store kitchen knives so they stay sharp and out of harm's way, compared side by side.
Kitchen design
Breakfast Bars and Stools: Getting the Heights Right
Counter height or bar height, how tall the stools should be, and how much knee room and width each person needs.
Kitchen design
Kitchen Rugs and Runners: Materials, Sizes and Safety
Which rug materials cope with spills and washing, how to size a runner, and how to stop it slipping.
Kitchen design
Small Kitchen Ideas: More Storage and Worktop in Less Space
Practical fixes for a small kitchen: going up the walls, rails and racks, slimmer appliances and folding surfaces.
Kitchen design
Kitchen Worktop Materials Compared
Wood, laminate, quartz, granite, marble and stainless steel: how each handles heat, knives and stains, and what care it needs.
Kitchen design
Cooker Hoods: Ducted or Recirculating, and How Powerful?
How to size a cooker hood for your kitchen, the difference between ducted and recirculating, and how high to fit it.
Kitchen design
Where to Store Fruit and Veg: Fridge, Larder or Counter
A simple chart of where common fruit and vegetables keep best, plus the pairs that should not be stored together.
Kitchen design
Cookbook Storage: Shelves, Sizes and Keeping Books Clean
Where to keep cookery books in the kitchen, how deep and tall the shelves need to be, and how to protect them from steam and splashes.
Kitchen design
Inglenooks and Chimney Breasts: Using an Old Fireplace in the Kitchen
How old houses put a range cooker, stove or shelves into the kitchen fireplace, and what to check before you do.
Kitchen design
Kitchen Window Ideas: Café Curtains, Blinds and Shutters
What works at a kitchen window, especially above the sink or near the hob, and how each option handles steam and splashes.
Kitchen design
Painting Kitchen Cabinets: Preparation, Primer and Paint
How to repaint wood, MDF and laminate kitchen doors so the finish lasts, step by step.
Kitchen design
Kitchen Settles, Benches and Window Seats
Built-in and freestanding bench seating for the kitchen table: the sizes that make it comfortable and the pros and cons.
Kitchen design
Kitchen Layouts: Galley, L-Shape, U-Shape and Island Compared
Which layout fits which room, the work triangle, and the clearances that make a kitchen comfortable to use.
Kitchen design
Butcher's Blocks and Kitchen Trolleys: Extra Worktop Without an Island
A freestanding butcher's block or trolley adds prep space and storage to a kitchen too small for an island.
Kitchen design
Spice Storage Ideas: Racks, Drawers and Jars
How to store spices so they stay fresh and you can find them: racks, drawers, shelves and labelling.
Kitchen design
Pot Racks and Utensil Rails: Hanging Kitchen Storage
Ceiling racks, wall rails and hooks: how to free up cupboards by hanging pans and tools where you use them.
Kitchen design
Ceiling Clothes Airers: The Pulley Airer Explained
How a traditional pulley airer works, where to put one, and how to fit it safely.
Kitchen design
Plate Racks: Drying and Displaying China the Old Way
Wall-hung and over-sink plate racks: the simple piece of kitchen furniture that dries and stores plates at once.
Kitchen design
Kitchen Splashbacks: Tile, Glass, Stone or Wood?
What works behind a hob and a sink, how the main materials compare, and how high to take them.
Kitchen design
The Unfitted Kitchen: Freestanding Furniture Instead of Fitted Units
Dressers, larder cupboards and a big table: how the old country-house way of furnishing a kitchen works today.
Kitchen design
A Windowsill Herb Garden for Your Kitchen
Which herbs grow well indoors, how to keep them going, and the pots and planters that work best.
Kitchen design
Enamelware in the Kitchen: Practical and Vintage
Enamel jugs, mugs, colanders and bread bins: why enamelware is so useful, and how to care for it.
Kitchen design
Kitchen Chairs: Windsor, Ladder-Back and Beyond
The classic chairs for a kitchen table, how to mix them, and what to check for comfort and size.
Kitchen design
Wooden Worktops: Choosing and Caring for Them
Oak, beech or walnut; oiled or sealed: how to keep a wooden worktop looking good for years.
Kitchen design
Kitchen Cabinet Handles and Knobs: How to Choose
Cup handles, knobs and bar pulls: the quick, affordable way to change the look of a kitchen.
Kitchen design
Kitchen Flooring: Stone, Wood, Tile or Vinyl?
How the main kitchen floors compare for durability, comfort, water and cost, and which suit a traditional kitchen.
Kitchen design
Utility Room Ideas: From Victorian Scullery to Modern Laundry
How the old scullery became today's utility room, and how to plan one that takes the mess out of the kitchen.
Kitchen design
Bread Bins: Which Type Keeps Bread Fresh?
Wood, enamel, ceramic or steel: how bread bins work, which suits your bread, and where to keep one.
Kitchen design
Tea Towels, Aprons and Oven Gloves: A Guide to Kitchen Textiles
Linen or cotton? How to choose tea towels that actually dry, plus aprons and oven gloves that last.
Kitchen design
Copper Pans in the Kitchen: Cooking, Display and Care
Why cooks love copper, what to know about lined pans, and how to display and clean a copper collection.
Kitchen design
Kitchen Storage Jars and Canisters: Glass, Ceramic or Tin?
How to choose storage jars that keep dry food fresh, and how to display them so the kitchen looks organised.
Kitchen design
Kitchen Taps: Bridge, Pillar or Mixer?
The main styles of kitchen tap, which suit a traditional sink, and the practical details to check.
Kitchen design
Traditional Kitchen Tiles: Metro, Encaustic and Quarry
The tile styles that suit a traditional British kitchen, where to use them, and what to check before buying.
Kitchen design
Belfast vs Butler Sinks: What's the Difference?
Both are deep ceramic sinks, but they are not the same. How to tell them apart and choose the right one.
Kitchen design
Country Cottage Kitchen Ideas: How to Create the Look
Painted cabinets, a ceramic sink, open shelves and honest materials: the elements of a British cottage kitchen, and how to put them together.
Kitchen design
Heritage Kitchen Colours: Choosing Traditional Shades
How to choose traditional paint colours for a kitchen (greens, blues, stone and off-whites), with light and finish in mind.
Kitchen design
How to Create a Tea Station in Your Kitchen
A dedicated corner for the kettle, teapot and cups: how to plan a tea station that makes every brew easier.
Kitchen design
Lighting a Traditional Kitchen
Layering pendants, task and ambient light so a traditional kitchen is practical to cook in and warm to sit in.
Kitchen design
Open Shelving in the Kitchen: Displaying Everyday China
How to plan open kitchen shelves (depth, height, what to put on them) so they look good and stay practical.
Kitchen design
Pantry and Larder Ideas for British Kitchens
From a walk-in pantry to a single larder cupboard: how to plan food storage that keeps things fresh and easy to find.
Kitchen design
Range Cookers: Are They Right for Your Kitchen?
Range cookers explained: widths, fuel types and the difference between a conventional range and a heat-storage cooker.
Kitchen design
Shaker Kitchens: A British Buyer's Guide
What makes a kitchen "Shaker", why the style suits British homes, and what to check before you buy.
Kitchen design
The Welsh Dresser: History and How to Style One
A short history of the Welsh dresser, and practical ways to style one so it looks lived-in rather than staged.
Kitchen design
Kitchen Island or Farmhouse Table? How to Choose
Islands add worktop and storage; a table adds a place to gather. How to decide what suits your kitchen and your space.
Shop the kitchen & table
Baking Equipment
Mixers, scales and the tools that make baking accurate.
Kitchen Tools
Thermometers, carving sets and everyday utensils.
- Thermometers
- Carving Sets
- Graters
- Mashers & Ricers
- Peelers
- Kitchen Timers
- Colanders
- Oven Gloves
- Jam Jars & Preserving Kit
- Pestles & Mortars
- Lemon Squeezers
- Sugar Thermometers
- Mandolines
- Kitchen Tongs
- Garlic Presses
- Can Openers
- Ladles
- Fire Blankets
- Nutmeg Graters & Spice Mills
- Hand Blenders
- Salad Spinners
- Ice Cream Scoops
- Basters & Basting Brushes
- Apple Corers
Tea Equipment
Kettles, strainers and caddies for a proper pot.
Kitchen Design & Decor
Sinks, storage, lighting and the pieces that give a British kitchen its character.
Knives & Boards
Chef's knives, carving sets and chopping boards.
Tea Service
Teapots, tea sets, cups and everything on the tea tray.
Servingware
Cake stands, trays and serving pieces.
- Cake Stands
- Serving Trays
- Cake Servers
- Gravy Boats
- Toast Racks
- Butter Dishes
- Salt & Pepper Mills
- Egg Cups
- Trivets & Pot Stands
- Cheese Knives & Boards
- Nutcrackers
- Wine & Sherry Glasses
- Punch Bowls
- Decanters
- Trifle Bowls
- Ice Buckets & Wine Coolers
- Whisky Glasses
- Cocktail Shakers
- Irish Coffee & Heatproof Glasses
- Corkscrews
- Food Warmers & Chafing Dishes
