28 March 2010

You, me and the kitchen sink

Today's kitchen is in New Zealand and it features real people living real lives.  This is Charlotte's kitchen.


She writes:
"My name is Charlotte (aka ms lottie of theslightlymadquiltlady.blogspot.com), and I live on a lifestyle block in Northland, New Zealand. I decided to send in my photos, but leave my kitchen in its ‘in use’ state. To send in pictures of it tidy would be a bit of a fib – it never stays that way for more than five minutes!

The photograph of my sink includes my little girl. My sink is often used for these sorts of “Mama Tasks”. This time it was washing off the nappy cream she had found and smeared all over herself.

We are living in a converted shed out on our block of land whilst we build a house (it’s taking a while!). We needed a kitchen so we found this one second- hand on Trademe (similar to Ebay), we plonked it in and it works for us. The kitchen table and chairs are hand-me-downs and my husband is cooking in my best-ever opportunity shop find, a large cast iron skillet. Even the breadmaker that is chugging away on the bench beside him used to be my brother’s!

I made the decision at the end of last year to stop my work as a midwife and stay home. I now intend to spend much more time in my kitchen, so I’ve recently been looking at it with new eyes, trying to organise it a little more and make it efficient and user friendly.

My husband has just made me a new shelf out of recycled Rimu timber to go above the bench where the jug is. It will house our tea and coffee supplies and the teacups – all within easy reach.

Thank you for letting me share this little snippet of my life."
 
Please don't forget to comment. A comment is like payment for the time taken to post, and in this case in sending in the photos.  Many of us were enthusiastic about this series, so make sure all the photos get a good number of comments.  I don't want any of the people sending in photos to regret joining in.  Thank you friends.
 
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56 comments

  1. How nice to see a kitchen "on the move"!

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  2. Lottie!!! Nice to see your kitchen here. I love your blog!

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  3. oh my goodness - i love how these pictures are of an in-use kitchen - love 'em :)

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  4. Aha! I didn't realise you are also a shed dweller!

    Your kitchen looks very functional, and I like the fact you took photos of it being utilised.

    Best wishes

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  5. Charlotte, I love your kitchen, how it's used and loved by your family, and the story behind it. What a lovely family you have!

    Donna In CO (USA)

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  6. We definitely live in our kitchen all day long - it is open to the living room area where we all gather.

    I think it is neat that you are building your own house!

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  7. I love love LOVE this kitchen. a real working kitchen that imaging will have so many stories before you're through.

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  8. How great to see your cheerful kitchen in use! I love my cast iron pans too. Good luck on your building and your time at home.

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  9. You have the best accessory ever in your kitchen, a man that cooks!My hubby does too but it took 25 years for him to find the bench and sink lol. How wonderful an adventure are you having building and living on the spot so you can watch your new home grow,and your kitchen is warm and making fun memories and your little one is gorgeous.

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  10. I had to laugh at the nappy cream situation, with my little one (many many years ago!) it was a permanant marker. Thanks for sharing your hard working kitchen and good luck with the house building.

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  11. Totally Cool that she sent in her kitchen in it's real state. Most of the kitchens look like they are ready for a magazine cover.While I have loved all the kitchens this one is my favorite because it truly show life taking place.....Thank you.

    I love all the kitchens and have gotten some great ideas from them.

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  12. What a great idea to send in the pictures of the kitchen in use. It took me weeks to find a moment to snap a picture of my kitchen clean to send in...haha

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  13. I love hearing how you have made it work for you without spending tons of money. I'm striving to do the same thing... but its not easy and it takes time. I hope your house (that you are building) is worth the wait, its seems such a joy to get to build your house (instead of buying already done...).

    Thanks!

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  14. Oh thank you Lottie for sharing your home with us, in situ! It is so refreshing to me to find that not all people are straight out of the magazines. And you quilt too~~~~? Stop over to my blog sometime, Elaine in Texas

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  15. what a fantastic idea, this is the most interesting kitchen i've seen so far! I love that you have it in working mode and the nappy cream situation is so familiar to me, this could almost be my kitchen! :-) thank you Lottie for sharing.

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  16. Hi Rhonda!

    Linked up with your beautiful blog via a 6 Degrees Blog Hop and featured your blog as the second hop in my journey. Feel free to check it out here: http://bethaworkinprogress.blogspot.com/2010/03/six-degrees-of-blogging-blog-hop.html

    Beth

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  17. What a great kitchen,so full of life!! With my two boys it wasn't nappie cream,but green paint that was NOT water-soluable!!! Since Daddy was supposed to be watching them,I made him clean them up!! LOL
    Thanks for sharing your kitchen and family!

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  18. I love the recycling! Looks like some good stuff happens here! Cast iron skillets are indispensable for good cooking! Cute little daddy's helper too!

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  19. Love it!!! That's brilliant. And a man that cooks hehe.
    Erika (Gold Coast)

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  20. I really enjoyed seeing your "action shots"! Thanks for letting us have such a candid peep into your life. The kitchen is beautiful!

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  21. I am following you now..I really like your blog..nice to see others living simply as well! Thanks so much for sharing it with us! God bless!

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  22. Thanks for the post and pictures. It does look like real life. Now I need to check out your blog:)

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  23. My daughter used to sit up on the kitchen sink too or stand on a chair while I did dishes! It is always home no matter where you may be.

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  24. Nice kitchen Lottie, I like the blue. Love the pic of your little grl!

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  25. This has been one of my favourite kitchens. I love the reality of it! And so nice to see your daughter right at home there...a little homemaker-in-training (smile).

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  26. I really love your post on the kitchen sink. We're renovating our daughter's kitchen and it's still in the process of becoming one! Your little one is cute - reminds me of mine too at that age (he's now 25) - but it was hair cream which he had smeared all over his hair and body. Have fun buidling your memories.

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  27. I am enjoying all the kitchen photos, but I have to say that yours is probably one of my favorites because it's in use!

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  28. We lived in our garage 2 1/2 years ago,for 3 months and three weeks,after our house burned and while our new house was being built.It is amazing how little you need to function day to day in a fairly normal manner. We both grew up poor and with very little, so it was no problem for either of us. It is sad they folks think they must have so many material things to survive. We know better as I'm sure you are learning,also.We wish you the best with the building of your new house.I think I read that is what you are doing. I will backtrack on your blog and catch up with your story. Have a nice day!

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  29. I love that there's a pair of pliers on the floor :)
    xx

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  30. i really love that your kitchen is "in use"!! because my kitchen is like yours. i have two little (but growing) boys and things are rarely neat and tidy at our place. your kitchen feels very real and very inviting. i think you've done all stay at home moms a real service. thank you!!

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  31. Oh, what a priviledge to see my kitchen and read all your lovely comments. My husband think he's famous now! Thanks Rhonda, and thanks everyone.

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  32. Hi Lottie, love your in-use kitchen photos. Our sink is used in the same way for our boys, a quick wash-up when they have been outside.

    Good luck with building your new home.

    Cheers, Deb

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  33. Hey girlie, nice kitchen in the shed! And your man cooks?? I'm sending mine over for some much needed instruction from him...

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  34. Hi Lottie!
    Nice to see a "real" kitchen. I liked it so much I went to your blog to see more about you and what you do.
    I love your practical approach and enthusiasm.

    Very Inspiring - Thanks for sharing!

    Pen

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  35. Hi Rhonda, it's been a while, so I just saw your new lay out! beautiful!
    as for the kitchen, yes! it's such great idea to have real people in the kitchen, brings more life to it!and yes, a kitchen never stays tidy for longer than a few minutes (sigh!) wonderful and warm kitchen! hope your new house gets on fast (but in the mean time, it seems you're pretty happy here!

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  36. My mom used to occasionally plunk me into her huge kitchen sink to bathe me (until I was probably 3 or 4) and called it a "bird bath!" Your little girl with her feet in the sink reminded me of this! In a few years you will look back and say to you husband "Remember how we put together that kitchen in the shed?!" and you will be amazed at yourselves. Fun times!

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  37. Thank heavens! A kitchen that looks more like mine - with family activity everywhere.

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  38. I love that your kitchen is real... It makes me feel better about mine. Yours is still tidier than mine by a long shot, but its not staged and I like that you shared with us a glimpse into your real life.

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  39. Love the kitchen! May I ask-what is a lifestyle block?

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  40. Thank you for showing us your REAL kitchen Charlotte! I'm new to this blog and I'm so happy I found it! I think its fab that you took pics of your kitchen in it's 'natural state' instead of fake pics that look like a magazine! Thank you for showing us the LIFE in your home!! Love & Blessings, Christine Rogers, San Diego

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  41. I love your kitchen looks like lots of living goes on there Ha !
    Sue in Oklahoma USA

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  42. Hi Karen,
    A lifestyle block is generally a block of land in the country that is smaller than a 'real' farm and people live on it for the rural lifestyle rather than trying to earn a living from farming it. That said, plenty of small block owners do make a living from them - but often in a more inventive way than traditional beef/dairy/sheep farming. Our block is about 4 hectares or 10 acres. My husband works in a business in the local town about 20 minutes drive away and I supplement our income with homegrown produce, eggs and home killed meat and our kids get the benefits of a rural upbringing.

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  43. Love the lived in kitchen, especially the bath in the sink! The kitchen is where the family is!!
    Lindsey Petersen

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  44. By the time I got to surfing into your blog, all had been said about your kitchen. I enjoyed the sheer innonence of it.

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  45. I love that you sent your kitchen picture in while your family was using it. It really brings the kitchen to life! Good luck with your new home :) Thank you for sharing!

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  46. I felt so at home looking at your kitchen! Loved your little snippet of your life too! Thanks for sharing with us.

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  47. I LOVE this. It's nice to see a kitchen about as lived-in as my own. It's so hard to keep living areas tidy with little ones. It's better for your sanity to just embrace the chaos. Thanks!

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  48. As much as I've enjoyed all the other "You, Me, and the Kitchen Sink" posts, I have enjoyed this one the most. Real folks doing real things in a real kitchen. Love it!

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  49. What a lovely kitchen and family. I much prefer a simple kitchen full of family and life to an expensive but empty kitchen any day!

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  50. I love seeing a kitchen with people in it- funny that none of the rest of us thought to do that. I like that your photos truly show what a lived-in space looks like, actually being lived in!

    Liz
    Oregon, USA

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  51. Wonderful! It's great to see a kitchen that looks as well used as mine! :)

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  52. Love the pictures! Love the fact that my child is not the only one who spread nappy cream all over themselves (I probably have had more than one do it).

    Dana in Michigan

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  53. Fabulous photos! I love little Missy in the sink, sorry, I had to snicker--I miss those days. Your kitchen looks like a very happy place. Thanks for sharing.

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  54. Awesome Charlotte! I'm so jealous, you are exactly where I want to be in a couple of years time, but perhaps a bit further south in the Waikato. Its great to see how you can make do and have such a homey kitchen even while its temporary! You have inspired me to keep dreaming :)

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  55. Sheila, North Wales. UKApril 01, 2010 6:10 am

    Thank you for featuring Charlotte's kitchen. I love reading the "kitchen sink" but it is so nice to see a kitchen in all its family-used glory!! I have spent too many years thinking I had to have my home pristine should anyone visit and now am at the point where I think as long as it is clean and relatively tidy, then people have to take me just how they find me! Maybe one day I will get around to posting my kitchen too!!

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  56. And I should have added to my last comment - thanks to Charlotte for clarifying what a "lifestyle block" is. I took a look at her blog to try to figure it out (then read her comment above) and it seems like what I have here in Canada but call an "acreage." I like lifestyle block better!

    Laurel

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