The Free From Farmhouse may sound like a spacious place to live but believe me, it’s not! It’s actually a former farm worker’s cottage but the ‘Free from former farm worker’s cottage’ sounded a bit wordy as a blog name!
Now we have two children we are beginning to split at the seams a bit and every surface is covered in toys, wipes or clothing. Which is why one of my goals for 2016 is to save for an extension.
Until those heady days, when I dream of a wide open kitchen with bi-folding doors and a loft extension with an ensuite bathroom, we have to make the most of the space we have.
We do this pretty well and is down to decluttering, clever storage and embracing the shabby chic look. We have a coffee table that doubles as a storage chest and hides away most of J’s toys in the living room and make use of space under beds and sofas.
As our house is over 100 years old it has a lot of quirks, alcoves and not so straight walls. We have used these to house built in wardrobes, shelving and even a small office in our bedroom.
In our kitchen, the most used room of the house, we have a built in larder that hides all our store cupboard items. This means we don’t need any wall cupboards in the main space, which is great as I think they can make the room feel too enclosed.
Instead we have open shelves. Above the kettle we have corner shelves that hold our cups and glasses and make good use of an otherwise awkward space. Then either side of our range cooker we have more shelves with Kilner jars full of pulses and my beloved orange Le Creuset dish. I love having all these things on display as it gives it a real country kitchen feel.
We also have a great dresser that I bought off ebay which homes my cookbook collection and a few trinkets like teapots, trays and a glass from Radio City Music Hall in New York.
One day, when we get more space, I hope we can rearrange the kitchen a bit – maybe add an island or breakfast bar – but I still want to retain the same country feel. I am not one for minimalist chic!
I will be looking online for inspiration, visiting some pinterest boards and would love to see your kitchen ideas too.
How do you use small spaces, awkward alcoves or make a room feel bigger?
*Disclosure: This post was written in collaboration with Homify, an online platform for Home and Living.
A big kitchen was always a dream of mine too – now we have moved and we have a huge kitchen and I don’t quite know what to do with it lol!
Ha ha, that’s a good problem to have!
Wow! Your kitchen sounds great already. We have no wall cupboards in our kitchen which I was a little worried about at first but I love how open it makes the space look. I would love to see a current kitchen tour. You can take a look at mine here if your interested. http://www.roseyhome.com/2014/08/house-renovation-kitchendiner-reveal.html?m=1
Xx
I’ve been meaning to do a kitchen tour for ages. I love nosing around other people’s.
I’m dying for more space. That’s on our to do list this year, although probably not with an extension because I just don’t think it would be possible- but who knows. A big kitchen is a big want on my list too. x
You never know!
Our house has lots of awkward small spaces and some of the layout is a bit questionable. It’s one of the things about this house that irritates me the most but I try to make the most of the space where I can. We still end up with a lot of cluttered corners though. xx
I’m in a massive declutter binge at the moment!
My kitchen is weeny – but I spend as little time in there as possible so it’s ok! I love dressers and have a small welsh dresser which I love. Kaz x
Ah, see I spend a lot of time in mine and it’s my favourite room
That dream kitchen looks incredible. I may be only 23, but in my head I know my dream kitchen too x
I hope you get yours one day!
Storage is a big problem where I live. We have a shed on the garden but it gets damp so I won’t use it. I love the idea of a coffee table that doubles as a trunk for toys. I need this!
We’ve stored so many things in the garage that have gone mouldy I won’t use that now either.
I will be saving up for an extension for our kitchen and dinning room in a few years time. I can not wait until we get it done. It’s all exciting isn’t it
The saving is not very exciting though 😉
The bigger kitchen, the better! I would love a huge one with an Aga one day! x
I love a country look. We have an Aga (which came with the house) but it’s so expensive to run we hardly ever have it ok. xx
I think that’s the problem with agas but they do look lovely.
We have just redone our kitchen to create more space, we also would love an extension. I hop saving goes well. It sounds all so very exciting x
Thanks, I hope so too!
I also dream of a big open plan kitchen, with a sofa area and glass doors. We have quite a small house and being a bit of a messy person it gets quite cluttered! And in May there will be another member of the family joining us! Lots of organising and decluttering is required x
Those extra little people definitely add to the cluttering!
Lighting really helps make a room feel bigger. Jamster’s bedroom is quite small but we are in the process of decorating and will be keeping colours quite neutral x