Dreaming of the perfect kitchen

My kitchens have always been eclectic. This one, which is probably my last stop, unless we move upcountry,  is an accumulation of souvenirs from years of travel; special pieces inherited from my mother, grandmother and great grandmother; necessary purchase from the local shops and markets which have become indispensable; and things that were here when I moved in with Jim – including Rita, our house girl. Rita loves watching me cook especially when there are gadgets involved. One afternoon back before Christmas, I was creaming butter and sugar and I happened to look over to Rita. Her head is going round and round, reminding of me of a character in one of those alien type movies. It takes me a few seconds to realise she is watching the beaters and bowl of the mixer, something she has never seen before. This machine that I have taken for granted all my life is new to her.

Traditionally, having been the domain of staff only, many Kenyan kitchens have not been designed with great thought to ease of movement, logical storage or decent work areas and certainly not as an active living space.  Being from Australia where, as in UK and much of Europe, the kitchen is considered the heart of the home, I love having others in the kitchen with me when I am cooking or using it as an informal alternative to the dining or sitting room. Hence, the renovation plans.

The first installment was the black iron ‘saucepan hanging thing’ that was my Christmas present. My description was not terribly clear to an engineer, however, one day after a few hours in his workshop, it appeared and it is perfect. Just as I imagined it, hanging in the centre of the room, from the rafters it holds pots and pans, sieves, colanders, a string of dried chillies and a few bags of onions. Since last week, as I look up through it, instead of looking at the plastic and chicken wire roof lining I am looking at a beautiful tongue and groove timber ceiling. So slowly things are coming together. The next step will be plastering the rock and cement walls – Rita and I agree on a lovely deep yellow. The actual layout keeps changing in my mind. What I do know is that it will be a space that is welcoming as a place for friends to gather as well as a functional cooking space and where the dogs also will have an allocated place so I am not constantly tripping over them as I move from the cooker to the sink!  

 

THE NEW CEILING IN PROGRESS