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House and home

Kitchen worktop

(42 Posts)
mrsmopp Sat 14-May-16 11:54:52

My mother had a U shape kitchen and she kept it absolutely clear. Nothing was left out on it. She was very house proud. I'm just looking at mine and I see the electric kettle, jars of tea coffee and sugar, the bread bin, the toaster the biscuit tin,, a set of knives fitted into a stand, a jug with kitchen tools in it, (potato masher, ladle, slotted spoon etc) a small TV in the corner. Oh, and a chopping board.
Mum would have a fit. What's on your worktop right now?

loopylou Thu 19-May-16 15:35:30

Microwave, fruit bowl, coffee/tea/sugar jars, kettle, pasta jars x3, utensils in pot by cooker. Otherwise totally clear because it's a new kitchen and DH is banned from dumping his crap on the work surfaces
It's strangely looking larger than the old kitchen, and it's a bit echo'y although nothing's changed/moved other than not having shelves. I love it!

And best of all I have a dishwasher for the first time in 39 years ???

mrsmopp Thu 19-May-16 12:14:34

Deeda and wits end, I know exactly what you mean. A friend has a new kitchen like that and she can't get to grips with the posh oven which has a string of 'settings' . Very confusing. (Oh, and nothing on the worktop either).
At least I know where I am with oven on gas 4 and so on.
Apparently it is now the thing to rip out a kitchen after a very short time to replace it with the latest trends. Perfectly good units are chucked in a skip.
Eee, they've got more brass than brains as my dad would say. (More money than sense)
The world is going barmy imho...

Daddima Thu 19-May-16 10:40:20

These comments remind me of my late father, who was the master of the sweeping statement. He always maintained you'd never get a " right good dinner" from somebody who had a sparkling cooker!

harrigran Thu 19-May-16 09:18:30

Microwave
kitchen roll holder
kettle
tea, coffee and sugar jars
toaster

Deedaa Wed 18-May-16 23:46:00

I do have a statement coffee machine and an Italian bowl of carefully arranged lemons Witzend but honestly nobody could accuse the rest of being colour supplement grin well the Alessi lemon squeezer might slip through - but I do use it honest! And my Alessi kettle is very old and stained and the rest of the kitchen looks much more like a before the makeover photo than an after one.

I once catered a party in a posh home. My boss and I took one look round the kitchen and said "Well no one cooks in here do they!"

Witzend Wed 18-May-16 18:26:37

Have just remembered, my mother had a very houseproud neighbour who had a new kitchen installed. However she could not possibly dirty the oven by actually using it, so they had some old electric one in a garden shed and did any oven cooking in that!

My kitchen fitter (kitchen must be 30 years old now) told me something similar. He went back to someone whose kitchen he'd installed months previously, and remarked on how squeaky clean her oven was - still just like new. Which it was, since she had never actually used it! Apparently she was shocked at the mere thought of dirtying it!

I do often wonder whether people with these colour- supplement kitchens do ever actually cook anything, or whether it's all ready meals in the microwave and bags of salad, pre prepared veg, etc.

Jenty61 Wed 18-May-16 14:41:52

erm too much only because Ive not much cupboard space! I recently downsized and have less than half the cupboard and worktop space!

Lisalou Wed 18-May-16 14:00:34

I am relieved to find that I am normal (If being average is being normal) I refuse to list all the stuff on my tops, it would take forever!
In my defence, I work full time, and I love cooking - if i had to get all the stuff out only when I needed it, i would have to rise even earlier than i already do!

mrsmopp Tue 17-May-16 16:24:21

Huge relief, so glad I'm not alone blush

Daddima Tue 17-May-16 11:35:01

Forgot the fruit bowl & egg bowl!

Daddima Tue 17-May-16 11:34:09

Kettle, toaster, bread bin, cafetiere, slow cooker, knife block, radio, jug of utensils, and the Bodach's charger for the golf trolley.

SwimHome Tue 17-May-16 11:27:03

Ah what a relief - there are at least a dozen of you who might still speak to me if you turned up unannounced and saw the state of my kitchen. Have had two MiLs who thought I was beyond the pale for not having a 'clean sweep' kitchen so I always feel embarrassed about it, but I can't live in a ghastly sterile showroom environment, nor can DH who never ever ever puts anything away. Love him far too much to nag, it's just not that important (until the moment there's an unexpected knock on the door!)

trisher Tue 17-May-16 11:16:14

Can I answer this after I have been and tidied up a bit? The list would just be too long right now.
Cherrytree59 your DH has it completely right
'Clutter grows to meet the space available'

Witzend Mon 16-May-16 19:14:39

It would take too long to list all the stuff that's on my worktops at the moment.
Will have a bit of a tidy up later.

I'm not a fan of what I call 'colour supplement' kitchens - all gleaming surfaces and nothing on show except maybe the must-have coffee machine and a designer bowl of artistically arranged lemons and limes.

Give me the cluttered old farmhouse type any day, preferably with a nice big wooden table and a dog asleep in its basket.

Lupatria Mon 16-May-16 13:55:36

microwave, halogen oven, filter jug, some cherries soaking in brandy which should be ok this Christmas [in a plastic box], some oval dishes which haven't been put away, a couple of plantpots waiting to go into the conservatory, electric grater, tassimo machine, toaster, kettle, bits and pieces waiting to go back into the cupboards, deep fat fryer, radio, slow cooker, bread machine, salt and pepper "pigs", oil and vinegar bottles, pestle and mortar, more bits and pieces waiting to be put into the cupboard.
as others have said, I live in a home not a show house and I haven't got time to get everything put away - and no room for them anyway.
now if I listed all the kitchen gadgets I've got stashed away in my cupboard I think you'd all have a fit ................... I've been called a gadget freak in the past. the only thing I've managed to get out of the house is a three tier electric steamer which was an unwanted present and only got used once!

SewAddict Mon 16-May-16 12:53:15

Microwave, bread bin, bread board, mug tree, tassimo, kettle, teapot, pen pot, scissor holder, chopping board, glass worktop saver, salt and pepper grinders, bottle of oil, toaster, Kenwood chef, garlic container, biscuit barrel, another mug tree, 2 large cake boxes and 2 large tins. ?
Most of it because it won't fit anywhere else. ?
But I love to cook and have things I use all the time to hand. I would put more away if I could.

Nannapat1 Mon 16-May-16 11:50:32

I do have a generous amount of work surface and would love to keep it less cluttered but...currently on display are
Kettle, toaster, microwave, slower cooker
Breadbin, coffee/tea/sugar jars, condiments on a carousel thing, weighing scales, knives in a stand, recipe books
Chopping boards in a holder...plus various sundry items that shouldn't be there....oh dear, does sound a lot shock

suzied Sun 15-May-16 22:25:41

I like a clear worktop, mine is in white hanex, which is a sort of composite like corian, I have got a kettle and bread crock at one end and a fruit bowl at the other. I also usually have a vase of flowers somewhere but haven't any at the moment. I do have the toaster in a cupboard as we rarely use it and breadboard which we get out at lunchtimes.

Jalima Sun 15-May-16 21:42:42

It would annoy me having to take out the kettle, toaster etc every time I had to use them.

annodomini Sun 15-May-16 19:27:08

My ex-chef son manages to clear the worktops every evening. His brother, on the other hand, takes after me... Nuff said!

Grannyben Sun 15-May-16 19:00:00

My daughter has a completely clear worktop, as does her MIL. I think that's who she's got it from. Personally I think it doesn't look lived in. I can't stand clutter, particularly as I have a very small kitchen, but I have a matching bread bin, tea coffee and sugar cannisters and a kettle.

Jalima Sun 15-May-16 18:13:38

I had a good tidy up and clean of the work surfaces this morning; there is still quite a lot out but there is no room in the cupboards to put away the food processor, breadmaker, steamer etc etc grin
Perhaps I had better sort out the cupboards hmm

Cherrytree59 Sat 14-May-16 22:13:50

DH mantra
'Clutter grows to meet the space available'

My kitchen is completely empty
Not even a sinkshock

On the other hand my conservatory and dining room are fit to burst!

We have the kitchen fitter in for over a week its slow progress ...

I don't suppose GN allows betting on the site
Otherwise I could have had a little sweepstake, as to how long my nice new work surfaces will look like the showroom version before...
The kettle and the toaster are reunited with life's junk necessitiesgrin

GrandmaMoira Sat 14-May-16 21:26:45

I think most of you must have much bigger kitchens than I do as I just couldn't put out what some of you have.

Willow500 Sat 14-May-16 21:21:21

We have the house up for sale so I've had to put a few things away but currently there is the kettle, halogen oven, tea/coffee canisters, tea bag holder, mug tree, coffee maker, toaster and bread bin, on the breakfast bar the tv, remote and a bowl of fruit. Tonight there is also the bed for one of my cats who likes to sleep there - this is obviously not there when viewing takes place or when preparing food! grin