Escape To The Country

I have just realised where these young people may get their vast sums of money from for their homes in the country - they are probably in the financial sector and a year's bonus could cover it quite easily.

Used to be Church of Scotland, before that sort of Methodist/Congregational, now probably classified as ungodly.

Daughter-in-law is Orthodox Jewish (separate cupboards variety). When we first used to visit I would stand in the kitchen trying to be helpful, but telling me exactly what to use and where it was took longer than doing it herself, and just got her flustered with mother-in-lawitis. Now I just make sure she knows that I am available and willing and keep out of the way.

Are you the ungodly Elegran?

Perhaps a previous owner was Jewish, Gally. A well-off orthodox Jewish household will have a milk kitchen and a meat kitchen, each fully equipped and the utensils never being mixed.

The not-so-well-off have separate cupboards for milk and meat utensils. The ungodly don't bother.

I have 2 acquaintances who have 2 kitchens. . The main kitchen in one house is a good schlep from the newly built 'conservatory' - well actually it's a double story thing which is probably bigger than my house and my house isn't exactly small, so they have a kitchen to serve it. In the other house, there is one kitchen next to another, and they are both big kitchens. I have never really found out why but assume the previous owners used caterers and they had their own kitchen so as not to sully the one the owners use. I find it difficult enough cleaning and maintaining one!

Mollie65, that takes me back. My aunt's farmhouse kitchen had a huge table, a rayburn or somesuch (never noticed as a child), a dog in front of the rayburn, a comfy chair for the very old uncle, an old bureau stuffed with papers. The scullery was next door with big sinks for washing up, washing eggs etc. There was a huge covered area in front for dirty boots, wet macs etc.

I remember going into the front parlour only once

Obviously these house viewers have never lived on a working farm. DD1's kitchen on her farm is too small and inconvenient, she dislikes the units (put in by previous owners) and there are nowhere near enough cupboards. She would love a 'farmhouse kitchen'.

I wish that we could get over this 'kitchen thing'
When I stopped doing my 'proper job' I started cleaning. This suited me as I love cleaning, and I'm good at it( big head)
They were all big houses. One of them had 6 bedrooms and they only had 2 children!!! The best one with the 'kitchen' thing were bankers and they had 13 EMPTY wall units in their kitchen.

As an aside. The 6 bedroom house had a Hoover system where you plugged the hose into a wall socket and all the dust went to a huge bag in one of the garages. Have any of you got/ seen one. They are wonderful.

deedaa - a true farmhouse kitchen was never immaculate with granite worktops and the rest
it had a farmhouse table for preparing everything and eating at
it had an aga or rayburn to heat hot water, cook the meals, keep sickly farm animals warm (lambs and piglets come to mind)
it had muddy wellingtons by the door and outerclothing hanging on hooks
of course modern bits have their place but I do wish kitchens were less about appearance/cost and more about how they fit in with the building and the supposed original lifestyle
but then I am a bit of a throwback with a galley kitchen (everything within reach) and would be forever bumping into the 'island' as I moved round the kitchen
I enjoy ETTC as it is envy television in reverse - I don't envy them their range cooker, granite worktops, island unit one bit !

A friend and I used to do a bit of party catering in our spare time. We were asked to do a party for one of the local GPs. Lovely old farmhouse with a beautifully modernised kitchen with all the appliances you could wish for. After a few minutes sorting our stuff out my friend looked round and said "Of course no one ever cooks in here do they?" I think the microwave was well used though

Game rowantree? Do you mean Who Dares Wins?

Musn't dirty the ovens or beautiful hob!

Rowantree you could have a red light sewn on top of your hat?

My brother and SIL have a large, hand-painted and beautiful kitchen - I'm very envious! They have TWO ovens and a hob with five rings. I think they use their microwave most of all though: they frequently buy M&S ready meals to reheat, rather than cooking from scratch.

Rosesarered: oh, don't worry: I wouldn't make much doing that around where we live, anyway....

I spent a very happy 12 years in a microscopic cottage in Cornwall. No central heating, lots of black mould where it had been badly modernised and the kitchen was just a glorified landing. BUT the view really was to die for! The properties on the show are always hundreds of thousands more than ours was but very few have a comparable view.

Do you think these programmes cause a lot of discontent, not to mention a lot of waste? I know of people who have had perfectly good kitchens ripped out after 2 years because they went off them or bought a house and didn't like the newly installed kitchen.

I worked with someone who had a very expensive kitchen fitted complete with range. When I asked if she was enjoying cooking in her new kitchen she said they went out to eat or had takeaways. (They then got flooded, the kitchen was ruined and had to be replaced)

Rowantree

I thought this thread would only generate a small handful of replies!Nice to know it's not just me then, who gets irritated. I'm perfectly happy with my house inside and out, but this programme is useful sometimes for getting planting ideas for the garden or colour schemes inside the houses [but DH watches it just to laugh at the people.] Comments such as 'I'm just not feeling it' 'it lacks the wow factor' 'not sure we could get 12 people round the kitchen table' 'where would the pigs/alpacas/sheep go?' 'it needs a bit of work before we could even think of living it '[when it only needs a coat of paint] and even worse, idiots who proudly state 'Oh this kitchen would have to be all ripped out' when Jules has just said it's all bespoke cabinets and hand carved this and that.Even more idiotic, couples who state their young children will have to see it and give it their blessing first! That's when DH shouts at the screen.

Will you rent it out, granny23? Sounds lovely! I could go and stay while Nick Knowles fits my new kitchen

Rowan, our house was only built in 1985, so the kitchen is 'only' nearly 30 years old!! And DH has always been good at diy so has mended it when drawer runners broke etc. We have newish tiles and worktops so it looks OK really (musn't grumble). It's the wooden type you see on Homes under the Hammer and suchlike - "kitchen could do with an update". But it's functional. We had grandiose ideas if we changed it which would cost a fortune, moving it around completely and knocking walls down. Can't face it! Besides which we can't agree anyway.
Perhaps I should apply for one of those programmes like DIY SOS. We knew someone who was on Ground Force once

Granny23, congrats on your lottery win. We don't do the lottery but we do have a few VERY old premium bonds. Needless to say, we haven't won anything yet! So I'm not holding my breath. There's also the option of going on the game to earn a few extra bob....

Is that the same programme that Kirsty Alsopp is on? Or is that another re-location programme? I get confused....but they all make me feel very inadequate at times (or scornful!)

Normally I don't watch it but I am nursing an inflamed Achilles tendon and just have to keep my feet up for the next weeks. I watch 'Escape' as pure escapism from my everyday life of hobbling around.

The couples are usually hopeless when it comes to buying a house. Most of which look terribly draughty to me with huge 'reception' rooms and a small wood burning stove. Why don't they say 'Lets look at the central heating system and what does it cost to heat all 12 rooms during the winter'. Particularly sad were the cottages in the SW with a stream in the garden which we now know have probably been flooded.
I don't know any one with that money to spend on a house but I'm sure they would want to put their own kitchen in.

Well we had a win on the Euro Lottery last night, so, perhaps I should get in touch with our requirements i.e. a real log lodge house with four goodsized rooms downstairs and 2 bedrooms and bathroom upstairs for when the family come. Sea view to the front, hills and pine woods behind and a hot tub on the deck would be nice. Not much to ask is it? Especially as they can have the entire lottery win (£2.90) as a budget

Margaretm74 - neither we, nor either of our DDs could ever afford a house such as you describe and they are 'well educated' too. DD2 and her partner have just bought their first home together, after paying eyewatering amount of rent in London - they had to move to Rochester to find something affordable, and that needs work done on it to make it disabled-friendly. DD1 is in her early 30s, has a Ph D and can't afford to live on her own - she shares a very small and basic rented house in Norwich with a friend. Unfortunately she doesn't have a regular salary, but is employed as a 'visiting lecturer' and does another job as a music teacher too. Even with two jobs, she lives very frugally. How on earth do these people on 'Toffs in the Country' afford £750, 000? Blimey!

We think we have found someone more affordable to re-fit our kitchen, but it's taken a lot of thought, budgeting and re-jigging and we're hoping to get the cost down further. Re-fitting a kitchen is such a huge undertaking, even a tiny one like ours, and I'm not looking forward to the experience much. Margaret - amazed your kitchen has lasted so well - it must be very good quality indeed. We wouldn't think of changing ours if it wasn't falling to bits (carcases made of disintegrating Weetabix, worktops lifting etc).

And there will be no inheritance, anno, but we have a few premium bonds and always expect the knock on the door on the 1st of the month. As for a lottery win, I suppose it would help if I bought a ticket