Picture the scene, it’s the height of summer and you’re having a little al fresco get together with your friends and family. You go into the kitchen to collect cutlery for your guests but nothing is in its place. You find yourself emptying the entire contents of your cupboards to find that what you’re looking for is right at the back. By the time you’ve found what your guests needed you’ve burnt whatever is now smouldering on the BBQ and travelled half way to Narnia by exploring the depths of your cupboards.
Never mind Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, this is our very own, real-life kitchen nightmare. You’ve got an untidy space that certainly isn’t ready for the summer. The peak season for house parties and BBQs, guests are going to be in and out of your kitchen a lot, so you’ve got to make sure it’s ready for summer!
Here are five handy tips to get you started.
1) Protecting your kitchen from ants
Ants have the power to ruin your summer if they find a way to get into your kitchen. On the hunt for crumbs and sprinkles of sugar that have missed your tea cup, they don’t mind crashing the party. You can use caulk to plug any little gaps they may squeeze through and deter them with a white vinegar wash.
Using the acidic liquid on work surfaces is not only a natural antibacterial agent, but the smell is also said to put them off from venturing into your home. You’ll hardly notice it yourself and it’s a much cheaper cleaning agent than most popular alternatives.
2) Serving up a treat
When entertaining your guests, you must remember that we often eat with our eyes first. That doesn’t mean you should crack out the bone china collection that has been passed down no fewer than eight generations of your family, but you should have a good think about how you’re serving your guests.
For example, you may think that having refreshing summer punch would be the perfect way to celebrate the sunshine, but you couldn’t serve it in a plush bowl outside. A big bowl of sugary punch would be a magnet for wasps and flies that simply can’t wait to invade your space.
How about a sealed drinks dispenser instead? Your guests can help themselves to a lovely summer cocktail without having to fight off any bugs and beasts that want a glass themselves!
3) Loose pasta lurking
Ever pulled something out of your cupboard and experienced the random raining of pasta shells, trickling from the top shelf?
You need to remove your pasta packets from the cupboard immediately. It’s near impossible to tear open a bag of pasta tactfully enough to ensure that all the contents stay in the bag after the first use. Pop them in an airtight jar, such as these gorgeous Kilner jars. They’re perfect for standing on your worktops, allowing you to keep an eye on how much pasta you have left, before starting a dish and realising there’s none left in the packet!
Not only is it more hygienic to keep your carbs in these lovely jars, it also keeps the summer bugs at bay.
4) Add a little colour
Much like the beautiful blooms that decorate your garden in the summer, your kitchen will need a few vibrant jewels too! Invest in matching oven gloves and an apron to build a theme and use the accent colours in each to add blips of colour around your kitchen.
Keeping a colour theme creates a homely vibe and invites the new season into your home, so why not take a closer look at our gorgeous range of kitchen accessories? Many people forget about the fine details when decorating their kitchen. Okay, you’ve picked a lovely paint colour that complements your tiles, worktops, cupboards and floor perfectly, but you can really set the look off by thinking a little more carefully about your kitchenware. Take a look at this recent post about our Ulster Weavers products for more inspiration.
5) Replacing tired utensils
Tatty old utensils simply won’t do, especially in cases where your spatula is half burnt, and smouldered on to your oven rings. We’ve all been guilty of leaving our utensils a little too close to the heat, but there’s always at least one eagle-eyed guest that will spot your worn utensils. Not only are they an eyesore, they’re also a lair for harmful bacteria. Chips in wooden spoons and melted plastic utensils provide the perfect texture for bacteria to hold on to and thrive.
Treat yourself to an updated set of utensils to reinvigorate your attitude to the kitchen and the culinary delights you’ll be serving up to guests. Again, as mentioned in point five, try to think about the colour and design of your new utensils and how these will be incorporated into your kitchen. We recently discussed the practical and aesthetic merits of our wonderful Sabatier Noir Range of utensils on our blog. You can also check out our classic and quality Sabatier Noir collection here.