Natural Materials Create A Stylish Kitchen

When it


came to redecorating my home , I had a clear vision of the look I wanted in my new kitchen . I'm really into


materials and details . I came up with the


idea of making circular holes in the plywood units  we had made because I didn't


like any handles I saw . The holes basically became the handles.  And my choice of white units and their simple


design was influenced by the


elaborate 3-D floor tile, which you see a lot in


Italy. One feature I really wanted was marble worktops from Carrara also


from Italy. I come from Liguria, near Carrara, where


it's the most common material to use in the kitchen. The makeover wasn't all about style,


though I love to cook


, and my husband


loves to eat, so another priority was to get good practical equipment . The oven has six burners and a chef top that you can cook straight on top of to grill. Probably the most impressive aspect of the makeover is that when we bought our home


it was a shop, so we started from scratch to create this unique space . As part of the project to transform the shop into a home, the room


that was once the shop's office was stripped out and fully plumbed and wired to


become a kitchen. A large window was put in the back wall and glasses panels


were put in the roof to flood the space with light. In terms of lighting we also decided to


fit both overhead lights and LED strip lights under the


kitchen units. When we entertain in the kitchen we can dim the overhead light and fill the room


with diffused lighting from the strip lights,


supplemented by  our favourite aromatic


candles from companies like Yankee candles and True Grace candles. These are just two of my personall favourite choices - there are however litterally hundreds ogf different brands of scented candles and reed diffusers out there. The best idea is probably to experiment with a few to find the one or two that you really like and then stick with those choices for the future. Either way home fragrances are a simple but elegant way to add a certain something to your home without breaking the bank. And if you do not like candles, again don't despair. If you are not a fan of scented candles but love to have youe home smelling great then the remedy is simple - use a reed diffuser instead. These are the latest thing in home fragrance, with all the scent of a candle but with much more convenience. They really come into their own in a situation whete you cannot afely leave a candle burning. Typical examples would be when you are out of the house or if you want to fragrance a room which is unoccupied for a long time. Another great advantage of diffusers is that they can be used safely around children and pets. Leaving a lit candle in a room where children are playing is not sensible because as they enjoy themselves there is the risk - however slight - that the candle could be knocked over and cause a fire.










The author is owner of The Scented Candle Store which supplies a wide range of candles including Yankee candles