After what seemed like endless heatwaves throughout the UK during the summer months, September should bring some welcome respite. With its crisp mornings, brown, yellow and orange leaves and that ‘new start’ feeling, autumn is a time for change. And what better way to embrace change than by giving your kitchen a warm and cosy feel, ready for the months ahead.
Now’s the perfect time to reassess your space, switching from light and summery to warm and cosy. No more colourful floral textiles and huge salad bowls on the worktops. This season is all about giving your home a hug. Start with the lighting. When the days turn dark even before nightfall, you want to ensure your kitchen has the right task lighting for safety during food prep and cooking. But you also need ambient illumination for dining and entertaining. A good mix includes LED ceiling spots and strips or spots under wall cabinets and on the extractor hood, wall lamps and pendant shades. A cluster of three hanging pendants looks stunning over the dining table, island or breakfast bar and consider hanging at different levels to add further interest.
If you’re looking for a project, paint wooden cabinetry doors in a warm, earthy tone – use chalk paint so you don’t have to sand or prime the timber first – and switch up your utensils and accessories. Wooden serving and chopping boards are naturally hygienic thanks to their anti-bacterial properties while wooden utensils are also non-toxic and more eco-conscious. Have pots of fresh herbs close to hand when cooking – parsley, basil and thyme are the most versatile – and if you need a new cooker in time for the Christmas roast, invest in a Rangemaster model for professional results and a focal point for your new space.
With a Rangemaster at the heart of the kitchen, the kitchen is always the heart of the home and with over 1 million Rangemaster owners, you’ll be in good company. This British manufacturer is built on nearly 200 years of craftsmanship, innovation and trust that combines to create beautiful and functional appliances with a choice of 90cm, 100cm and 110cm freestanding range cooker designs in modern and classic styles, a wide palette of colours and gas, electric or dual fuel to suit your needs.
From multifunction ovens that allow you to choose the optimum function to suit your dish, whether it’s browning a comforting pasta bake or crisping the crackling on a Sunday roast, to a bread proving drawer to rest and rise dough before baking, cast aluminium griddles for a health conscious weekend fry-up, Handyrack for safer basting or tall ovens for multiple meals at once, every Rangemaster function is designed to make your cooking cosy and in turn, your kitchen will feel cosy, too.
There’s nothing quite like the freshly baked aroma of cakes, pies and bread filling the home so this autumn, embrace your inner Great British Bake Off contestant and get baking. Rangemaster and AGA Cookshop both have a great choice of cookware, bakeware, textiles and accessories and there are plenty of recipes to inspire you, too. Make time on the weekend to bake with the kids and invite family or friends round for a cosy night in with delicious food.
Rugs are another way to cosy up the kitchen but make sure they are non-slip for safety, especially if you have young children or older relatives. One must-have for this time of year is a coffee station. Everyone’s creating one – whether you purchase a shelving unit or cubby hole cube for the worktop and display your curated collection of tea, coffee, coffee pods and machine or you splash out on a new kettle, toaster and mugs, show them off and you have the perfect excuse to pause for a cuppa.
