I’m moving back into my house after five months of renovations and, although things are still a long way off, the place is showing signs of approaching how I want it to look. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about my bank balance. Like that, the house is almost entirely empty and (unlike my lack of cash) I’m loving the fact that every room is devoid of stuff. The gorgeous Dinesen floors look so beautiful I’m loath to ruin the minimal Scandi vibe I’ve always dreamt of by covering them with furniture. Perhaps it’s not a bad thing that I’m far from making any decisions on that front.
Crucially, the bathroom is finished, which makes things at least vaguely habitable. As ever, I am indebted to Farrow & Ball’s wonderful Joa Studholme, who steered me towards using the brand’s bold, mustardy ‘Duster’ on the ceiling to make the compact space pop perfectly – I love it. The most pressing point, however, is the lack of kitchen. Like everywhere else, that room is entirely vacant: four walls, the aforementioned fabulous flooring, an exposed boiler, seemingly endless pipework and not much else.
Fortunately, I will have some food for thought as I weigh up what on Earth I’m going to do, since this issue sees our biannual deep dive into all things kitchens. We examine the novelties and developments from Milan’s Eurocucina fair back in April, and quiz the kitchen experts closer to home. We reveal the brands to know about, the new materials, finishes and shapes to consider and showcase the increasing number of companies offering cabinets and systems that can move house when you do.
Elsewhere, we do what we do best: grabbing the design world by the throat and staring it straight in the eye to scrutinise exactly what is happening right now. We look at the high end ideas emerging from the year’s key shows and then shift our focus to the more accessible, democratic side of the business, and make the case that the great British high street is actually doing better than you might think. Of course, there’s a great deal more – places, people and a glut of summery homes, from Whitstable to South Africa.
Project-managing my works alongside this job has made for one of the most full-on years of my life. Being in this world for so long, I thought I had a solid grasp of the ins and outs of creating a dream home, but this has made me realise the massive gaps in my knowledge and the dilemmas faced by all our readers, the interior designers and architects we talk to and the contractors who get stuff done. I now look at what you all do – and how effortless you often make it seem – with a newfound respect and admiration.
As I move on to the next stage of my endeavours, I’m lucky it’s summer. It’s been a scorcher so far, and if this continues a camping staycation doesn’t sound so bad. Even if the facilities are somewhat compromised, there will still be a certain joy to sitting on my non-existent kitchen’s sunny doorstep with a cup of tea, looking out over the pile of rubble that will one day miraculously turn into a garden.
I hope you enjoy the rest of summer, get a chance to relax and, unlike me at this point, know where the tea bags are.
