Sure, you could go down to Homebase, Ikea or B&Q. But where would be the fun in that?
There’s nothing inessential about owning a cooker. Or a pan to use on that cooker. Or a tap from which to fill that pan before you put it on the hob.
Yet there are ways and ways of accomplishing all of the above tasks, and kitting out a kitchen offers almost endless opportunities to buy beautiful, magical things that will elevate the most important space in your house to almost-painfully-charming levels.
So while you could get equivalent products all of the things on this page from sensible, modestly-priced shops, you can also spend a small fortune — or even a large fortune — on all of them. They’re perfect, in other words, for our Utterly Inessential Shopping List.
Do you like it hot?
‘How unusual — a yellow Aga!’ we hear you say. And you’d be right on two out of three scores: it is yellow, it is unusual, but it’s not an Aga. We always feels a little sorry for Everhot — Aga’s only serious rival as makers of fine, traditional, cast-iron range cookers designed and engineered to last multiple lifetimes — because of the incredible name recognition of their arch-competitors. But this sort of piece must be the way for them to get past that: a bright-yellow take on the classic design which delivers tradition, function and funk in equal measure.
Everhot 120 in Mustard Yellow — £9,295 from everhot.co.uk
I bet that you’d look good on the kitchen stool
When is a kitchen stool not a kitchen stool? When it’s hand-made, oak-framed and with a back and seat finely-woven from rattan. It’s the sort of stool you’d imagine Ian Fleming or Ernest Hemingway perching on as they hold forth at a Jamaican hotel bar in the 1950s. Beautiful.
Rattan Loggia bar stool — £2,400 from www.soane.co.uk
Turn on the trend
Strange to think that this exact sort of fitting would once have been melted down for scrap — and what’s more, its owners would have been delighted to replace it with a sleek, modern chrome alternative. But the vogue for all things industrial means that this rather majestic looking fitting is now absolutely on-trend.
Elan Vital deck-mounted basin bridge tap in Vintage Copper — £2,364 from thewatermarkcollection.eu
Perfect furniture for well-heeled servants
Inspired by ‘the world below stairs’ is Jamb’s ‘Pantry Collection. This handmade table is made from painted beech with an oak top, and there’s a solid oak stool to go along with it. Simple beauty at its best — but a word of warning: in the 21st century, the furniture once made for servants comes with a price tag that might make even a duke think twice.
The Pantry Collection Harewood table and Kemble stool — £3,840 for the table and £1,140 for the stool from jamb.co.uk
Mrs Patmore called and wants her pan back
Is it possible to see this antique Victorian copper cooking pot without thinking ofMrs Patmore and Daisy hauling giant cookware around in the kitchens at Downton Abbey? Maybe for some, but not for us. Online vintage collectable company Vinterior sell all sorts of things along these lines — but to borrow a phrase from a purveyor of more modern items, once it’s gone, it’s gone.
Victorian copper cooking vessel — £795 from www.vinterior.co
