Magnetic Boards for Kitchens with Concealed Fridges

I love my integrated fridge, happily concealed behind a white cabinet door, but being hidden left me with no surfaces on which to pin up postcards, recipes, to do lists or little messages. Its been a nice clean, minimal aesthetic for a while, but when ordering some magnetic white boards for my office - I suddenly had a light bulb moment.

These boards (fabricated in custom sizes up to 1200x2400mm, and in any colour) - would be perfect running the full length of my kitchen counter where there are no upper cabinets, and no backsplash.  Not only would they serve as an elegant magnetic 'fridge door' , but its metal surface would be easier to wipe down than the matt emulsion paint that exists there now.

The board was delivered last week, and was installed this weekend. Im so pleased with the result - Its like Ive got a brand new flat wall instead of the wobbly one that was there before!

Highlights from the IKEA Stockholm Collection

IKEA have just released their 2013 "Stockholm Collection" which appears to be targeted at the design conscious 30-40 somethings who have grown out of their cheap and cheerful Billy bookcase once used in their dorm rooms and to furnish their first apartments, and who are now looking for more durable, high quality, designer furniture.   

Overall, the collection looks really great, and I plan to check it out in reality next week to see how it looks in the flesh!

Some sunshine for the floor

I've been keeping my eye out for a good flat woven rug for ages.  The problem that Ive had is the flat woven rugs I've seen are either too small (sized for a door entrance mat), too expensive (over £1000 from Skandium), or just not the right colour or pattern.

At last however, I believe that my solution awaits in this fantastic yellow rug available at IKEA from their new Stockholm Collection!    Its a little bit smaller than I would have liked, but I think it will work... now just to wait for it to be listed as in stock!

iPad Wall Mounting

Now that I have an iPad living with me I have come to the conclusion that it would be nice to have the option to mount it on a kitchen wall somewhere. This way I could listen to music, watch catch up television, or read recipes from it hands free without it getting splattered with spaghetti sauce.

A quick online search revealed a myriad of options including table stands to prop it vertically with plastic covers,  a suspension device which hangs the iPad from the bottom shelf of an upper cabinets, and a shelf which affixes to your fridge door and holds the iPad in place with magnets.

None of these quite fit my brief as I have a built in fridge, and was keen to get the iPad off of the counter. I also wanted the fixing device to be attractive and simple so when the iPad is removed, it still looks neat on the wall and not as though anything is missing.


The best of what I found so far are below:

This Ringo holder by Vogel looks the most sleek and minimal, leaving a simple black 'button' when the iPad is removed, and retails for about £40:

Next up is this under counter mounted job from a company called InKitchenBite which swivels and comes with a built in speaker so is on the expensive side at £120:

Lastly, for a cheap and cheerful way to go,  which isn't permanent, these 3M plastic hooks seem also to work a treat as the iPad is so light.

Happy Canada Day!

To celebrate Canada Day I made Elderflower Cordial Popsicles with frozen raspberries.  If you freeze the raspberries first, when you chop them into smaller pieces they easily fall apart into tiny segments like pomegranate seeds. Perfect for sprinkling on salad, or into a frozen treat!