WFMW - The Glory Hole

Ladies and Gentle may I introduce to you what is commonly known in Northern Ireland as "The Glory Hole".

Most houses in Northern Ireland have one of these. Basically, it's the little room under the stairs. Usually this little room is where everything is stored and when I first moved into this house mine was no different. It was where my hoover and i ironing board hung out and had little parties safe in the knowledge they would remain completely uninterrupted.

Kidding, obviously I clean....occasionally.

We eventually decided to fit the new kitchen, bearing in mind that the "fully fitted kitchen with a range of high and low level units" advertised, turn out to be two base units, one propped against a wall with a sink on top and the other just standing there right in the middle of the floor with nothing else around it and a four ring gas stove on top. I lived like this for six months. We ate out .... often.

Now I don't know whether you've notice, but "a fully fitted kitchen with a range of high and low level units" is bloody expensive. Possibly why there wasn't one here to begin with.

Then Himself had an epiphany. Proper kitchen cabinets are indeed expensive, on the other hand awful looking laminated white shelves, well now they are dirt cheap.

Hence the Glory Hole got a make over. Here it is in all it's, well, Glory. No don't make fun. I never said it was tidy or organised. I'll get to that one day. But as it is I can find everything I need in one place.

Everything I need all laid out before me and better yet I can close the door and all the clutter and mess goes away.

This is all of my cans, bottles and sauces, oh and the cookie jar is down low, so toots can help herself, as is a great big lunch box full of oaty snack items. I have a paranoid fear, but that's for another day.

This is dried goods, baking bits and all my herbs and spices. That small freaky looking plastic tub with the goop inside is an awesome pan release recipe I pinched from Zaar. Glue couldn't stick to that stuff.

You'll also notice ice cream cones, but no one should have to go through life without ice cream, even if it's just fake banana ice cream.

The great big jar of choccy spread belongs to toots, I swear.

I also keep my microwave, a small CD player for music during bakeathons and an admittedly rather bare wine rack in here.

And last but by no means least a medicine cabinet and a rechargeable torch. The electricity goes off here quite a bit in winter and it's just easier to dig the candles out from the back of the Glory Hole once you have a torch in your hand.

All of this means that I get to have a kitchen that looks like this;









































Notice the severe lack of cabinetry in my kitchen. Nope, neither does anybody else.

This has definitely worked for me over the last five years. I saved at least £1000 on cabinets to begin with as I had originally planned to cover the wall beside the table with cabinets, this would have meant no table.

Also having so much space in the Glory Hole means that I' able to buy all of my dried goods and baking supplies in bulk and save even more money.

For more great WFMW tips head over to Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer.

Apologies for the odd layout, something is just not working properly.