Latest Homes Sussex magazine

The Lower Sixth and Year Five from Burgess Hill School for Girls took advantage of an unusual opportunity to produce pedal powered smoothies on Thursday 20 September. The session was run by Tom Briggs, designer and manager of ‘Blendavenda’ (a bike with a food blender attached to the front). The girls enjoyed watching as their choice of fruits were pulped by the power of their pedalling. A competition was run to see who could cycle 150 metres the fastest and prizes were won.

A Netball coaching session for Year Five and Six pupils run by Amanda Newton, the England Captain and sponsored by the company Net-it was held at Burgess Hill School for Girls on Wednesday 12th September.

The 32 children, from schools in Brighton, Southwater and Lower Beeding participated in a 2 hour, skill-based, coaching session in the morning followed by a variety of activities to improve their teamwork in the afternoon. The day was topped with a fun tournament in which the teams displayed what they had learnt throughout the day.

This is the second netball master class held at the school. If you would be interested in joining the mailing list for future master class sessions please contact the Assistant Registrar, Mrs Zaragoza, with details of your school and the number of pupils you feel would benefit from such activities.

When it comes to surfaces and basins, the simple, industrial look is the way to go

Worktops, sinks and taps are the hub of any kitchen. According to a survey for Living etc magazine (March 2006), 60 per cent of time spent in a kitchen is at the sink – and most of the other 40 per cent is spent at a work surface. Whether you’re updating an existing kitchen or starting afresh, these key pieces need to be fit for purpose. Want a kitchen sink you can be proud of? Read on…

Top worktops

Trends for 2007 and onwards are still for worktops with a solid, industrial feel. Natural stones such as granite or marble and manmade composites are top of the worktops.

Corian and Zodiaq are non-porous, stain resistant, and can be formed into any shape or thickness. Black and white remain top-sellers (especially with this year’s monochrome themes), but the colour choice for man-made stone is wide, so you can be playful with these solid, practical surfaces. Watch out for chocolate, red and yellow this autumn.

Cast concrete is a popular (and cheaper) alternative. Also versatile, it can be formed into different shapes and curves, and many different colours. The end result is pleasingly solid: This type of worktop looks stunning in black or industrial grey, teamed with a dark floor and pale-coloured or earthtoned units. Concrete, stone and composite worktops are perfect for creating curves in your kitchen (a key shape for 2007), and the smooth finish will give a sleek, modern look.

Wood is also back in style. The trend is for darker shades of oak, iroko and other hardwoods to contrast with lighter units. Wood worktops are more forgiving surfaces to work on than some glass or polished finishes.

Light is increasingly incorporated as a design feature of worktops and splash-backs. Glass – or laminate worktops with a toughened glass cover – look fabulous when illuminated from below. The sheen and reflection bring a deliciously silky feel to any kitchen counter, but beware of scratches and marks.

Sinks and taps

Where concrete, stone or composite worktops are used, the big trend is for integral, moulded sinks that don’t break up the line of the work surface. Make sure your sink is big enough for anything that won’t fit in a dishwasher. Adding an extra sink to utility space for washing or rinsing is an excellent idea. If you want something special, look out for entertainment sinks (narrow troughs that can be filled with ice to chill seafood or wine).

There is a bewildering range of high-tech taps on offer. If you do lots of washing up, opt for a professional hose spray tap that extends over the whole sink (make sure it’s a big one!). If you buy lots of bottled water, get a purification tap instead. Like tea or coffee? A boiling water tap might be just the thing… the list is endless. Whatever you choose, simple, almost industrial styles are central to this year’s look.

Harvey Jones Kitchens offer premium-quality handmade kitchens that can be painted in any colour you choose. Their designs offer unrivalled quality and exceptional value for money. Visit their showroom at 95 Western Road, Hove or call for your free brochure: 0800 032 6482

Poggenpohl worktops and sinks
£POA, www.poggenpohl.de

Period fireplaces and stoves to make your home hot

A wash-out August and sunny September may have left you somewhat seasonally maladjusted, but we’re sure that cooler evenings must be just around the corner. Nothing warms the toes or cockles quite like a roaring fire. This week, Latest Interiors checks out some fashionable fires to get those chestnuts roasting…

Como flueless gas fire, £500
www.next.co.uk

The real thing

Many Sussex properties have managed to hang on to one or two original fireplaces. Often a selling point, a well-proportioned period fireplace and surround really finish a room.

If your period home has no fireplace remaining, find out the position and style of fireplaces in neighbouring properties and try knocking on a few of your walls: you might just find the original hearth lurking behind some plasterboard, or at least be able to re-fit a working fireplace.

When re-instating or replacing fireplaces, be guided by the period of your property. You can pick up reclaimed Victorian and Edwardian pieces in markets and salvage shops. while finding replacement Deco, Nouveau or arts and crafts fireplaces is more difficult, it’s not impossible. If you can’t find the real thing, several local specialists stock reproduction pieces to suit a variety of styles, with stone, cast iron and wood surrounds, and some will make a bespoke fireplace or surround. For a contemporary look, keep it simple – ’hole-inthe-wall’ type fireplaces with no detail or surround look great and go with almost any period style. If you want your real fire to be
green(er), invest in an eco-friendly ‘logmaker’ that recycles household waste into compact, easy to burn ‘logs’.

Chiltern electric fire, £425
www.next.co.uk

Super stoves

Stoves are an economical, clean and stylish alternative to open fires. Styles vary, from quaint, period ‘potbellied’ stoves to the very sleek and modern. They can easily be adapted for use with a variety of different fuels, and their enclosed design can mean less mess and greater safety.

Brayford electric stove, £119
www.next.co.uk

Hot alternatives

If you’ve no fireplace or even chimney, you can still have a roaring fire this winter. So-called ‘living flame’ gas and electric fires have come a long way – you’d be hard-pressed to tell many of them from the real thing. Surrounds can be period or modern, and even stoves come in gas and electric varieties. The more popular designs use stones and pebbles rather than wood or coal effects. Gas and electric fires produce no smoke or waste in the home.

For something really different, check out gel fires – fume and smoke-free fires suitable for indoor or outdoor use, powered by a flammable gel. A clean, green alternative – but can you toast marshmallows on it?