Ok I’m cheating a little bit because Elly and I have been friends for far too many years, its got to over 10 years so I’m not counting anymore!! Elly runs the vegan food business ‘That Old Chestnut’ and does a bloody good job of keeping the cafes and faces of the Leeds area packed with the best vegan cakes you’ll eat. Elly bakes all of her cakes at home and when she was looking for a new home after uni and she saw this place, the size and character of the kitchen were perfect attributes that meant this house was fit for the challenge.
Starting out in your first proper house is a challenge and Elly and her boyfriend Stephen have made a great start and a wise decision. The house is packed with unusual architectural features like Victorian Ceramic floor tiles in the hallway, a big heavy imposing fireplace and plaster coving. The kitchen too is just as striking and has stable divisions, bare red brick, white and blue patterned tiles and a floor which is an obstacle for dancing! Its uneven and has a stone gully running through it but it is an extension into the former stable. The mix of old, new, fun, funky and traditional is a joy to behold and the house has a warmth and atmosphere most people strive to achieve. The bargain red Habitat sofa is the purchase most couples pray for in their first house together.
I spoke with Elly and asked her about what makes her house a home…
the characterful kitchen
1) What is your favourite room and why? That would have to be my kitchen. It is full of character – an extension to the rest of the house which was once an old stable for the horse of the chappy who ran a nearby quarry/mine. (So that is what my neighbours say!) Stone floor, tiled walls (from floor to ceiling) old lantern lights. wooden work surfaces, stone window ledges, belfast sink! nice large oven and cooker top too. and i think it is my favourite as i spend most of my time in it!
sideboard on the left
2) What is your favourite belonging? Do you have a sense of why that is? That is a tricky question. I love my kenwood chef, but I think what adds to the kitchen is an old side board we were given, which has been in my boyfriends family for a good while. I just love the style of it, the colour of the wood, the small mirror on the back (maybe for a small person!) It is where i carry out most of my icing, as it is a perfect height, plus i think as it is a piece of furniture i like i find it very relaxing to work on, as icing needs quite abit of patience! it is also great for photographing products as you get natural light from the window behind and can reflect your product in the little mirror too!
3) How much work have you done yourself in your house? Have you had people in to do anything? I rent the property so I haven’t carried out any work on the property – I have added my personal belongings to the house. I like a house to feel like a home.
4) In an ideal world (money no problem) what changes would you make to your home? I would add more worktop surface under some cupboards which are on a wall opposite main working area and also running underneath a shelving unit which is on an adjacent wall. I like to have space! I prefer items which are used on a regular basis to have a home out of a box or cupboard, it makes things much easier and it means everything has a place – so when you are using said items your work surfaces aren’t instantly cluttered! I think I would even the floor too as when you enter it is tiled and then half way along there is a little step and it is stone. I think it would all be stone and plus the work surface is a little higher where the floor is just tiled – so that would solve that problem too! I would like an electric oven and gas stove. at the moment it is all gas, this is the first house i have lived in with all gas. I am not a huge fan of the gas oven, i find electric much more reliable for consistency of baking and peace of mind! I have sussed it out though – but it is on my wish list! also a dishwasher would be amazing! I think it would be much more economical too. Also to carry on the old style of the house and kitchen I would love one of those airer racks that hang from the ceiling. as the kitchen gets so warm when baking! and my clothes would smell of cake! which would be far better than onions! I would also remove the radiators too – as the kitchen is so warm from the oven that it doesnt need them and i love them in the rest of the house, big old victorian cast iron radiators. they keep their heat really well and add something extra to the house.
5) What will be your next purchase? I think that would be a pizza/bread stone. I enjoy making both and once lived with someone who owned one and it makes your pizza taste amazing! I have baked a number of pizzas in a cob oven at a local environment centre i volunteered at, although it wont be quite the same it would add the ‘stonebaked’ flavour that i love from the cob oven. I am not sure where I will buy it from yet but here is a picture.
6) Where do you like to shop? I get most of my ingredients for life! from Lembas! Lembas is a wholefoods cooperative based in Sheffield, it is lethal looking at their catalogue! so much stuff i could order! I get flour, sugar, oats, marg, grains, beans, pulses, nut and seed spreads, spices, muesli, cleaning products, the list could go on! I buy most of my kitchen wares from TK Maxx, they stock some good stuff and I also enjoy going to Peter Maturi’s to support a local shop. I got all my icing equipment from there. I love to shop at Leeds Kirkgate market too, for the business I source fresh fruit and veg from the usual guys! also a spice shop i use inside for fresh herbs and nuts, seeds and dried fruit are bought from the nut shop. I like to support the local and independent businesses. I think it is important. They are also, like me, trying to make a bob or two. I would much rather my money went there than to high street shops.
7) Who or what inspires the creative decisions you make at home and are they discussed with anyone? Things are discussed with my boyfriend, Stephen, we both like natural materials and the ‘rustic’ look and feel. We like things to have a use and purpose too! I guess going back to basic materials which are sustainable and environmentally friendly is where we take our inspiration.
Me & Me House is a new regular feature about how people live in their homes, contact me:
livliketheboy(@)hotmail.co.uk if you would like to share your home.
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sideboard on the left
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the characterful kitchen
Ok I’m cheating a little bit because Elly and I have been friends for far too many years, its got to over 10 years so I’m not counting anymore!! Elly runs the vegan food business ‘That Old Chestnut’ and does a bloody good job of keeping the cafes and faces of the Leeds area packed with the best vegan cakes you’ll eat. Elly bakes all of her cakes at home and when she was looking for a new home after uni and she saw this place, the size and character of the kitchen were perfect attributes that meant this house was fit for the challenge.
Starting out in your first proper house is a challenge and Elly and her boyfriend Stephen have made a great start and a wise decision. The house is packed with unusual architectural features like Victorian Ceramic floor tiles in the hallway, a big heavy imposing fireplace and plaster coving. The kitchen too is just as striking and has stable divisions, bare red brick, white and blue patterned tiles and a floor which is an obstacle for dancing! Its uneven and has a stone gully running through it but it is an extension into the former stable. The mix of old, new, fun, funky and traditional is a joy to behold and the house has a warmth and atmosphere most people strive to achieve. The bargain red Habitat sofa is the purchase most couples pray for in their first house together.
5) What will be your next purchase? I think that would be a pizza/bread stone. I enjoy making both and once lived with someone who owned one and it makes your pizza taste amazing! I have baked a number of pizzas in a cob oven at a local environment centre i volunteered at, although it wont be quite the same it would add the ‘stonebaked’ flavour that i love from the cob oven. I am not sure where I will buy it from yet but here is a picture. 
