Win a copy of Kitchenalia by Vinny Lee

Hands up if you have a thing for kitchens and all their cooking paraphernalia – and by thing I mean a crush that teeters on the brink of obsession. Yes, that’s mine up in the air, tightly clutching a red-and-cream thermos flask found at a car boot sale, while the other hand satisfyingly squidges the juice from a lemon on an old yellow squeezer.

If your hand is up too, this new book by Vinny Lee will definitely feed your obsession. Kitchenalia kicks off with an experiment in simple styling, taking one country-style kitchen and letting three design teams loose it on. The idea is to show how a few carefully chosen objects can transform a bland space into something special. It then takes you on a tour of different kitchen styles, moving from the retro kitchen to the utilitarian kitchen, stopping in white, painted, reclaimed, country and collectors’ kitchens along the way. The last part of the book is dedicated to ‘Kitchenalia Elements’, so all the details you can use to get the look you want – pans, crockery, storage tins, chopping boards, glassware, they’re all here.

Almost everything I prepare or cook in my kitchen involves a little bit of history and often a memory. Kitchenalia is all the things you acquire and accumulate to make your kitchen a useful and enjoyable place to be – Vinny Lee

Kitchenalia doesn’t just stick to one deco style – its pages include utilitarian, vintage and retro kitchens

This isn’t a book for people who want slick, clean, minimal kitchens, although there are glimpses of those too; Kitchenalia is designed for people who love details and objects with a history. It shows you how to use those pieces, whether they are retro gadgets, family hand-me-downs or salvaged surfaces, to bring warmth, creativity, interest and a bit of history into your kitchen. Kitchenalia doesn’t cater only to one aesthetic either, so whatever your style you’re almost guaranteed to find something among the thousands* of beautiful photographs that will inspire you. Plus it gives you a legitimate excuse to add more flea markets, vintage fairs and car boot sales to your weekend itinerary.

If you want to create a kitchen with heart and soul, this is a good place to start.

* I haven’t actually counted, but there are a LOT.

Kitchenalia: Furnishing and equipping your kitchen with flea market finds and period pieces
By Vinny Lee | Out now in Hardback | £30.00 | Published by Jacqui Small

Win a copy of Kitchenalia

We have three copies of Kitchenalia by Vinny Lee to give away. To be in with a chance of winning one, you can either email us at competitions@folksy.co.uk with the subject line “I have Kitchenalia obsessionalia” or leave a comment at the end of this post. The competition closes at midnight on Thursday 30 October and winners will be chosen at random after this date.

Please note that because this book is full of jam-packed with flea-market finds it costs a lot to send, so this competition is sadly only open to UK residents.