Interior design colour tips to create your own Aga stove heaven
Are you confident with colour or a bit uncertain where creative interior design is concerned? If you’re less than fluent in putting colours together effectively, trying to crowbar an Aga stove into the design picture can feel like a serious challenge. Here’s some tips to help you colour your kitchen world beautifully… with extra je ne sais quoi!
Rayburns and gas Agas, electric and solid fuel versions all come in a choice of luscious, jewel-like tones. You can’t go far wrong with black, cream, classic white and pearl ashes, a very pale grey. They’ll ‘go’ with any wall colour you choose. Pick a smart scheme in severe black and white with a checked linoleum floor for a contemporary take on a traditional, very simple theme. Or take it to a different level altogether. Add one black Aga, paint your skirting boards and woodwork with black gloss and make your walls tangerine orange or tomato red. Add Japanese ornaments and scatter plants around for a sophisticated eastern feel.
Heather and aubergine are both utterly delicious. And they’re both stars in the latest Aga collection. Have fun with these rich, vibrant purples by teaming them with toning or contrasting walls. Cover a feature wall with funky wallpaper in lime green for a fresh, lively look. Create a calm kitchen haven with warm, dove grey paintwork, adding pizazz with bright orange velvet curtains.
The classic British Racing Green and claret Aga and Rayburn give you the perfect opportunity to bring warm, traditional charm to the most important room in your home. Both are deep and warm, suggesting buttery cream paintwork reminiscent of a spotless, fragrant Victorian dairy. And the pistachio and duck egg blue versions look stunning against walls painted one of those beautiful, grungy French olive greens or greys that are so popular right now. A cool, calm base to which you can add bright, bold fabrics and accessories.
If you come unstuck or get scared, pop down to your nearest DIY store and check out their wallpapers. If you use the same colours in your paintwork, you can’t go far wrong. Interior design magazines are always a good bet for inspiration. As are your favourite clothes. There’s no reason why you can’t use the colour combinations you love in your clothing on your walls and floors.
The best thing about paint is that – unless you push the boat out with Farrow & Ball or whatever – it’s comparatively cheap. If you don’t like the results, repaint it. It shouldn’t take you more than a day to re-do an average-sized room.
Rayburns and the Aga stove – What about when there’s a heat wave?
When they think about a range cooker most people imagine Rayburns keeping the home beautifully warm on the coldest winter’s day. A gorgeous, constant heat that keeps everyone cosy and comfortable even when there’s a blizzard outside. The same goes for Aga stoves. They’re known for providing warmth. And lots of it. But what happens in the summer when there’s a heat wave and the last thing you need is an appliance that chucks out masses of spare hot air?
Yes, the oil Aga and all the other fuel versions do give off a constant amount of heat. But it’s minimal. An ordinary cooker, on the other hand, shoves out a great deal more heat when it’s in full use, say when baking bread or creating an elaborate meal. In fact the Aga only gives off 3,000 BTU an hour. That’s roughly the same as ten 100W light bulbs, which is in turn about the same as just one ordinary gas hot plate burner.
The heat can build up a little when you’re in a small room with the windows shut, just like it can with any cooker or heating appliance. So open a window. You only need to create a gentle draught to prevent build-up.
When you’re cooking using the Rayburn or Aga oven, you keep the hot plate lids down. Because they’re insulated, they keep the heat in, so very little escapes. When you’re using the hot plates most of the heat transfers by conduction from the plates to the bottom of your pans. They give off a little radiated heat but, in fact, even when you use multiple hot plates at once it gives off (and wastes) much less heat than four ordinary gas rings.
When it’s hot outdoors you can turn your oven down a bit. It might take slightly longer to cook food but many of us don’t eat as many hot meals in the summer anyway. We go the salad route!
It appears overheating in summer isn’t an issue for most range cooker owners. When you’re home your doors and windows are open, you’re letting a load of fresh air in and any heat in your kitchen escapes without causing stuffiness. Just one useful tip. If you’re the proud owner of an air conditioning unit, which are becoming more common in the UK as our summers get warmer and drier, position the vent next to your range for lower Aga or Rayburn running costs.
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