6 Christmas BBQ Recipes for your Christmas Barbie

One of the many awesome things about Australia is the brilliant warm weather we get over Christmas! Forget jumpers and eggnog. Australian Christmas is all about getting out in the sun and making the most of our beautiful country's weather. And what better way to celebrate an Aussie Christmas than in your own backyard with friends, family! Here are 6 Christmas BBQ recipes for your Christmas barbie...

READ last year's Christmas BBQ Ideas blog here!

1. Beer Can Chook

BBQs are typically Australian. So is beer! And a delicious Aussie chook is the best way to pair the two. It's an easy recipes that serves for and takes about 1 hour and 35 mins (with 10 minutes prep time) You'll need:

• 1 chicken
• 2 tablespoons of oil
• 2 tablespoons of salt
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper
• A squeeze of lemon
• 3 tablespoons of spiced rub of your choice
• 1 beer can

Prep the chicken as you usually would, removing all giblets inside. Wash it and pat it dry. Rub in seasoning, salt, pepper and lemon. Open the beer can and take a few big sips! The can needs to be half full.  Open the chicken legs and place the chicken around the beer can. Place chicken on the BBQ or Weber for an 1.35 hours until internal temperature reaches 73 degrees Celsius (80 degrees in the thigh) or until the juices run clear.

2. Rum and Coke Ribs

Getting a bit more Caribbean with this one. But who doesn't love sweet and sticky ribs on a barbie? Acclaimed Chef Peter Evans came up with this wicked rum and coke rubs recipe:

• 1 cup of rum
• 2 cans of Coca Cola
• 300ml of tomato sauce
• Tabasco sauce a good dash or two
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 tablespoons hoisin sauce

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl to make a marinade. Place the ribs in the bowl overnight to soak up the marinade. The net day, bake the ribs for 1.5 hours at 160 degrees Celsius. Remove from the oven and BBQ for 15 mins until they're nice and char-grilled.

3. Mustard and Citrus Prawns

This recipe by Kathie is a super impressive dish to whip up for a Christmas BBQ. BBQ prawns marinated in homemade mustard, garlic, lemon juice, basic and white wine. Ready in 1.15 hours.

• 1/2 cup (125ml) olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• juice of 1 lemon
• juice of 1 orange
• 1 teaspoon dried basil, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons white wine (optional)
• 30 uncooked tiger or king prawns, peeled and de-veined

Mix olive oil, mustard, garlic, lemon juice, orange juice, basil and white wine. Pop the prawns into a bowl and cover them with the marinade. Leave for an hour and then BBQ on high heat for 3-5 mins.

4. BBQ'd Garlic and Parmesan Asparagus

Something for the veggos. These guys only take 15 mins to prep and cook and are suitable as a side for meat eaters and vegetarians. Get as many asparagus spears as you need for your guests. Break the tough bits of the asparagus off the bottom and lay in a shallow dish. Pour a small amount of boiling water over the asparagus to cover only the bottom of the dish. Pour salt over the asparagus and place in the microwave for two minutes. Remove from the microwave and pour out the water. Then, cover in garlic, pepper, garlic salt (if you have) and Parmesan cheese. BBQ for 10 mins until char-grilled. You can also wrap them in ham if you like.

5. Haloumi Cheese

Another simple side to go with your BBQ meat. Cut up some Haloumi cheese into thick pieces and cover with olive oil, lemon, oregano and pepper. Pop on the BBQ for 10 minutes. Goes great with a salad or on skewers with some veg.

6. Shmooshed BBQ Potatoes

I don't think Christmas would feel like Christmas without potatoes. And if you're skipping the roast why not chuck them on your BBQ instead? Wash and peel as many potatoes as you need or use baby potatoes. Parboil then until they're soft. Cover them in olive oil, salt and pepper and place on the BBQ for 29 mins. Shmoosh them down to help them cook quicker (and because it's fun to do).

Revamping a Kitchen on a Budget

Do you get dollar signs in your eyes when you think about revamping your kitchen? Of course, a full revamp may be costly but there are loads of cost effective changes you can make to give your kitchen a re-fresh. If you're on a budget or only have a couple hundred dollars to spend - this blog is for you! Here are our tips and tricks for revamping a kitchen on a budget...

Put Up Some Art

A super easy way to re-fresh your kitchen on a budget is my adding some wall art. There are a lot of really sweet quotes and kitchen sayings you can dot around any empty wall space you have. Or if you want to go for a more artsy look - try a vintage poster.

Paint the Walls

Probably the most cost effective way to re-vamp your kitchen is by giving it a lick of paint. Generally kitchens aren't too 'wall heavy' which means you don't need much paint. A large tin of paint is around $100. So you could get away with a whole new look for only $100. Cut your cost down even further by painting it yourself. Keep it cool with a grey or light blue or make it pop with red, turquoise or green.

Paint the Cabinets

If you'd prefer not to paint the walls, or want to keep them neutral, paint the cabinets and/or island instead. It's a great way to add some colour to your kitchen and isn't a massive commitment if you decide you want to change it. This would also cost between $100 - $200 depending on how many cabinets you have to paint. Purchase some matching display items or crockery to complement the new cabinets.

Kitchen Pendant Lighting

If you've got an island bench - upgrade your lighting to pendant lights. Depending on the length of the island you could have three to four. Check out more kitchen lighting ideas here.

Mosaic Splashback

If you've got around $400 to spend you could add a mosaic splashback to your kitchen. It'll not only add colour and re-fresh your kitchen but it will add interest too. Go for fun and colourful or glitsy grey depending on what sort of re-fresh you're after.

Ergonomic Kitchen Design Tips

Standing on your tippy toes to reach a wine glass? Bending down too far to get a heavy pot? If you're stretching, climbing or bending in your kitchen on a regular basis you may need to look at your kitchen's ergonomics. A few design changes and product additions can improve the ergonomics of your kitchen. Here are some ergonomic kitchen design tips to get you started...

Raise the Dishwasher

The most common kitchen ergonomic blunder is the height of the dishwasher. It takes a good few minutes to pack a dishwasher, which puts strain on your back and knees. There are some awesome raised dishwasher designs, some of which are DIY. Some homeowners manage to raise the dishwasher themselves by adding a piece of plywood within a cabinet to hold the dishwasher. We'd recommend getting a plumber or carpenter in to assist you with this.

Sprung Flooring

Whether it's waiting for that pot to boil or catching up with friends or family around the kitchen island, we spend a lot of time standing in our kitchens. Spring flooring absorbs shock, giving a softer feel. Sprung floors are often used for rooms where physical activity takes place, but you can also install them in your homes too. If you spend a lot of time standing around your kitchen why not add some additional comforts: a mini herb garden, music or a book reading station.

Raise the Rangehood

If you're tall, you may be stooping down to stir at your stove. Instead of straining your neck and back, try raising the rangehood a bit higher. Rangehoods have a maximum distance allowance. Check what yours is and lift yours as high as you can to avoid strain.

Bottom Freezer Fridge

Ever pulled a heavy piece of frozen food from your top freezer and dropped it on your toes? I have. A bottom freezer fridge is more ergonomic as you can crotch down to grab what you need from the freezer. Instead of reaching up or overhead to putt it down.

Install a Wall Oven

If I had to choose one thing to correct in my kitchen, it would be the oven placement. Reaching down to pull hot stuff out of the oven is not only bad for your back, but also dangerous. If the tray is heavy and hot, there is a good chance you may drop it. A wall oven allows you to insert and remove trays of cooked food as a comfortable and natural level - not straining your back or arms.

Plan Your Storage Cupboards

Carefully plan where your kitchen items will go. Keep the lighter stuff in the higher cupboards and the heavier stuff in the bottom cupboards. Glasses and mugs should be as close to eye level as possible, so you're not stretching to get them.

Benefits of Concrete Flooring

Concrete flooring has been a trend for a few years now. But many people still see it as a cold and sterile option when it comes to using it in their homes. We reckon it's because many people just don't what can be done with concrete flooring - let alone what the benefits are! So this blog post reveals the benefits of concrete flooring and just how beautiful it is...

Low Maintenance

Concrete flooring only needs to be cleaned once a week and doesn't require any fancy household cleaners to do the job! You can mop your concrete floors once a week with some warm, soapy water. We recommend using a sweeper or dust mop before mopping the floor. Make sure the soap is completely mopped away so it doesn't leave marks or stick to the floor.

Beautiful Designs

With the right techniques and finished, concrete flooring goes from boring to beautiful! Dyes can be added to concrete for colouring. From red through to olive green, brown and gold - polished concrete can be dyed to suit your kitchen or office's design style.

Sustainable

Seeing as most houses have a concrete sub-floor, it’s possible to simply remove what ever is above that and make use of that as your flooring. If you do this, you're not using up any new materials and your new floor doesn't have to pass any regulation tests.

Timeless

 Concrete flooring won't go out of date. It's simplicity suits so many different design styles that it has really stood the test of time. Home owners dress their concrete flooring up or down with rugs or furnishings as they need to if a trend changes, but the appeal of the concrete flooring beneath remains the same. Looking for more kitchen flooring options? Check out another blog here to see what else is out there! Or get in touch with us today to find out about polished concrete for your kitchen.

Outdoor Office Tips and Ideas

We live in a day and age where technology and internet allows us to work from anywhere in the world! As the demand for jobs that allow us to work from home increases, so does our need for tips and ideas for home offices. If you work from home and are looking for some inspiration for your home office - look no further! Here are some outdoor office tips and ideas for you...

The Garden Shed or Playhouse

If you're set on taking your work outdoors into the fresh air but don't want to build a space especially for it - try using your garden shed or playhouse. Many garden sheds store stuff we don't need or could re-locate elsewhere. Turn your garden shed into an outdoor office after a good clean, lick of paint and furniture set up.

The Intentional Office

If you're committed to working outside regularly and actually want to be outdoors, you can build some build or purchase furniture specifically for work. Build or buy a desk and table (make sure it's waterproofed!) and chuck up a canopy if you need the shade. You can purchase retractable and custom made canopies according to your space and needs. This office works well against a wall where you can pin up some art of white boards for inspiration or planning!

The Bare Necessities

There are a lot of awesome outdoor office ideas out there. But if you just want to work outside - it's as easy and setting yourself up with a laptop, notepad and pen on your patio or garden table. We suggest getting an anti-glare screen so you can see your screen outside.

Outdoor Office Tips

• Furniture: Think about what you'll be doing out there so you can work our what furniture or equipment is essential.

• Electricity: If your shed is close enough to home, you might be able to get away with using a power cable from your home. This can, however be hazardous. We recommend investing in a power generator. You can purchase these online or in store from places like My Generator or Adelaide Tools. Consider how much power you'll need before purchasing your generator.

• Internet: Check the internet reception from your home modem before jumping into setting up your office. Or contact you service provider to find out if a separate line can be set up in your outdoor office.

• Ventilation: If you've opted for a garden shed office, make sure you keep the windows or door open to let enough fresh air in!

• Heating: Invest in a heater for winter. Or as a more cost effective option - rug up in jumpers and blankets. Remember to turn your heater off before you leave your office for the day!

• Lighting: This is a tricky one to manage as the natural light will adjust throughout the day. To keep lighting consistent in your home office, purchase solar powered lights that can be fixed to your outdoor office. Alternatively, if you are happy working in natural light and adjusting accordingly, cut out a sky light in the office ceiling.

If you want an outdoor office, we can help build custom outdoor furniture according to your needs, space and budget. Contact us today for a quote.

Kitchen Lighting Ideas

Lighting design. It's a thing! Lighting designers help ensure that your home is lit up where it needs to be. Lighting needs to be carefully selected and placed according to the atmosphere or the room as well as the tasks or activities you'll complete there. Thinking of re-lighting your kitchen but not sure where to start? Here's some kitchen lighting ideas to put you in the right direction...

Recessed Lights

Probably the most common and cost effective, recessed lights sit nice and flush against the ceiling or above your work space. They're relatively versatile if you install a dimmer switch. That way you can adjust the lighting as you need.

PROS:

• No fixtures required.
• Get full coverage in your kitchen.
• They're completely trend proof.

CONS:

• They're inflexible unless they have a dinner switch.
• If they do have a dimmer switch it usually dims all the lights not selected ones. You may want to keep some brighter than others.

Pendant Lights

Pendant lights are super trendy and really versatile. They're a great way to achieve a modern, contemporary look but can also look more traditional if you need them too. There are loads of different styles to choose from so if you're keen on pendant lighting you'll definitely be able to find ones to suit your kitchen no matter what style it has.

PROS:

• A great way to make your kitchen look hip and trendy.
• Provides beautiful soft lighting that creates a calming ambience in the kitchen.
• Versatile styles to suit most kitchens.

CONS:

• They can get dusty and require frequency cleaning (inside and out).
• If not installed properly they can swing around or hang too low that it becomes a hazard.
• Only offers pools of lighting in the direction it faces (mostly down and slightly to the sides) which isn't great if you're looking to light up a work space.

Lighting Design Tip: Choose lights that will complement your kitchen design and colour scheme. Carefully select the brightness of the bulbs to create the atmosphere you want (ie: avoid large lighting with big bulbs if you want to keep your kitchen intimate and cosy.

Chandeliers

If you're looking to dress up a kitchen, a chandelier is the one of the many ways to do it. The pros and cons are much the same as the pendant lighting. The main difference is that a chandelier is generally quite delegate. Accidents happen in every household (especially if you're a clumsy cook like me!) so if you want a chandelier but are precious about potential damage I'd give it a skip. They are also a bit of a nightmare to keep dust free. Chandeliers used to be seen in more elegant looking kitchens . In recent years however some brilliant modern chandeliers have reached the market!

Track Lighting

Track lighting is better suited to trendy lofts or bachelor pads.

PROS:

• Easy to install and wire without an electrician (we're not recommending this, but this is the feedback we've received!)
• A good way to highlight certain areas of your kitchen. If you've got an artsy kitchen and want to highlight a vintage poster or paining you can set up your lighting to bring the poster to life.
• You can move the light around if you need to (unlike recessed lighting).

CONS:

• Track lighting tends not to lend itself to ambient lighting. For more ambient lighting we'd suggest a pendant light.
• The ceiling may look a bit cluttered. They need to be dusted off regularly too.
• They not very versatile from a design perspective.

Combination

In some cases you can do a combination of lighting styles. Check out the image below that pulls off recessed and pendant lights.

Hidden Fridges

I've worked with a few clients who want a hidden fridge. Why? Some people believe it ruins the aesthetics of a kitchen. Others have old appliances in a modern kitchen they want hidden away.  Some people just reckon hardware appliances shouldn't be seen.  Whatever the reason - this blog showcases a couple different ways you can hide the fridge in your kitchen.

Cooler drawer

Disguise your fridge as just another drawer in your kitchen. Drawer coolers are great for water, cheeses, snacks and the smaller things that would usually go in a bulky fridge. Price range varies from $1,500 - $2,800 depending on brand, size and design. The drawer featured in this image is from Fisher & Paykel and can be found on Appliances Online. Some of these cool drawers are multi-temperatured - they cn have up to five temperature settings depending on what you want to put in there. Freezer, chill ,wine and pantry are just some of the modes these drawers can be set to allowing you full flexibility to use your drawer how you want!

Cooler cabinets

If you're single or a couple, a small hidden fridge can be integrated into one of your kitchen cabinets. Bear in mind that the space will need to be specially prepared for a fridge to go in as it needs to have the right level of ventilation so it doesn't overheat. There are some 'how to' guides out there on how to fix a fridge into a cabinet base if you fancy giving it a go!

Wine/ drink coolers

There's a lot of awesome, sleek wine cooling fridges and these are our favourite kind of hidden fridge! These fridges work well in your outdoor or indoor kitchen. Like the cooler drawer they come in single or multi temp with the single temp fridges coming in at around $1,500 and multi temp between $1,800 and $3,500 for something top of the range.

Integrated hidden fridges

If you're looking for a family sized fridge that will fit seamlessly in your kitchen there are some incredible hidden fridges to look at! An integrated fridge is designed to specifically be hidden. They have smooth lines and perfect symmetry to ensure this.

Standalone cabinet fridge

If you'd like a hidden fridge in your kitchen without the hassle of re-designing or re-building you can buy these really neat standalone cabinet fridges. Some are portable, some are fixed, but either way these standalone cabinets are a good place to start if you want a hidden fridge in your kitchen.

Pantry Storage Pros and Cons

We all aim to have a super organised kitchens, but it's not always easy to do - especially your pantry. So we've come up with five pantry storage systems and their pros and cons to help you get your kitchen organised :)

1. Shelves

Pros: Adding shelving to your kitchen is pretty easy and cost effective. Generally there's a lot of flexibility with shelf depth and width too.

Cons: If the shelves are too deep and not U-shaped it can be frustrating to reach back and pull out several items before you get what you need!

2. Pull out drawers

Pros: Easy to install and generally flexible in size and height.

Cons: Weight restrictions, runners getting stuck, depth variety and needing to pack the shelves specifically to get everything to fit are just four cons that we came up with for pull out drawers.

3. Pull out baskets

Pros: Commonly used to store vegetables. Easy to clean/require minimal cleaning. Create the illusion of space and are cost effective. They also come in a range of materials from stainless steel to plastic or coated steel.

Cons: Don't allow for as much customisation as other shelving types.

4. Stand alone baskets

Pros: Super easy and affordable to 'install'. They come in all different shapes, sizes and materials (plastic, wicker, plastic, steel, etc.) Great if you want to achieve a traditional or boho kitchen look.

Cons: Can be hard to clean (if you've chosen to go with the wicker option). Can be tricky to maintain as kitchen items need to be packed a certain way to ensure they fit into the space. Can be dangerous  if you have little kiddies around who may pull the drawers down as they aren't fixed.

5. Combination systems

There's no rules here! Pick and choose a mix of shelving/storage systems depending on your personal needs, requirements and/or style. Use wicker baskets for tea, coffee and cereal, pull out drawers for your pots and pans and shelves for your food and groceries.