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'I'd rather party than polish'
CLEANING GURU AGGIE MACKENZIE HATES SCRUBBING HER OWN KITCHEN — SO SHE PAYS SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT
With two lively sons, and their rabble of friends, you’d think Aggie MacKenzie would have her work cut out clearing up after them.
But despite imparting housekeeping tips to the nation with co-star Kim Woodburn in TV’s How Clean Is Your House?, Aggie’s cleaner is the one wearing the marigolds.
“My kitchen is party central thanks to Rory, who’s 16, Ewan, 12, and their friends,” she says. “But luckily I have a cleaner.
“Despite what people think, I really don’t like spending all day vacuuming and dusting.
"But I do enjoy jobs like cleaning the white rubber tiles on the kitchen floor.
"They’d become black but the other week I used a cleaning product called Barkeeper’s Friend on them and they came up as good as new."
"That kind of cleaning I find very satisfying!”
The floor gets filthy because the kitchen is the heart of Aggie’s home.
“It’s got everything I need apart from my bed,” she laughs.
“I love having people round, and this room is so big, it’s the perfect place.
"Everything happens around the table. I sit with friends and gossip over a big dinner, a glass of wine, or coffee and cakes.
"I love cooking but have everything ready in advance, because once I have a glass in my hand, I get distracted and my husband Matthew has to take over!”
Aggie, 54, and architect Matthew, 55, bought the three-storey, five-bedroom terraced house in Stoke Newington, north London, 10 years ago. They knocked down several walls to create Aggie’s enormous, airy kitchen.
A wooden conservatory, with a huge French window, was added so Aggie’s summer cocktail parties could spill into the garden.
The contemporary birch kitchen units and stainless steel work surfaces reflect Aggie’s simple, clean style, as do the neutral colours and furnishings used throughout the house.
“I don’t like lots of patterns and prefer calming neutral shades,” she says. “The people inside bring the colour.”
1. WOOD-BURNING STOVE “It's loely to light this stove in the winter - it makes a great focus point. I bake apples and potatoes in it. It's by a Danish company, Scan.”
2. TABLE “My husband Matthew designed this and our builders made it, using a table base we bought from Habitat.”
3. CHAIRS “These Wishbone chairs are by Danish designer Hans Wegner. I got them from The Conran Shop
(Conran.com). The pendant lamp above is also by Wegner.”
AGGIES'S STYLE TIPS
* Keep clutter to a minimum so your eye is drawn to stylish furniture or artwork. I keep gadgets like toasters and blenders hidden in cupboards so the place looks tidy.
* Paint just one wall with colour in each room. Leave the other walls cream or neutral.
* In Victorian houses, plate racks are great for storing clutter and keeping everything off the floor.
Words: Vicki Grimshaw; Compiled by Sally Gillam; Photography: Lancton; Hair and Make-Up: Caroline Piasecki at Time Agency
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ANNA RYDER RICHARDSON (FEBRUARY 03)
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