We’ve done IKEA kitchens and while they’ve largely been great and just what we wanted/needed in the past, schlepping to Zagreb or beyond Trieste (the two nearest stores to us), just seemed a bit far, this time. It’s OK to do these trips to buy bedding and candles but we needed somewhere a bit closer. Somewhere where we’d get some great personal service, where the person we were dealing with could speak good English – as much as we are trying, our technical Croation/Italian isn’t that good just yet – and where we could get something a little bit different. And we found it.
Step up to the plate, the curiously named LesninaXXXL, located in Koper in Slovenia. We can get to this town in under 40 minutes – and get our regular dose of normality. Back in Manchester, we avoided places like the Trafford Centre – but in Koper, City Park, is a breath of fresh air, with reassuringly familiar shops, and some interiors stores that are a cut above what we’ve found so far. It’s a bit more expensive in Slovenia than Croatia, but still less expensive than the UK – and we’ve found, with a lot more choice – so we do hop over the border frequently. And, that’s how we came to find ourselves kitchen shopping in Slovenia. Not a phrase I ever thought I’d be saying!
We’re fans of less-is-more, unfussy and uncomplicated and probably a bit on the industrial side of design. As in, not overly polished. So concrete – and concrete effects – float our boats, and we saw this and the search was over, with plans being drawn up there & then…
With a few (!) tweaks here and there, we think we might have just achieved what we’ve been looking for kitchen-wise. Plans are done, deposit has been paid, visit has been booked in by planner just to make sure our measurements are actually correct, and we’re ready to go in January! Looking forward to our visitors next year, having a much more pleasant kitchen experience…
