I am very in to design and I really like the things I have to look good but of course they also need to be practical. I have been seduced before by products that look beautiful but do not do what they are supposed to.
I am a big fan of Alessi and I am lucky enough to own a few of their products but they aren't cheap so I usually save and buy them for myself or receive them for gifts at Christmas etc.
I have been wanting an Alessi kettle for a long time but I could never justify buying one when I already had a perfectly good electric kettle so I was absolutely thrilled to receive this one as a housewarming gift from my aunt when I recently moved into my new house.

First of all this is not an electric kettle but one that you put on the cooker. I have a gas cooker but apparently it works just as well with electric and ceramic hobs.
The kettle is absolutely stunning and really is like a piece of art in its own right. It is a quite traditional shape but it has some really modern elements to it. It is made of stainless steel and the handle has an ivory coloured covering but the most distinctive thing about this kettle is the fact that the spout has a bird shaped whistle covering it that looks as though it is flying from the spout.

The kettle is surprisingly light but feels really solid, you don't feel like it will break if you put it down too hard. To fill it you there is a lid on top that you remove, I am usually really lazy when it comes to filling the kettle and usually just put the spout under the tap which gets water everywhere but with the whistle covering the spout it forces me to fill it properly.
On the gas the kettle takes hardly any time to come to the boil and is probably on a par with my electric one. The water capacity is 2 litres which is just a little less than my current electric one.
The whistle is really quite loud and I personally love the noise it makes as it always gives me a real feeling of nostalgia.

When I first got the kettle I did use it all the time but after a couple of weeks I started using my electric kettle again most of the time. I'm not really sure why as this kettle is just as fast and easy but I think psychology I feel as though the hob kettle is more effort. I do use it now when I have friends round for coffee and I prepare a caffitiere on a tray and I love the feeling of it being more of an occasion instead of just putting on the electric kettle and making instant coffee.

You do have to be careful with filling the kettle, if you don't put enough water in the kettle the whistle will not work but if you over fill then the boiling water can damage the whistle.
I love my Alessi kettle but it is expensive currently retailing for around the 90 pound mark and if I hadn't received it as a gift I'm not sure I would have paid that for it but it is an absolutely stunning piece of design that will look great in any kitchen and add a little bit of style and pizazz to any home.