A Giant Fancy Kitchen— our DIY remodel, using repurposed antiques! *video*
Once upon a time, there was a kitchen…
The kitchen was in a falling-down old house.
A woman lived in the falling-down house.
She loved old broken garbage, and other fancy things.
I mean… she REALLY loved it.
Like… it was her *MOST ABSOLUTE FAVORITE.*
A man lived in the house, too.
He also had some favorite things.
The man’s favorite things were marching-at-dawn, and spending-no-money.
The man said— today we will march to the cabinet store and get cabinets and the kitchen will be finished in three days.
The woman was like…
…
…
…
lol.
The woman had a different idea.
A most-tremendous idea.
She said— WHAT IF:
We make a kitchen out of *magic.*
And.
Glorious wonder.
AND.
FREE STUFF I FIND ON CRAIGSLIST.
The man was like— WOW.
That sounds totally amazeballs.
No.
I’m lying.
The man did not think it was totally amazeballs.
Not at all.
The man thought it was NEGATIVE amazeballs.
Illegal, even.
He said— total disaster idiocy.
But.
The thing is:
The man didn’t have a choice.
He HAD to do the total disaster idiocy; because the woman had spoken aloud, the idiocy-forcing-spell-binding-sorcery-incantation:
FREE.
So the man was like— fine… but it definitely absolutely is not possibly going to be anything like you imagine… unless what you are imagining is a pile of flaming garbage.
Then the man made exactly what the woman wanted; which made him really super mad, because it definitely ABSOLUTELY could NOT be done.
The woman was like— I told you it was easy.
Now it is time for a video— the entire project, start to finish; it’s my favorite thing I’ve ever made, I hope you enjoy it!!
Two tips: make the video full screen (4 arrows in corner of video), AND turn up the brightness on your device! You’ll see more detail!
The song is Dive Bomber, Rob Rio.
Here are some links:
Index/search all 115 kitchen posts– the answer to any question is somewhere in there!!
Original kitchen, before remodel.
Posts with video.
Antique FREE grand piano repurposed into kitchen island.
Giant mirror on wall.
Gilt sconces.
A post illustrating the man’s love of spending no money.
Another post illustrating the man’s love of spending no money.
Building our DIY kitchen cabinets– with EXTRA deep countertops, LOVE THEM!
My first (and still favorite kitchen inspiration)– Pilar Guzman’s kitchen.
A checklist for your next remodel– all of my obsessive kitchen research.
My custom sink design– I wanted to use ALL of the available space!
Wall ovens that are ALSO the microwave– why have two boxes?
My first post about induction cooking– I’d used gas forever and had no idea what induction was…Our trip to see the totally-hidden-in-counter induction units– I updated this post, at the bottom with our final choices.
AND.
The Kingdom Mirror– if you are going to read any of my posts, it should really be this one.
November 30, 2022 @ 12:16 pm
Truly the most glorious thing I have ever witnessed, except for perhaps the birth of my child. Just wonderful – kudos to you both!
November 30, 2022 @ 12:22 pm
So glad you are back! This made my day. The kitchen is beyond beautiful.
November 30, 2022 @ 12:23 pm
Absolutely love!! Creativity and beyond!!❤️
November 30, 2022 @ 12:23 pm
Fantastic, I love it! Please keep posting regularly!
November 30, 2022 @ 12:25 pm
Victoria – have you ever considered an YouTube channel? I would be your first subscriber!
November 30, 2022 @ 12:26 pm
I JUST WANT TO DANCE AND HOLD A CAT! MADE MY DAY. THANKS.
November 30, 2022 @ 12:27 pm
This is so incredible!!! I think I love the kitties the most though. I am curious though, where do you store all the stuff? Do you have a pantry, or a storage cupboard hiding somewhere? Because you must have some GFS (giant fancy stuff!) And again, thank you so much for updating us. I have wondered about you so often and hoped that all was well!
November 30, 2022 @ 12:28 pm
OMG I have thought of you and this kitchen often since the pandemic!! So happy you are back. It looks amazing!!!!! Elegancy and all his racoons friends would happily prepare food here!
November 30, 2022 @ 12:29 pm
Congratulations to you both and thank you for taking us along on this incredible project. I especially like that you showed the kitchen “in action” with washing the veggies and cooking, because I really wasn’t getting the rack over the sink. Beautiful job – I hope you’ll enjoy it for many, many happy years!
November 30, 2022 @ 12:30 pm
I have now watched this about four times. The last time I made my husband watch, too. We are so impressed!
Words are inadequate to tell you how fabulous this is! It really should be required as a case study for anyone who studies design.
November 30, 2022 @ 12:31 pm
I knew it would be glorious, and it is!
November 30, 2022 @ 12:31 pm
PLEASE START a you tube channel!
November 30, 2022 @ 12:36 pm
I was at a dinner party a few weeks ago, talking about your induction stovetop journey. Like Nisha, I’m sure I gave the impression that we are all close friends. 🙂 Your kitchen is absolutely gorgeous and I am a bit gobsmacked at how it turned out. Just wondering though…did you buy a shiny brass faucet and age it and, if so, how did you do it? I have a similar brass bridge faucet in my basement that is just waiting for my own remodel. It’s not too shiny but I prefer the patina on yours. Anyway, missed you…great to get an update! Now I have conversation fodder for my next dinner party!
November 30, 2022 @ 12:36 pm
Your kitchen turned out even better than I envisioned! I have missed your updates! I should be embarrassed to admit how many times I have viewed your blog in the past months just to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. I was afraid that maybe I had dropped off the email notifications somehow. I am so glad you (and Paul, and the kitties) are back!
November 30, 2022 @ 12:37 pm
Delightful. Utterly.
November 30, 2022 @ 12:37 pm
Oh, GOD, I have missed you!!!
November 30, 2022 @ 12:38 pm
Exquisite! A true show stopper! I expect to see your kitchen in some magazines. One question……How did you get electricity to the cooktop? You must have carved a channel up one of the legs for a conduit?
November 30, 2022 @ 12:38 pm
What an unbelievably LOVELY kitchen!! I watched many many months ago when you had just come into ownership of the grand piano. I read a few blog posts on your in-depth research on induction cook tops. This post just popped up in my email and was so wonderful to see the final completed project! So gorgeous and the video is perfect!!!! Beautiful design that I’m sure you will love spending all your time in!
November 30, 2022 @ 12:38 pm
Beautiful! Everything is absolutely stunning! Please tell me where you got your large blue and white bowls on your counters. Thanks so much!
November 30, 2022 @ 12:39 pm
I am so thrilled to have you back. You have been sorely missed. And the kitchen is wonderful. I’m now looking forward to your next project.