One last hurrah… giving up a repurposed kitchen design.
Since the beginning of time, I have been shilling an unconventional/repurposed kitchen with all the zeal of a late-night infomercial.
And for all of that time, Paul’s feeling has been that if we just nail together architectural salvage for the sake of nailing together architectural salvage, what we will get is nailed together architectural salvage.
And for the exact same amount of time, my response has been: Giant Fancy Things are out there… WHY NOT NAIL THEM TOGETHER AND SEE WHAT WE GET?
Every conversation we’ve had about this idea has ended with Paul assuring me that the end result will look crappy and homemade.
And me trying to tell him I am fine with that because it will be crappy FANCINESS THAT IS OLD.
But without a real visual tool, I could hear how I sounded:
Then we will find this thing, and that thing, and then we will cut the things in half, and then we will hang half the thing here, and half the thing there, and use the middle of the thing over there.
So I made these faux-kitchens to SHOW him that I had a clear, specific plan… Not that the plan is executable – but it EXISTS… To me, this is basically the same.
When I showed the mockup to Paul, I asked him – does this appeal to you in THEORY? I mean, I understand there are a lot of variables. But does the hypothesis appeal to you?
And Paul said – no… Finding any piece of furniture that is an exact fit is going to be impossible. Then it is going to be up to me to retrofit it. THEN not one single piece will be perfectly level. Then cutting into furniture and keeping the stability and integrity to support the counter. Then matching veneer, stain, patina of the wood… It’s madness.
We have had this conversation at least 57,000 times. The first 56,999 times, the conversation was a prelude to me going out and buying some piece of craigslist crap that is now stored in the garage.
I would have blogged about them, but generally, immediately after bringing them home I found that Paul was right after all… (But that I was also right; because now they are mine, and no one else will be able to have them.)
Now for some life-hodgepodge… over the last few weeks, we spent vacation at the beach with Elvis, my parents, and my brothers and their significant others… came home and did the 19 loads of laundry mysteriously generated by two people in one week of vacation… picked the 50 pounds of cucumbers that grew in seven days, finished an enormously stressful work project, took Elvis to chemo, picked another 50 pounds of tomatoes, froze 10 vats of pesto, (which grinds down to nothing,)… and informed Paul that all tomatoes other than Brandywine are nonsense, and his feelings about getting an earlier crop will be disregarded next year.
We also had our eleven-year wedding anniversary, (watch our wedding recap,) and Lara got married… which I ended up going to alone, because for my own sanity, someone had to be with Elvis, and even though my mother volunteered to come stay with her the days we were gone, A— I only trust Paul to be able to give her the pills. And B— I don’t want Elvis’s routine disturbed.
On top of everything, I was in this wedding, and the weeks leading up to it had a lot of bridesmaid-dress-drama that would be unbelievable as fiction… summation: I didn’t have an actual dress until two days before I left.
You can see some of that on Instagram.
Anyway… normal life chaos should resume now, and my absence here is over. This post is supposed to convey that I am saying goodbye to a repurposed kitchen option and we are going to do traditional cabinets around the exterior walls.
It is hard for me to say goodbye to the possibility of GFT’s and the certainty that one day I will go to Craigslist and THERE IT WILL BE. (Which will obviously happen the exact day our cabinet order is finalized and non-refundable.)
But the time for making decisions has come and gone… And an arrangement of repurposed materials has failed to coalesce.
You can stop reading now… nothing else interesting is going to happen. I’m just going to write a bunch of words about what we are NOT doing.
There are plenty of problems with these mockups, but the biggest one is that none of these base cabinets exist.
I mean, I have SEEN plenty of antique sideboards. But none of them have actually been the right size where you could cut off either end and have the side-pieces fit the space perfectly… not to mention also being magically the right height for the countertop.
Aside from the slight problem of zero materials that fit in the space, the second issue with doing anything nontraditional around the perimeter is:
A – how do you connect the two walls? Are they two separate kitchen areas?
B – assuming the sink and stove area must be separated because how can you wrap an antique buffet around a corner… you are losing a lot of counter space.
But forcing the sink wall to be unconnected to any other counter space would have given me the option of using this vintage, standalone sink.
$25 is a crazy good price, and this was a rare instance when I was GLAD some Craigslister beat me to it… I would have been compelled to drive far to get a sink that I really have no use for, just because the price was so good.
Vintage apron-fronts with a centered basin are expensive, depending on condition. Here is one on eBay for over $2,000. (Even more rare is a double-basin and double-drainboard sink.)
Okay, random end to post… I hope you all are enjoying the last bit of summer!
September 17, 2015 @ 10:49 am
Have you considered Green Demolitions?
A site that pulls out salvaged kitchens – sometimes from fancy mansions – and resells them? Some of the package deals when they throw in the high end appliances turn out to be a good deal. And they say they negotiate – no offer turned down.
http://greendemolitions.com/product/southampton-sky/
September 17, 2015 @ 10:56 am
Drats! I have been hoping to hear that you moved the window on your sink side so you could put that beautiful beast of a wardrobe in there!! Then there’s those doors! Have you thought about just building a new house around all the “stuff” you have found? Then it would fit perfectly. Prayers for Elvis and y’all. Spend your days holding her. I hope you’re keeping the piano! Otherwise I am coming after it and yes I think I can make it fir in my kitchen.
September 17, 2015 @ 10:57 am
Have I missed something? Are you ever going to show us the piano island finished? Have you gotten a counter top on it? I’ve been anxiously awaiting for this reveal…… I can’t take it much longer!
September 17, 2015 @ 10:58 am
Waiting not awaiting… I hate auto fill!
September 17, 2015 @ 1:57 pm
I liked “awaiting”. Made you seem like an escapee from a Jane Austen book.
September 17, 2015 @ 11:02 am
You may already know this but there is a place in New Bedford MA that collects and stores vintage home goods (like claw foot tubs, etc). They are interested in reuse so it might be worth a road trip sometime??? It is called New England Demolition and Salvage. I can’t seem to copy the link here.
September 17, 2015 @ 11:14 am
xoxoxo for you, sweetpea.
September 17, 2015 @ 11:27 am
I am so relieved. One, that this was not a post about Elvis getting worse, because we don’t want that to happen, and Two, that you, the queen of giant beautiful repurposed things has decided (well, been persuaded) not to use them in your kitchen. I am relieved about this because this was my plan, too, until we also saw how difficult it would be in our very bumpy old kitchen. I’ll be anxious to see what you decide on instead. Kisses to Elvis.
September 17, 2015 @ 11:33 am
Hmmmm, I drove about 400 miles round trip to pick up a green sink similar to the one above…I still stand by my decision and the $750 I spent on it… http://www.reinventingcourtland.com/roadtrip/
September 17, 2015 @ 11:35 am
trying to get my head around what you’re posting…. not sure I’ll get it!
glad to hear no further bad news about Elvis…. hope she makes it much longer 🙂
maybe should read everything again – and another thing: the link for the double-basin & -sink is prohibited – ‘foul’.
Hugs, Kiki
September 17, 2015 @ 11:37 am
Okay, so does this mean that you’re going to go with Paul’s idea and attach architectural salvage pieces to the face of the cabinets? Because I could soooooo see how this could be done and look AMAZING. I hope so! Also, please tell me you’re still going to do the white subway tile with the open shelves above, your mockup looks so great! I LOVE that kitchen you designed!! Also, that church was so quaint and pretty, I can just imagine dressing up every Sunday with a hat and gloves and a kisslock purse, and walking to church with a bible in my arms – so dreamy! I hope Elvis is doing okay!
September 17, 2015 @ 11:38 am
Sweetie next time buy the 25.00 sink and have Paul make you a potting table base for it. Enough said. Aeries AKA Pink Kitty sends kitty kisses.
September 17, 2015 @ 4:15 pm
Amen! Re-purposing is the name of the game…especially for $25.00!!!
September 17, 2015 @ 11:48 am
I am not yet ready to let go the GFT dream kitchen. You’re grieving right now and everyone knows you aren’t supposed to be make major decisions for at least a year. I do completely agree that some practicality is going to have to be allowed to rear its ugly head to a degree, but let’s not be hasty.
Could you not remove the legs of an antique sideboard and mount it to the wall somehow? (Or just cannibalize it?) You and Paul are both built on such noble proportions that I’m sure you’d love being able to choose a height that works better for you than the standard counter.
You can do this, girl. Paul most assuredly needs to be there to yea or nay the actual practicality of anything, but there is nothing the two of you together cannot do.
Poppet, Posey, Butterbean, Biscuit, Tater Tot and Doodlebug send head butts, their favorite liver treats and many love bites to Elvis. Miss Kitty would like her to know that she herself enjoys some slippery elm powder in her food ( or occasionally via syringe directly in her mouth, which is rather less pleasant but still tolerated) to soothe her sensitive stomach.
September 17, 2015 @ 11:52 am
The great finds you see on craigslist are undoubtedly someone else’s “dreams” of a kitchen using repurposed antiques. So the cycle continues. At least you have a fabulous island in the repurposed piano, right?
Good wishes to sweet Elivs!
xo,
Karen
September 17, 2015 @ 11:52 am
Oops, I mean Elvis…my fingers sometimes get ahead of my brain.
September 17, 2015 @ 11:57 am
You are a bad influence. Every time I read one of your posts I then find myself on Craigslist trying to find my own GFTs. I’m moving into my own place on Monday and I have no furniture to take with, want to be my personal shopper?
September 17, 2015 @ 4:23 pm
I thought it was just me! I have two nearly 5 feet tall, 12 x 12 inches at the top, tapered down to a 12 x 12 inch base, $25.00 for both, (she said she wanted it for EACH, but didn’t post it that way, so she honored her post), just waiting for me to restore them (they had a lot of brass angels and bling on them, some broken, some salvageable, some just TOO much), and find SOMEWHERE to put them! Both purchased after reading another VEB blog, and getting the CL “itch” again.
On the same session, I found and purchased a gorgeous GFT Victoria scrolly hutch (no base cabinet), for $100.00, AND 10 pieces of vintage metal lawn/porch furniture, $100.00 for all.
So, all in all, $225.00 isn’t so bad! 😉
September 17, 2015 @ 4:25 pm
Should have proof read. The top items are two pedestals. Lol!
September 17, 2015 @ 12:06 pm
Dear Victoria….I knew you were a wonderfully wonderful animal lover!!!! Elvis truly appreciates ALL your love..x
September 17, 2015 @ 12:19 pm
Good to see your posting again! You’re faithful fans miss you when your real life gets in our way. After having rehabbed multiple homes and kitchens over the years for my own business, I have slowly given in a bit on being a purist with hanging on to some of the original cabinetry etc. Heck, most of the time you couldn’t even fit a regular dinner plate in them anyway. But it boils down to a form vs function, I’ve always sided with form until recently just because I’m worn out. I have absolute faith that whatever you end up with will have such personality, charm and whimsy that no one but you will know that underneath it all are some basic cabinet boxes. Compromise in design and vision isn’t ever easy but there’s only so much you can do to fight reality and physics.
September 17, 2015 @ 12:42 pm
I so understand your desire to not disrupt Elvis’ routine. The less stress the better. My Bandit is 19-1/2 and there is no way I would take a vacation or leave him because I could never forgive myself if anything happened while I was away. I want to be there for him no matter what.
September 17, 2015 @ 12:43 pm
I so needed to read this today: ‘(..I was also right; because now they are mine, and no one else will be able to have them.), thank-you, thank-you, thank-you! My Paul was grumping at me this morning (Scotland time) about my yarn stash – so nice, so very, very nice to know someone else ‘gets it’ about having to have something! Cuddles, gentle pats, and shedloads of well wishes for Elvis, and for you and your Paul, comforting hugs.
September 17, 2015 @ 1:36 pm
Victoria:
Good to see you posting again. I am sure that you and the Master of Fixing It All aka Paul with come up with something fabulous befitting your GFT dreams. Loads of love and well wishes to Elvis.
September 17, 2015 @ 1:39 pm
Looks like those people with the outrageously priced green sink couldn’t find any cabinets to put it on either…
September 19, 2015 @ 11:46 am
Oh my gosh! LOL! ^ That wins for funniest comment!