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 @ 1:55 pm
So glad to see you posting again Elizabeth! No matter what, your kitchen will be unique because of the fabulous piano island. Now you have time to think about the upcoming holidays, which are looming large. Time to start ordering all kinds of things from Amazon to send back!!! You have a fabulous spirit, and a wicked sense of humor, and as always I enjoyed your post!!!
Hoping Elvis is doing okay, and you and Paul as well are okay. Happy eleventh wedding anniversary to you and Paul.
September 17, 2015 @ 2:00 pm
Elvis is a lucky girl to have such devoted companions. I wish her longevity and comfort in her battles!
September 17, 2015 @ 2:13 pm
Duh. You must find a fabulous musty old high-ceilinged retail space to rent to store all these goodies, write excessively exorbitant price tags in calligraphy, and pretend the items are for sale (to fool Paul.) easy peasy.
September 17, 2015 @ 4:40 pm
Was just browsing internet looking for a Victorian mounting bracket for a marble sink when I found this and thought of you. It’s a couple of authentic drawings and some photos of Victorian bathrooms and kitchens. http://vintageplumbing.com/victoriandesigns.html
September 17, 2015 @ 4:42 pm
So wonderful to see an email from you in my inbox. Please give us an update on the piano island!
September 17, 2015 @ 4:48 pm
For what it’s worth, a perspective from much farther down the road: I have recently been downsizing, unpacking many boxes and trying to sort out what items are keepers. This is a time consuming, exhausting, upsetting process. All the things I bought that had “potential” are here to haunt me. My precious husband was good at simplifying, while I can complicate absolutely anything. Fantasies of what I can do with some odd item fly around in my imagination. Precious died suddenly right after we moved, so now I have the purging process to go through alone. From this current perspective, I wish I had not collected all these things that I thought were treasures. He was patient with me, didn’t fuss, but I know it drove him crazy. I have been “talking” to him lately, telling him that I’m sorry for complicating almost everything. I hope he can hear me. He was the best. I adored him, still do.
One other thing….my friend/designer has tried to teach me that it only takes one small item, or even one GFT, to make a statement, and that more is not better. Every piece cannot be the star. I know this may not apply in your situation and I have no judgment. At all. I have traveled that road, only without your talent for making a witty story out of it. When things don’t work out, it’s good to let go of that dream/fantasy and be prepared for fate to put something else, even another GFT, in your life. Peace to you in your quest for making your nest. You are so talented….I know you’ll get there. Until then….honeychile, the Lord be with you.:)
September 18, 2015 @ 3:29 pm
Just Me, I am so sorry your best friend is not right next to you on this earth. I have tears reading your heartfelt thoughts and wisdom, that you have gained through this. I also am married to a sweet man that puts up with a collector of the all the junk that may have a possiblity.
Last night he had to move a storage full of “treasures” and I could not help. I felt guilty knowing the things have just cost money and heartache for both of us.
I am living in another city, in another home we have, during our transition. I have determined to finish the projects and take a break and enjoy the things I have created and the people I love…most especially my man. He deserves a neat, uncomplicated space to live his life too.
Prayers and peace over you.
Gayna
September 17, 2015 @ 5:22 pm
So glad you’re back. And that Elvis is still padding around your fancy house. My soul hurt a little when you said you were going the TRADITIONAL cabinet route!!! My first thought was, please get drawers on the bottom instead of standard cabinets. Just have open cabinets on top or with glass doors. That should get you pretty close to your dream kitchen. Have you checked out IKEA. They have cabinets that go from the glossy, shiny white (my kitchen) to wood that looks like it’s been in an English estate for centuries. Paul will love the top cabinet installation – one bar on the wall – that’s it. And they have lots of sizes to work with. Please check them out. I can so see the drawers with their perfect period handles!! My neighbors who redid their kitchens traditionally are jealous of mine, because there is no digging in a cabinet looking for something. Just pull out a drawer, and everything is handy. Good luck – can’t wait to see what’s next for you!!!
September 17, 2015 @ 7:02 pm
Okay, so you had to “compromise” (ugh, hate that word!) on your dream for the kitchen. But how about taking all of your GFT’s and fabulous Craigslist find, and incorporating them all into a She Shed? Which Paul would build for you. And which actually, would not be a “shed” but a glamour palace of your very own in the backyard. And so you could have the “practical” (another hated concept) things in your home and your fancy finds would all be in your glamour palace. Just for you, and Elvis and your girlfriends.
September 17, 2015 @ 8:14 pm
Victoria,
I am so glad to see you posting again. Your writing always makes me smile, which has been tougher to do lately as my little girl (age 6) is fighting cancer herself and in chemotherapy and radiation. I know you love Elvis as much as you could any human, so I feel weirdly bonded to you in this time. Sending love and healing wishes to Elvis and to you, mama, for what is surely harder to helplessly watch than to go through. Keep posting please! I need those smiles! 🙂
September 17, 2015 @ 9:15 pm
Your piano project with be a wonderful focal point for the kitchen. Now you’ll have time and energy to devote to other projects in the house which will have faster turnaround times and less frustration. Laundry comment is so true. How does it happen?
September 17, 2015 @ 10:05 pm
So glad you are back! We love you too Elvis, you are a star just like your mom!
September 18, 2015 @ 12:04 am
Just wondering why you put a dog on top of your counter in your second mock up picture? I appreciate your humor and am glad you’re back. Give Elvis a big hug!
September 18, 2015 @ 7:37 am
Have you considered hiring a carpenter to construct the vintage style cabinets you want? I have had very nice custom cabinetry done in my old house that everyone who sees it thinks is original. I went through an architectural woodworking school — the work was done by men learning to be custom woodworkers and overseen by their very qualified instructors (NESAW, New England School of Architectural Woodworking, in Easthampton, Mass). But a good woodworker could give you what you want. It wouldn’t be much more expensive than purchasing pre-fab cabinets.
September 18, 2015 @ 8:20 am
I’m not sure why anyone would want all that open shelving only because of all the dust and kitchen grease it attracts. I suggest cabinets with glass doors instead but that’s just my opinion. I absolutely love the piano conversion and that should be the focal point of the whole kitchen. JMO
Hoping Elvis continues with the good fight. Pets are members of the family.
September 18, 2015 @ 9:46 am
Well, at least now instead of a couple giant fancy things, you can have THOUSANDS of smaller fancy things all over your kitchen 😉 Knobs, posts, backsplash tile, lighting, shelf brackets, faucets, cabinet feet…
Hey! Thought of something you might be something you’d be interested in. There is a very, very old glass factory here in WV, Blenko Glass, they still make sheet glass the “old” way that gives it those little waves and bubbles that make antique glass so interesting, used in historical restorations. They also do old-fashioned glass blowing.
Can’t wait to see what you come up with. No matter what I know it’s going to be fantastic!
September 18, 2015 @ 11:31 am
Glad to hear from you again Victoria. I hope elvis is getting along well and feeling better. I can understand your pain at letting go of the whole big fancy concept, but in the end I know that you will find the perfect cabinets that will be practical and support your vintage aesthetic as well. You may even come to love your non vintage kitchen as much as you would have loved the BFST concept, and realize Paul was right. Just don’t let him get too smug about it. There are lots of possibilities to get the look you love. Think of the great organizational aspects of new cabinetry!
September 18, 2015 @ 12:44 pm
I am so happy to see that you are back, we all missed you!
I am a designer, of kitchens. Actually the kind that you would fancy. I don’t want to see you give up on your collected kitchen vision, all together. I think that your kitchen dilemma could be solved by doing the base cabinets only for now. They would perfectly turn the corner and make the whole lower section very functional using all of your space. Don’t buy wall cabinets. Use your finds, and integrate them into your kitchen for the whimsy and fanciness that you are looking for. If nothing inspires you or the perfect find does not present itself you could always go back and buy the cabinets for the wall, however I don’t think that would happen. The best of both worlds.
September 18, 2015 @ 1:07 pm
I know it’s hard to let go of a DREAM!! But seriously, why not have the best of both worlds? I know that there are cabinet makers/ wood workers that can make you cabinets that have that original antiqued look…..AND they’ll fit in your kitchen. I’ve seen some some incredible things made for historic homes!! You could show them some pictures of what it is you are wanting (we all know you have plenty of those ;)) and they can make you what you want. Good luck, girl, and give Elvis a big hug!
September 18, 2015 @ 9:50 pm
Lara got married !!!!! Omigosh!!!
I bet in some ways you had more fun alone, really, since you could relax about Elvis and just be with your girl. Until the wedding was over and you wanted your dance partner.
I’ll just be the one to point out that it isn’t the cabinets themselves, but the AMAZEBALLS layering of crown moulding and fancy trim corbels in between that make the antique stuff so terrific. And, you can just wait until you must replace the refrigerator and THEN get the kind with panels. No matter what – you would spend that twice over on craigslist trying to make other things fancier. It is okay . . .when it croaks. They croak faster than you think – even when you buy the good ones.
Your high ceilings are going to love stacked glass front cabinets over regular cabinets and the way dimensions work out, you can leave room for more Paul trim fanciness. If you like. I have no doubt that it will be wonderful . . and also NICE and CLEAN . .useful attributes to a kitchen. You already have the most, penultimate island anyone could dream of, so the rest of the kitchen casework needs to be “wallflower” so your little star can shine.
A new kitchen!!! Maybe not by Christmas but in 2016 for sure!!!! We are happy for the chef and gardener, and thinking of fluffalorium.
September 19, 2015 @ 5:29 pm
Missed your posts , sending love to Elvis x