Third kitchen-design option… and some seriously fancy kitchens.
So after last week’s post where I cut and pasted a giant cabinet on the sink wall… Everyone was like – No! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Put it on the range wall.
So, clearly you did not need me to write this post. But I am anyway. Because there are many fascinating boring details to consider.
Ever since Pilar Guzman’s kitchen dug me a deep hole of envy, I have been obsessed with the idea of using a three-piece wardrobe to house various kitchen appliances… Or alternately, to house nothing at all and just move the refrigerator, stove, dishwasher and everything else out to the garage so that it does not interfere with the fanciness.
Your suggestion:
Why don’t you use the three-piece wardrobe/portal to Narnia?
Originally, that is exactly what I wanted to do with it. But it is too big for any wall in our kitchen. And while many of you thought it would be totally worth it to cut it down, I cannot do that.
I am the supreme guardian of my possessions— I do not even like people being near my stuff. Let alone touching it… Let alone hacking into it with saws.
Even if we did use the Narnia cabinet, we still would not get the same effect as Pilar and the other brownstone-dwellers: all these inspiration photos are starting with built-ins that are original to the house, with space in the center that is greater than the side-units.
But the wardrobes I’ve looked at don’t have a large center section… So we would have to move the stove. The photo above has the stove in a small alcove and I think I would feel too boxed in.
Although, who knows? Maybe I would enjoy the added excitement of possibly setting fire to the surrounding walls while cooking?
Every single other wardrobe/built-in cabinetry I have looked at has been a disappointment: size, condition, everything.
I am watching a couple on eBay – some guy out in York, PA has quite a few… None of them are an exact fit/ideal dimension. But a couple of them could be forced to do my bidding.
Although, it is hard to get enthusiastic about paying three times what we did for the Narnia wardrobe, (which is in AMAZING condition,) when these others are closer to BAD condition.
Most of them are missing significant pieces… we could work around it because theoretically we would be removing the entire left-hand door/drawer for the refrigerator and would have spare parts… but still! The portal to Narnia is 27,000 times nicer and cost me next to nothing.
I have no idea what price it sold for because apparently eBay has stopped telling you what the best offer actually was. Why this should be a secret, I have no idea.
This one specifically wasn’t actually an option, I love it – I think it’s beautiful. But it wasn’t tall enough– only 7′, but it gives you an idea of what else might work.
But then I am left wondering what to do over the refrigerator… The wardrobe design works well because the entire wall would be FINISHED– it would be a self-contained, coherent unit of fanciness.
But if we are placing a different style of cabinet next to the refrigerator, how do we incorporate the fridge in a way that doesn’t look like a homemade/unplanned/mess.
I have started looking at ideas for what you are supposed to do with that weird space over your refrigerator… And I cannot say I love any of them; let alone if I am trying to mesh it with some random old cabinet right next to it.
Your suggestion:
Get rid of the refrigerator entirely… Replace it with under-the-counter units.
Can I tell you how much I love this idea? I do! Feel free to send me $10,000!
We are not planning to replace any of the appliances. The ones we have are perfectly fine. And while I would love a panel-enclosed refrigerator, or a La Cornue stove… there’s this thing called money.
And in the cagematch of what I would prefer to spend it on: brand-new, glass-front refrigerator VS. giant-fancy-broken-items-of-gloriousness-residing-in-the-future-that-need-to-be-mine…The refrigerator doesn’t stand a chance.
So if we must keep the suitable-but-not-architectural-digest-worthy-appliances… The refrigerator’s current location is pretty much the only aspect of the kitchen that DOESN’T feel flexible.
I am not sure if I should interpret the difficulty of repurposing cabinetry as an indication that it’s a bad plan… Or if I just haven’t found the right cabinet… Or if all roads lead to the somewhat-easier solution of a repurposed island, paired with traditional perimeter cabinets.
Okay. Now this post is over… It is an accurate representation of my thought process:
maybe this.
maybe that.
OOOOOH! Fancy!
now I’m tired.
March 10, 2015 @ 7:27 pm
No doubt you and Paul will end up dazzling yourselves with the final decision, finished kitchen. That said, the more I look at the layout of your kitchen—and if I shared brain space with you, as in “The Host,” (you, of course, being Melanie)—I would be compelled to a) build a bank of extravagant lower cabinets along the right side of the room, b) chime in on the fancy schmancy/uber extraordinary island, c) have Paul build some outrageously ornate cabinetry for the far/appliance wall, and d) throw in a stunning tall and shallow antique “china” cabinet on that left wall by window. Cheers, Ardith
March 10, 2015 @ 8:28 pm
This may sound weird, but have you considered going to a home depot or similar and getting some door and wall molding and archetectural salvage and using that to make it LOOK like furniture?
March 10, 2015 @ 8:55 pm
What the hell?! Is this some type of mental acuity exercise to stave off Alzheimer’s? I’d be cutting out craft paper and taping it on the wall. I’m concrete like that. Good luck. Thinking about a kitchen redesign is the closest I ever came to a break down.
March 10, 2015 @ 11:00 pm
maybe if you ask real real nice with honey dripping from your mouth maybe just maybe guzman would sell you his…problem solved xx
March 11, 2015 @ 5:32 am
Dear Woman,
What is wrong with you? Why not have Paul build the refrigerator INTO the wardrobe? (sorry, Paul).
March 11, 2015 @ 11:02 am
Estate sales and also, check into university surplus!! I live in a Big 10 city and you would be AMAZED at what shows up at their surplus. and http://www.usa.gov/shopping/auctions/surplu1s.shtml
Some of the university stuff ends up there also.
March 11, 2015 @ 12:01 pm
If you decided to put the fridge in this cabinet you could use the existing door and Paul with his mad skills could make the fake cabinet fronted fridge door. The area above the fridge you could put a shelf for stuff that you will never use in a million years, you know like we all do in the cabinets above our fridges. 😉 Or move the fridge to the long wall with the windows at the end of where your current cabinets are located or if you have room on the other side of the window that is not above your sink. If you are redoing those cabinets anyway that would be where I would put my fridge. Stove location is another problem though. I currently have my stove in the sort of “island” in my kitchen and it has no vent other then one in the wall soffit which needless to say is not very functional. so I would not recommend the stove in the island location. Good luck and keep posting your treasure finds. I am so jealous.
March 11, 2015 @ 2:37 pm
Did you see this article VEB? https://www.yahoo.com/makers/beyond-stainless-steel-americas-next-top-kitchen-112259152735.html
It sounds like they are listening in on your conversations. I think you need to be sure to have a fancy chandelier too. Normally I’m not a chandelier gal but the one in the first picture gave me pause. I love those dark crystals.
March 11, 2015 @ 5:22 pm
You don’t actually need a three-piece wardrobe, you just need it to LOOK like one. With salvage trim and moldings and a great carpenter you could custom make the exact size, shape and style you want.
March 11, 2015 @ 10:03 pm
Hi Victoria!
I’ve been reading a bunch of comments in this post and your trials and tribulations in this and the past posts regarding your kitchen. From looking at your “style” throughout your house, you like Victorian-style, but I’d say you are really “transitional.” By that, I mean you have that really cool white, square, tufted ottomon that’s kinda contemporary and you like very clean-lined sofas (excepting the Victorian ones).
So… with that in mind, I think you ought to do what others have suggested and make your island the focal point. Put some cabinets on that left-hand wall that aren’t too deep, floor to ceiling to maximize your storage. On your sink wall, I wouldn’t want to lose the light or view from your kitchen into your backyard (I’m assuming that is your view here. ;)) by covering it up with a big piece. Maybe go Victorian in feel with some cabinets and the island, AND go contemporary with open floating shelves over on the backyard window wall?? The styles could play off each other. Plus, with dark, floating shelves with gorgeous dishes on them and maybe light grey subway tiles behind, would make the rich walnut-colored shelves and other new/recycled cabinets pop.
Happy planning and hope you find so pieces to repurpose soon,
Barb 🙂
March 12, 2015 @ 2:26 am
Okay, I can’t sleep thinking about your kitchen. Here’s what I want to know: what are you going to do in there? Will you need a microwave over the stovetop, or a fabulous Gosford Park-ian hood? Do you want an enormous pantry that accommodates 47 boxes of cereal, or one with narrow, ribbon-lined shelves lined with jars of gingham-topped jam? Do you like to keep your spices in a drawer or in a spice jar movie theater on a shelf? Do you need junk drawers, or counter space for crockery full of picturesque wooden spoons? Do you want to gaze dreamily out the window while you do dishes, admiring the frolicking bluebirds? Do you want to make elaborate meals and serve them on porcelain and sterling from your mahogany breakfront? Do you want to sip coffee whilst lounging on a Victorian camelback sofa in a patch of sunlight with a pile of macarons on a nearby tea table? Do you want a boudoir-y French salon where your friends will gather on mismatched gilt chairs for champagne and scintillating conversations? Do you want to forgo the island and have a half-kitchen/half-ballroom with a chandelier and herringbone parquet floors so you and Paul can drink wine and dance? What I’m saying is: once you know what you’re gonna do in there (tell us, tell us!), then the fabulous THING will make itself known to you.
March 12, 2015 @ 11:11 pm
This may help to clarify exactly what is needed in the way of GFT……And it has changed my life………….I want ALL of this and More! I need to go shopping. You are a Genius!
March 12, 2015 @ 2:57 pm
That E Roberts kitchen is exactly what you need
March 14, 2015 @ 9:12 am
You keep going back to Narnia – that’s a sign! There are excellent craftsmen who could make it work and you will love it because YOU ALREADY LOVE IT! I bet Pilar had to rework some of the pieces in her kitchen. You just can’t tell. I don’t think there are many instances where a fabulous antique that cost next to nothing has been able to roll into a kitchen and miraculously fit the size shape and details of the room. You know I’m right.
March 14, 2015 @ 9:12 pm
Victoria, hello. I love your blog. Even though I’m following your journey to kitchen fanciness, I know we don’t know each other. But, thanks to the magic of the internet, it feels like I know you, so I’m going to tell you something as if you are my dear friend: Pilar Guzman’s giant hunk of kitchen cabinetry is overbearing, claustrophobic and impractical. Blasphemy, I know. The stove in the tiny “closet”? Nooooooooo. I’ve noticed that even though your house is full of GFTs, you’ve made your spaces open and airy, full of light. But this thing, this big dark thing, it’s just…it’s just…so much. You know those PhotoShopped pics you did with the big cabinet inserted into your kitchen? Despite your husband’s considerable skills and patience, I fear that’s how your kitchen would actually look. Get those creative juices flowing in a new direction. I’m not even going to suggest stuff, just less GDPGT (Giant Dark Pilar Guzman Things), more AVEBT (Awesome Victoria Elizabeth Barnes Things.)
March 16, 2015 @ 11:46 pm
http://greendemolitions.com/product/louis-xv-armoire/
March 16, 2015 @ 11:48 pm
Check out my post above, I am surprised you can’t hear it calling your name!!
March 26, 2015 @ 6:35 am
Is there no way the Narnia portal could be made to work?