A KITCHEN CRAFTED WITH SCRAP MATERAILS.
The tale of the cobbler’s kids having holey shoes because he has not the time to repair them fit me a cabinetmaker to a tee. I and my wife Bernadette bought our 1950’s home here in Lakewood Calif. back in 1991. I never had the time or money to work on my own home. I finally got sick of making clients homes look good, as our house was falling apart. So three years ago I got started drawing up concepts for our remodel.
Our house had an 8’x13′ galley style kitchen with an 8’x5′ laundry room attached to it but separated by a wall. Sixty plus years of use was not only showing on this Kitchen, but on me as a cabinetmaker. I was embarrassed of our kitchen. The only thing that was nice about it was the ironing board and a 1950’s Wedgewood stove (the Cadillac as we call it), a beast of steel, chrome, and porcelain. And to which the new kitchen would be designed around.
This is what $11,253.00, a very patient wife, plenty of scrap and outfall that was distained for the dumpster, plus a whole lot of personal labor and sweat can do. Two plus years from the design stage to completion, this was a labor of love that added up to untold hours of designing, engineering, manufacturing, construction, installing, and painting.
Knowing that I was going to be the designer, the general, the rough and finish carpenter, the electrician, the dry waller, the tile setter, the cabinetmaker and installer, the countertop manufacturer and installer, and painter my hands would be full. One benefit was I would have total control over quality.
To make this remodel happen as seamlessly as possible and keep my wife happy, I had to try and keep it a working kitchen as much as possible. By doing almost all the work myself I was able to keep it a working kitchen for all but one week.
