Oh the joy! The bliss! The Excitement! The kitchen is complete. Well… juuuuuust about.
I have employed my official Picture Hanger (my dad) to come by this weekend to show off his skills at hanging things level while only putting a single hole in the wall for each object that needs to be hung. Amazing concept to me. Until the great big grand reveal that will come on Monday, I leave you with a few choice sneak peak images of the special nooks and crannies that make up my rainbow non-kitchen kitchen.
The original concept I put together and sent to my cousin Jenny, an architect, looked like this:
The idea was that I wanted it to be a kitchen that didn’t feel like a kitchen. A place people wanted to be in, hang out in, relax in and have fun in. I didn’t want it formal in any way shape or form. It needed to be spacious, durable and easy to navigate. Some of my main sticking points were that I wanted my living space to be a little more private than it was before, and I needed to seriously maximize my space- which meant going vertical to take advantage of my lofty high ceilings. The main criteria- I needed colour!
Jenny drew up a more formal plan that included measurements and other important things like that.
The next step for me was to find the right people. I tried to find a designer, but realized I had kind of done that bit already. I started looking at Ikea kitchens and realized that was so not my taste. I then began collecting vintage furniture that I decided I would re-finish. I wanted to re-use and re-purpose as much as I could, not just for economical reasons but environmental reasons as well. I quickly gave up on hiring a contractor and instead hired Stephen and Brian- two guys that would do all the plumbing, carpentry and electrical. I hired my mom to assist me in all the DIY projects and I hired made plans with friends almost every night of the renovation process to help me maintain my sanity.
When it all came down to it, I really just wanted it done before it even started. Patience is not one of my strong suits.At long last it is complete.
Here is your sneak peak at a few of the sweet details. The big reveal is coming on Monday!
Tweet tweet!
It dims of course!
Cozy colour…
… To read my books
Creative loft storage
Story time. The Warhol poster was from an exhibit I saw in Italy and that tray on the far right I picked up in Senegal- made from old tomato tins. The pie bird is from Vanessa and the tray of glasses from a flea market.
Nice legs
Pretty in pink
Tools of the trade
From the days of fashion/design school. And a little Shel Silverstein
Seeds!
I heart chicken.
Some light kitchen reading
Story time part 2: The ‘State of Disco’ poster on the left was from a street post in Nice, France. The date of the event is April 19th 1999. On a different trip to Europe, I ‘borrowed’ that red napkin dispenser (also on the left) from a cafe in Cadiz, Spain. The painting was my contribution to an art show following my graduation from fashion school. The hot pink skateboard is, of course, from my days living beach side in California.
More tools of the trade
More cozy colour.
Some of my fave peeps on some of my fave trips. My friends and I in Ireland in May 2009 and on the left, my fam in Jamaica in April 2008.
Time to get cooking!
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It’s so beautiful, functional and most of all – very MEGHAN!! I think the light fixture and the birds are my favourite!
Oh, I can’t wait to see the full picture! It looks SO interesting and cheerful! I loved seeing what ‘kitchen’ books you have. I am a book FREAK:)
LOVE IT!!!! Oh my, can’t wait to see more!!
Thanks for the sneak peak!!
We have very similar tastes (color wise), too bad my husband wouldn’t have everything pink! 
Although I did trick him (his is color blind), he thinks our den and main color going through the inside of our house is red, when its like a red/pink! 
Oh and we just painted our front door red! LOVE IT!
Hi Meghan,
Where did you get those nice containers that the seeds are in?
Jennifer
I’m so excited for you! It looks amazing!!!
Totally a place I’d want to cook/hang out in
And I love Shel Silverstein! And seeds!
Good on you, girl! Bless the new space!
FANTASTIC Pics! Can’t wait to see the final product!!!
I’m so happy for you Meghan! It turned out beautiful & inviting! Enjoy many hours creating in your new space and hanging with family & friends!!
Thank you all for your kind and wonderful words! Hope some of you can stop and by and play in the kitchen this fall. Forget about distance… what’s a little commute?
Beautiful! Love the idea of a sliding room divider. Platform with storage is a great idea.
Yay!! I’m not sure when you’ll ever be baking a pie and be concerned about how the steam is going to escape and thus REQUIRE THE AID OF A PIE BIRD, but what the heck… it’s pretty cute.
I love that your home has all these elements that have stories behind them… most important part of creating your space and making it yours, I think.
Also, love the “I’ve been reused” stickers.
And I seriously want to bond with your dad over hanging photos — I, too, can hang a picture with just one nail and a keen eye for balance. Jacob has witnessed/marvelled at this. I can’t see those weird 3D images or understand most other optical illusions, but picture-hanging — I nail it (bad pun, sorry).
Love those square jars… I have started converting to exactly the same ones… I can get them easily here in different sizes, and CHEAP at a place called XS Cargo… got a dozen when they were on sale for two bucks each! Round jars are a waste of space, and your workplace/home needs all the efficiency it can get… reno looks fabulous.. more pics please?
Congratulations! I love all these parts you’re sharing from the kitchen and can’t wait to see the whole thing at once!
i love your kitchen! and i love how i have very few cookbooks, but i have 75% of the ones you have that you showed. excellent choices! our food philosophies are very similar. your blog is a new favorite of mine =)
Nice pictures, thanks for sharing it.
Getting those jars was actually an adventure unto itself when I found myself in this very creepy warehouse, a supplier to the stores in China Town wher ethere were a plethora of men who weren’t wearing shirts and didn’t speak any English… and not in the good way. I was fairly sure I might die.
Thanks! I don’t buy many cookbooks anymore… not that I ever did. Such goodness online…. until of course I publish my own