Thought I would give you a quick tour of Glasshouse Girl’s very own handpainted kitchen. This has lots of painted, upcycled and vintage elements. Hopefully this will inspire you to reduce, reuse and recycle when tackling a kitchen makeover project.
When we had our extension built, we went from having a teeny tiny kitchen. You know the type that is standard in 1930s semis – to having a mega space with an orangery style roof. I was really happy with our old Rangemaster stove / oven. I didn’t have the budget for a new fridge. We already had a perfectly functional American style side by side fridge freezer. So these were designed into the layout. More on that later.
New vs Old – carcasses & doors
There just weren’t enough units from my old kitchen unfortunately. I did save some of the old units though. I reused / repurposed these as built in cupboards in other rooms. So, bought new units from British maker Creamery Kitchens down in Yeovil. They offer fabulous handmade solid wood carcasses and doors which you then fit / have fitted yourself. I fitted this kitchen myself!
If your carcasses are in good condition you could just replace the doors. Or, you can also buy amazing high-quality second hand kitchens. You’ll find them locally via Marketplace, from places like eBay or specialist dealers like fellow House of Upcycling member The Used Kitchen Exchange. Once you know the layout / style you want, I strongly recommend checking these out before buying new. After all, an upcycled kitchen can be repainted it in any colour you like!
I only went for base units because I really wanted the look of shelves rather than wall cupboards. I just felt it would make the space too ‘kitcheny’. A bit top heavy in such a light and airy space. If I ever change my mind, then I (or a future owner) can add these later!
Worktop choices
The worktops are quartz which I have found to be incredibly hardwearing. Quartz needs little to no maintenance and has a much better environmental profile than marble or granite. It is made from quartz crystal which is easy to mine. The worktops are then made by combining the quartz with resins, moulded and polished. You can read more about the sustainability profile of quartz worktops here.
Having had wooden worksurfaces before, I can tell you that they needs lots of maintenance. Regular reoiling and even resanding is needed or watermarks quickly become and issue. Granite and marble might be natural products but they are literally carved from the earth with lots of wastage. On another note my parents have had granite which chipped quickly and needs to be resealed on a regular basis.
Scaffolding board shelving
The shelves are actually made from old scaffolding boards. These have been sanded, stained, dry brushed and varnished using a wax look varnish. The brackets were solid steel but I spray painted them copper.
Underneath the bottom shelves, I’ve used old copper pipe as a rail to hang useful items on.
Appliance Makeover
My range cooker was originally cream but I have resprayed this and the extractor in copper. You can read all about the process I went through to respray my Rangemaster here. Perfect for the upcycled kitchen!
The splashback is made from an old Polish factory window which has been glazed with mirrors. These were repainted over the original rusty finish using Hammerite Direct to Rust metal paint in Hammered Black.
Working with the Space
I’m lucky enough that my kitchen wall is north facing, so we took the corner area of the kitchen and created a walk-in larder space. This is filed with narrow shelves and takes care of our food storage. It also provides somewhere to squirrel away gadgets like the slow cooker and rice cooker.
Handpainted kitchen fridge
To the left of the Larder you can see my upcycled fridge. It was looking a bit shabby and was pretty boring so I used chalkboard paint to create this useful family organiser. You can get a full DIY tutorial on how to turn your fridge into a chalkboard organiser here.
Handpainted kitchen units
The kitchen island has been repainted a couple of times now as my tastes change. At the moment its been painted in Tikurilla Helmi 30 satin paint. This has been colour matched to Farrow and Ball colour ‘Off-Black’. This paint is highly recommended if you have a family as its washable and scrubbable with an incredibly hardwearing finish. The joy of a handpainted kitchen is that you can revamp it whenever you like. I actually think the kitchen island might be changing colour again soon… I’m thinking purple… watch this space! đ
The handles were purchased new – they from the Crofts & Assinder Monmouth range. I always tell clients to buy high quality handles for their kitchen or furniture projects. The initial cost might be painful. However, once the initial cost has been forgotten, you won’t regret how they complete a high end look.
Handpainted & upcycled kitchens – 10% of the carbon footprint compare to new!
So, there we have it, a very upcycled handpainted kitchen. Upcycling and reusing / repainting has a tenth of the carbon footprint of buying new. It can also stretch your budget further. I would obviously recommend doing this wherever possible. You can balance upcycled elements alongside high quality new stuff. Choose things that will last, have a low(er) environmental footprint and support local / domestic businesses (like me!).
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