How we built a gorgeous kitchen without ruining the planet (or our relationship)

Did I write this partly as an excuse to share our beautiful kitchen which made us lose every ounce of peace we had? Yesss. Naturally, I'm feeling very proud of our efforts and I'm excited to share the result - but it also has 'sustainable’ written all over it - and that makes this post very relevant (have we decided which emoji depicts smugness yet?). Anyway, here’s why:

1. The kitchen units are second-hand. Rather than buying a brand new kitchen, we looked on the second-hand market. The great thing about buying second-hand is you’re not just saving something from going to landfill, but you’re preventing more stuff from being manufactured - in our case, a whole kitchen’s worth of units. Of course, this isn’t to shame anyone who’s renovated and purchased brand new units. We were quite lucky to find a great quality kitchen, and we (read: my fiancé) had the patience and know-how to reconfigure a bespoke kitchen into an entirely new layout - and then fit it - which I totally get could be an unnecessary hassle for lots of people.

   
   

   

   The kitchen we bought in its previous home - I sanded, painted, and varnished the units.

2. We’ve kept the original doors rather than replacing with new ones. These doors are old - not as old as the property, but they've definitely seen things. They had layers of paint (including what we suspect was the lead variety, because of course), so off they went for a professional dip-and-strip. Due to their age, they’re far from perfect condition, but they have fantastic character and are sympathetic to the age of the property - a win-win. It would've been cheaper to buy new doors actually, but I'm hoping to recoup that financial loss in good karma for making an environmentally-conscious decision.

   
   

3. The lights we’ve installed are low-energy, which means they're kind to both the environment and our electricity bill. Another win-win.

   
   

4. Our floor is technically brand new - but purchased on the second-hand market again, from renovators who changed their minds but couldn’t return it. We got really lucky here too - finding the exact same flooring from three different sellers.

   
   

   

   Not taking any risks after a 90 minute floor clean pre-topcoat :)

5. Our stunning radiator is in fact reclaimed - and with it being Victorian, it fits perfectly in our Victorian home.

If you happen to be renovating and want to make sustainable choices, I can’t recommend it enough. It’s more work (and more swearing) than ordering everything new (or indeed, paying someone to do everything for you), but there’s something deeply satisfying about building a space that looks beautiful, tells so many stories, and doesn’t cost the Earth - literally. Plus it's an excellent team-building challenge for you and your partner... 😅

And if you ever need tips, motivation, or just someone to confirm that yes, you will find sawdust in places you didn’t know existed, feel free to reach out!