Cool kitchen...

In December my long awaited kitchen item arrived from Poland:  a wonderful side by side refrigerator handmade by Dorota Mateusiak of MiniFanaberia. 


So cool!  Just like its full sized counterparts, the interior has an ice maker (complete with ice cubes), 'glass' shelves and pull out drawers, and working led lights.  A detail I absolutely love (well I love it all but these little extra's are just so special...) is the rubber seal around the inside of the doors!


As you can see I need to make lots of food items to fill it up.  I have made a few drinks cartons which were published in a Dutch dolls' house magazine many years ago and I have started saving packaging I use myself to eventually reduce in size. 

There are so many other wonderful details on this fridge.  Watch the unpacking video below (speeded up 40 times or more with corresponding sound).


The refrigerator is the piece I needed before I could continue work on the kitchen as I needed to see it in situ to determine the best layout on that side of the kitchen.  I decided the best place for it would be towards the front of the room, so it would be easy to see inside the fridge.

Below a rare insight into my messy work process.  I play around with many items of different sizes and colours to get a feel for what I like and whether it will work in the space.  The photo shows the combination of blue silk I chose as the backdrop for the kitchen dresser I had yet to make, wooden dresser, white porcelain and copper.  


I decided the kitchen and the fridge could handle a really large dresser on that wall, so I designed a dresser which in real life would be 3,05 meters wide and 3,24 meters high (for those of you who are metrically challenged 😉, that's around 10 feet by 10ft 7.5")


I looked at several full sized pieces to determine the construction method.  I routed many grooves and slots to fit all of the pieces together.  Always a bit of a puzzle, but fun to figure out and not too complicated.  With a slight adjustment on one or two of the drawers, everything fitted together perfectly.  


The top part is a very simple frame with routed grooves to support the shelves.  
By the way, all of the wood is pear.  I cut the wooden boards I needed for the construction of this dresser from a large piece of pear wood I bought several years ago. I cut the wood to size with my band saw and then run it through the thickness sander to get it exactly to the right thickness and nicely finished.  

This process is a lot of work and very dusty but I am very glad I can do this myself so I am not dependant on getting the wood delivered to me. I do have a dust extractor but it broke down mid work so I took it outside to continue. The photo below shows just a bit of the enormous mess it creates. There is an outdoor table somewhere underneath all of that wood dust... 


With the dresser in the making, it was time to start unpacking the copper and white china  I had collected in over 15 years.  It's a big collection, more than I remembered!  I usually buy one or two copper pieces and some white china at each fair I visit.  With two or three fairs a year, that amounts to quite a few pieces!


One of my favourite pieces is the Samovar which came from Elly's collection.  It did not look great when I got it, but when I polished it, it changed from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan.  
After many hours of research I am afraid that I was unable to find out who made it or how old it is.

A samovar is a Russian water heater. Hot coal (or wood,pine cones etc.) is put in the central chimney and heats the water around it, thus providing hot water on tap for brewing a cup or pot of tea. The top ring can be turned over to hold a small teapot which will then be kept warm as well.  


It looks gorgeous on my dresser!  As do many of my other pieces I must say.  Apart from the samovar I have copper pieces by Philippe Bordelet, Country Treasures UK,  J. Getzan and Smallscale (Marie-Louise Markhorst).  The white china pieces are by Elisabeth Causeret,  Zus & Zo Marike Schenning, Nikki Nakki Nu, Avon, Puppenwelt Wengen and Stokesay Ware.  



With the fridge added and more copper hung next to the AGA, the kitchen is nearing completion.  And I must say I love the overall picture! 
At this stage I had to take everything out again to permanently attach the ceiling to the walls.  Then put everything back in. Quite a big job  I can tell you!  





I saw I have to polish the door of the fridge too ;-)  When I have time I'd like to make a few plants and herbs for the kitchen and, as I said, food for the fridge.  All these fun little details.  But I have to admit I am more of a builder than a maker of accessories. 

To be continued...(in a few years probably).   

Comments

  1. Wow! What a collection of copper and china! Love the frog.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Me encanta tu colección d porcelanas- En ese armario queda fenomenal. Precioso también el frigorífico.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Isabel! After collecting for so long it is nice to finally display it all.

      Delete
  3. The refrigerator is amazing. The whole kitchen is absolutely breathtaking.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Sherrill. Yes that fridge is a work of art ;-)

      Delete
  4. Wow that is a fantastic fridge - and expensive I can imagine. I am just like you, a builder.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes it was a lot of money to spend...but it is all relative considering the work and effort that goes into a piece like this. I did think a long time before deciding to buy it and I had a year to save up for it ;-)

      Delete
  5. Josie, this is just awe-inspiring!
    The fridge certainly is a masterpiece, with the immaculate detail right down to the patterning for the 'mechanical parts' imprinted on the back.
    More so is the display of your amazing copper (and white china) collection on that beautiful custom made dresser. Simply spectacular.
    Anna x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Anna! The detail everywhere on thar fridge is great. The mechanical parts on the back are so good and even though you never see them, we know they're there. I'm so happy with how everything looks together.

      Delete
  6. The fridge is fabuluous. I am looking forward to seeing filled. The dresser with your collection of copper and china is really great, I like the detail of the teatowel in the drawer.
    Geneviève

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Geneviève! Thank you. Eventually it will have a more 'lived in' look, with plants and other little details, like the teatowel.

      Delete
  7. Wat een geweldig mooie koelvriescombinatie je blijft kijken zoveel moois en dan ook nog het licht erin super!!!
    Die kast!!! zo geweldig ingericht, meestal vind ik koper zo glimmend een tikje te veel maar nu... zie ik echt hoe super mooi het in combinatie met het witte servies kan zijn helemaal toppie top!
    fijne dag,
    groetjes van Marijke

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dank je wel Marijke. Ja die koelvriescombinatie is echt zo mooi gemaakt! Dorota is een kunstenares op dat vlak. Koper is een tijd lang niet populair geweest (mensen willen niet meer poetsen he) maar ik heb zo'n collectie koperen pannen altijd prachtig gevonden. En dat poetsen zal bij mij ook niet maandelijks gebeuren hoor, dus dat glimmende zal niet altijd zo zijn. ;-)

      Delete
  8. I love the mix of Old World Charm with Modern appliances and your new side by side fridge is DEFINITELY a Showstopper Josje! Even so, the MASSIVE Welsh Dresser interwoven with the stacks of precious white china and highly polished copper, more than holds its own against that wall: EVERYTHING looks STUNNING!
    Such a FABULOUS COLLECTION, Josje, with MASSIVE Visual Payoff! ❤️

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Elizabeth! I do like to mix old and new styles. The fridge was a bit of a gamble but I'm glad it works so well with the dresser and the copper.

      Delete
  9. Oh my goodness, Josje, it is all unbelievably beautiful! and So difficult to believe any of it is mini!!! Wow!!! The fridge is beyond amazing! What an incredible artist Lady Fanberia is to create things like that! WOw! And your dresser made from pear wood... Awesome! The scale of it is daunting... but clearly you need something that large to hold all your collection! I am, as always, in AWE of what you have assembled for you kitchen! WOW! And that Samovar... we should all have such a wonder in our lives... mini or not! LOL!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Betsy! I agree, Dorota is an amazing artist.
      The dresser I made is big, but still not big enough to hold my entire collection of china and copper 😅

      Delete
  10. La imagen general de tu cocina es espectacular!! Me encanta ese frigorífico tan moderno al lado de la preciosa alacena llena de cerámica y objetos de cobre!!
    Besos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Pilar! I'm very pleased with how it all came together. It was a bit of a gamble with the modern fridge.

      Delete
  11. Hallo Josje,

    Wat een schitterende vooruitgang in de keuken! Ik concentreer mij vrijwel volledig op oude miniaturen die in mijn project passen, maar deze koelkast is werkelijk uitmuntend. Heel erg fraai en tot in de kleinste details is dit gewoon een moderne luxe koelkast. Dit was wel het wachten waard, denk ik zo.

    De servieskast is ook een fraai exemplaar geworden. Heel mooi hoe je die gemaakt hebt. Jouw verzameling porselein en koper (wat een schitterende stukken zitten hiertussen!) komt er heel mooi in uit. Sowieso is de combinatie van rood koper en wit porselein heel geslaagd. En deze afwisseling van materialen en vormen in de kast maakt het een lust voor het oog. Hopelijk duurt het niet een paar jaar voordat je aan de volgende fase toekomt. :-)

    Aangezien ik 1:1 oude puddingvormen verzamel ben ik hel benieuwd waar je de 1:12 vormen vandaan ebt. Zouden ze nog te bemachtigen zijn?

    Huibrecht

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dag Huibrecht, Sorry voor mijn late antwoord, ik vond ineens een aantal comments voor deze post die ik niet eerder gezien had, waaronder jouw bericht. Dank je wel!
      Wat betreft de puddingvormen, een of twee zijn gemaakt door Philippe Bordelet dus die zal je waarschijnlijk alleen zo nu en dan op Etsy of bij een veiling tegenkomen denk ik. De kleine vormen zijn van Country Treasures, die hebben ze (nog) regelmatig te koop, hoewel de maker wat ouder wordt en volgens zijn echtgenote alleen werkt als hij er zelf zin in heeft. Verder zijn er een aantal van Bodo Hennig volgens mij, die zie je nog wel regelmatig, maar ik geloof ook niet meer in productie.
      Ik hoop dat je er nog een paar kunt vinden! En wie weet, misschien gaat Marie Louise er een paar in productie nemen. ;-)
      Groet, Josje

      Delete
  12. Wat een schitterende koelkast, ik kan me voorstellen dat je er blij mee bent. De keukenkast met al je servies erop is ook zo mooi. Ik kan me voorstellen dat je er trots op bent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dank je wel Mieke! (Sorry voor mijn trage reactie!)

      Delete
  13. Hello Josje!
    Would you please contact me via the email contact on my blog
    many thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Love the fridge. I had no idea there were pieces like that out there. What a fab addition to your kitchen and the dresser is just beautiful. I'm sure you found pieces in your copper/dishes stash that you had forgotten about and it must have been lovely to go through them all again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Irene. Yes it is a great joy to go through my stash and rediscover some pieces. Sorry for my very late reply!

      Delete
  15. WOW, what a stunning kitchen.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Amazing! Your collection is stunning and I truly love everything, I can't make out which one could be my favourite piece.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Rosanna! Hope you are well! Thank you for your comment, sorry for my very late reply...

      Delete

Post a Comment