# Antique Dealer’s Pre-Loved Kitchen Makeover

> Libs Nicholls transforms her 23-year-old village school kitchen into a vintage-inspired space using salvaged materials.
- Title: Antique Dealer’s Pre-Loved Kitchen Makeover · domino
- Summary: Libs Nicholls transforms her 23-year-old village school kitchen into a vintage-inspired space using salvaged materials. Antique dealer Libs Nicholls…
- Keywords: libs nicholls, domestic science, cotswolds, vintage kitchen, salvaged materials, kitchen renovation, victorian dresser, carrrara marble, Antique, Dealer, Pre-Loved, Kitchen
- Source: domino — https://domino.com/renovation/salvaged-kitchen-material-ideas-libs-lewis
- Author: Olivia Lidbury, Scarlett Lewis Ratcliffe
- Published: 2026-10-31T05:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: libs nicholls, domestic science, cotswolds, vintage kitchen, salvaged materials, kitchen renovation, victorian dresser, carrrara marble
## The Antique Dealer’s Kitchen Vision
Libs Nicholls, an antique dealer with homewares boutiques in the Cotswolds, renovated her 23-year-old kitchen to avoid a 'matchy-matchy' look.

> When my children were small, they could come home to a different kitchen table than the one they’d had breakfast on
## Victorian Pine Dresser as Island
Nicholls used a Victorian pine dresser with marble top, bought for £500, as a central island after nine months of storage.
## Delicatessen Stone Counter
She sourced a salvaged stone from a fish counter at a delicatessen for the kitchen counter, adding stainless steel to extend it.
## Galvanized Steel Backsplash
Nicholls used a scalloped sheet of galvanized steel from her garden for 16 years as a backsplash, cut by her builder.

> It was sitting in my garden for 16 years
## Ugly Cupboard for Storage
An antique cupboard with worn paint and original framing serves as a broom cupboard and space for lightbulbs.

> We call it the ‘ugly cupboard’ because we can hide the mixer and stuff I don’t want out
## Reclaimed Pantry Doors
Nicholls found 175-year-old Crittall windows in a neighbor’s dumpster and repurposed them as pantry doors after stripping and adding reeded glass.

> Oh my God, I want them back now
## Tabletop Ceiling Texture
Old Dutch market tabletops were fixed overhead with battens to create an authentic rafter look for the ceiling.

> It has given it so much texture
## Key takeaway

Antique dealer Libs Nicholls renovated her 23-year-old kitchen with vintage finds and reclaimed materials to avoid a 'matchy-matchy' look.