See 6 dream kitchens on Whidbey Island tour

Gabriella Santos doesn’t use her high-end French La Cornue stove to impress dinner guests.

Instead, she lights a log and hangs a chicken in the fireplace spit.

“It doesn’t need any attention,” Santos said. “It does its own thing. The weight of the chicken makes it spin.”

An hour later, dinner is served. Just like in the old days, before the invention of Costco rotisserie chicken.

Santos will have a chicken gyrating in the hearth for visitors to admire on the Dream Kitchen Tour by the Whidbey Island branch of the American Association of University Women.

Six kitchens on central Whidbey Island are featured for the annual event that funds scholarships for female college students.

The AAUW Dream Kitchen Tour is more than a parade of fancy stoves and fridges.

“We select kitchens that reflect the passions and lifestyles of their owners,” said Bonnie Abney, tour chairwoman.

Other kitchens in this year’s central Whidbey Island tour include a contemporary Northwest home and a craftsman revival that underwent a revival itself.

“I love to share the house,” Santos said. “I call it ‘The 1859 Sea Captain’s House.’ “

The home originally belonged to Captain J. Henry Swift, whose cargo ship hauled Washington lumber to France.

Santos bought the house in 2006 and remodeled it back to the bones. It’s how she keeps a roof over her head. Over the past 40 years, she has lived in and restored 23 homes, primarily in California, several of which were sold to celebrities.

The 65-year-old doesn’t hire a team of beefy guys to get the job done. She grabs a sledgehammer and gets dirt under her nails.

Still, she needs professional help. Coupeville craftsman Todd Heppner was her right-hand man for this massive overhaul. “He never once rolled his eyes at me,” she said.

It took more than three years of hard labor to restore the home’s original splendor buried under plaster and tile.

“I had to take off all the years of other people covering everything up,” she said.

The exception: “The fireplace, which was in the original kitchen, was in perfect shape. I can imagine Captain Swift pulling up his big tall ship and a chicken waiting in the fireplace for him.”

Tucked behind an old picket fence and dark shingles, the home has 200 feet of beachfront and killer views of Penn Cove. Santos shares the acre of land with a rooster and three chickens, which are not destined to be spun on the spit.

“It’s an old house, but it’s like having a new house,” she said. “I take something back to what it would have been as much as I can, while still keeping the modern conveniences.”

Look around her kitchen and try to find something 21st-century. Well, other than the gleaming Italian espresso machine.

“I hid the Sub-Zero drawers and freezer. I hid the dishwasher. I hid the garbage disposal switch,” she said. “I even hide the plugs.”

The black-and-brass French stove was inspired by Claude Monet. “It looks very much like his stove in his cookbook journals,” she said.

Soapstone countertops match the original fireplace mantel. The chandelier has candles, not light bulbs. The maple flooring in the kitchen was a lucky find at a Seattle salvage shop.

Santos started out her career as an assistant to a dentist. “One day his chair broke, and he said, ‘Get in there and fix it.’ “

She fixed it, and from there turned her hands on houses.

It wasn’t easy for Santos, a single mother whose education was cut short by dyslexia.

“I did all the work as a matter of cost,” she said. “As time went by I kept doing it because I found I am so much of a perfectionist.”

It paid off. “The most expensive home I sold was for $2.2 million,” she said.

“This one is Ralph Lauren shabby chic. It is very masculine, with all the different woods, the ruggedness of it and the old rough timbers.”

Santos says she’s had offers but is not planning to move again.

“I’m 65 and would sort of like to retire,” she said. “It’s work, but it’s fun work.”

Dream Kitchen Tour

What: The fourth annual AAUW Dream Kitchen Tour will feature six kitchens on central Whidbey Island.

When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Where: The tour begins at the hospitality center at Coupeville United Methodist Church, 608 N. Main St.

Cost: Tickets are $15. Price includes maps, directions and a detailed tour guide. Tickets are available the day of the tour at the Coupeville church. They can be purchased in advance at Angelo’s in Oak Harbor, Lind’s Pharmacy in Coupeville, Sound Business Center in Freeland, and The Star Store in Langley.

Information: www.aauw-whidbeyisland.org.

Sleep over

Want to spend the night in the Sea Captain’s House? Gabriella Santos rents a downstairs suite with private entrance on the bed-and-breakfast site: www.airbnb.com/rooms/514919

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.