You can never have too many cookies — or too much kitchen space.
Just ask Mandy Edmunds, a 47-year-old mom and baker based in Los Angeles.
She began building her business, Sugared Up Cookies, from scratch in 2019, but outgrew her home kitchen a few years later.
Rather than renting a retail location, her husband, Dave Edmunds, proposed another idea.
“‘This is really taking off, and it’s great that you’re doing this,'” Mandy Edmunds recalled her husband saying. “‘You’re happy and successful, but I think it’s time for a dedicated space.'”
Together, they spent about eight months and $26,000 transforming their two-car garage into a second kitchen. The process, she said, has led to the growth of her business and tens of thousands of cookies in the oven.
Mandy Edmunds never intended to run a baking business from her home.
After getting married in 2017, Edmunds had adjusted to life as a stay-at-home mom and was looking for a way to fill some free time.
She found it in 2019 when a friend invited her to a cookie-decorating class hosted by a professional baker in the Los Angeles area.
“The cookies were so gorgeous. I had no idea you could do this with icing,” she told Business Insider. “It excited me, and I wondered if it was something I would like to do.”
She had the opportunity to figure that out when the COVID-19 pandemic hit three months later. She began baking for friends and family, who suggested she start taking orders.
Edmunds was skeptical, but curious. Her husband helped her create social media accounts promoting her desserts.
Within a week, she had a small business on her hands.
As orders rolled in, she knew she needed more space to bake.
For her first few years in business, Edmunds baked from her home’s kitchen. It was “a bit of a struggle,” she said.
She and her husband couldn’t use the kitchen at the same time for worry of cross-contamination, and their pets — one dog and one cat — had to stay out of the room.
“I take cleanliness and quality very seriously,” Edmunds told Business Insider.
Edmunds’ husband suggested they transform their garage into a cookie kitchen.
At the time, their two-car garage was being used to house one vehicle, some holiday decorations, their laundry units, and tools.
The couple realized that they could easily rearrange their belongings, move their washer and dryer to another side of the garage, and turn the rest of the space into a kitchen.
So Dave Edmunds, a general contractor, quickly got to brainstorming and drafting, which took a little over a month.
Renovations began in May 2023.
Edmunds told Business Insider that her husband would typically work his regular job, then come home and chip away at the garage renovation. He’d also dedicate some weekends to the project.
To start, the couple essentially split the garage in two.
They planned to move their laundry units to one side of the garage, where they’d also have some remaining storage space.
The kitchen would take up the other side, and a wall would separate the two areas.
Laundry units were the first appliances installed in the renovated space.
As Edmunds noted, the garage didn’t need to be demolished. It was basically “a blank canvas,” she said.
The biggest changes involved swapping their traditional water heater for a tankless model, which they installed outside their home, and switching their overhead, roll-up garage door to a side mount.
They also needed to make some plumbing adjustments.
“We absolutely cannot live without our laundry, so we moved the washer and dryer first,” Edmunds said. “But we didn’t have a plumbing hookup on the other side of the garage, so Dave ended up having to trench it out and put it over there.”
Soon enough, they’d added insulation, drywall, a window, and more.
Because Edmunds would eventually bake in the garage-turned-kitchen, she needed a window. Her husband carved one out on the side wall.
They also added outlets, insulation, drywall, and numerous cabinets.
Countertops, electrical work, a sink, a mini-split HVAC system, and a TV came later. So did the kitchen’s backsplash, wallpaper, and paint job.
Construction materials are pricey — but the couple found ways to save money.
Edmunds said the renovation cost her and her husband around $26,000.
While that’s a fair chunk of change, she noted that the project typically costs more.
In their case, they were able to save money on certain materials because Dave Edmunds could get them cheaper through colleagues.
Edmunds also already owned many of the major appliances that she’d need for baking.
The project took around eight months to complete.
Renovations concluded in January 2024. The finished space includes an epoxy floor, quartzite countertops, tiled backsplash, and a stainless steel sink.
There’s also a small seating area and a TV so Edmunds can watch shows while baking.
The room is painted green in some areas and decorated with floral wallpaper in others.
The wallpaper lines her apron rack — which is full of pink gear — and her two True commercial freezers.
When it comes to baking, Edmunds said organization is key.
That’s why she wanted her commercial kitchen to have numerous spacious drawers and cabinets to hold her supplies.
Some drawers are large enough to fit large rolling pins, for example, while others are lined with spice racks to keep her food colorings right side up.
One nifty addition comes in the form of a retractable clothing line above the sink.
“You’re not allowed to use dish towels and things like them [to dry baking mats], because you’d get little fibers and whatnot on them,” Edmunds said. “Everything has to air dry after being sanitized using a quaternary ammonium solution.”
“So I use stainless steel clothes hangers with little hooks to clip them and line dry them,” she continued. “It’s exciting because now, I don’t need to have everything spread out all over my countertops.”
Of course, you can’t forget the oven and dishwasher.
The couple installed a Viking 7 Series electric convection oven and a Kitchenaid stainless steel dishwasher in the kitchen.
The latter can fit multiple large baking sheets at once, saving Edmunds time on sanitizing. The oven sits below her work laptop and edible-ink printer from Eddie.
Edmunds now has her dream baking space, and it’s boosted her business to new heights.
Edmunds said she wouldn’t change a thing about the kitchen. Every inch was designed intentionally.
Her business has been positively affected as a result. She’s baked tens of thousands of cookies in the space, she said, and has been able to start hosting cookie-decorating classes.
She describes the kitchen as a sanctuary and one of her “greatest blessings.”
“My heart is overflowing with gratitude, both for my husband, Dave, who believed in me and poured so much effort into helping me build this dream, and for my wonderful clients, who trust me to be part of their most meaningful celebrations,” she said.
“Every time I step into my beautiful custom kitchen, I still have moments where I can’t believe it’s really mine,” Edmunds added. “Having this space has allowed me to do what I love every day, right from home, while maintaining the balance between my work and my family. That means so much to me.”
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