Tran Thi Minh Ngoc, a resident of Ha Dong District, Hanoi, fondly remembers the early years of her marriage when she and her husband rented a small house, and their kitchen was a makeshift counter with a slab of stone on top of some bricks. The pots, pans, and dishes they used were mostly promotional items.

"Like many other couples living in rented homes, we thought we’d only invest in proper kitchenware once we had our own home. Besides, both of us worked from morning till night, so our home-cooked meals were often rushed. We settled for this makeshift way of life for years.

However, after having a baby, I felt overwhelmed and exhausted from staying home and caring for the child. One day, I forgot a pot of braised meat on the stove, and it burned. Scrubbing the pot with steel wool didn’t help, and I even cut my hand while trying. That moment felt like the last straw—I broke down and cried.”

The reality of her life at that point was nothing like she had imagined—no beautiful home, no pretty kitchen. "Everything after marriage was far from what I had dreamed."

That night, when her husband came home from work, the two of them had a long talk. They revisited their dreams from years ago and promised to work together to make them a reality.

After more than two years of hard work, the couple moved to a new place—still a rental—but Ngoc no longer accepted the temporary lifestyle they once had. She prioritized investing in the kitchen.

"All the kitchenware was replaced. Brightly colored pots and lovely floral dishes took the place of the mismatched, makeshift items we had before. Thanks to that, I began to enjoy cooking again, with a much happier and more positive mindset.

The kitchen suddenly became our little haven. After work, my husband and I would cook together and share household chores."

Ngoc's colorful collection of hundreds of pots and pans began with just one red set.

"At that time, I needed a good non-stick pot, so I decided to buy a set of three red ones, just enough for our needs.

After three months of daily use, they still looked brand new and were as easy to clean as dishes—light, not too heavy. When I finished cooking, I’d hang them on the kitchen wall or place them on the shelf. The red pot stood out like a decorative piece."

Later, she won a blue frying pan as a prize in a contest. The gift brought her so much joy that she couldn’t bring herself to use it; instead, she left it on the shelf to admire.

Her passion for collecting kitchenware began from that moment. She dreamed of owning pots and pans in all the colors available from her favorite brand.

"It was almost like fate that I got to know the founder of the company that made the pots I loved. After chatting with her, I got the chance to start livestreaming product demonstrations for the company, including those colorful pots."

Thanks to that special connection, Ngoc's collecting "career" became easier. She was often able to buy new models of pots and pans at good prices, purchasing one or two each month.

Her collection grew over time, organized by color, with each pot priced between 400,000 and 800,000 VND, and some floral cast iron pots costing over a million VND each.

"Even though the collection looks massive, it wasn’t that expensive—probably worth just half a square meter of an apartment nowadays," she joked.

Like any collector, Ngoc feels a rush of happiness whenever she adds a new pot to her collection. "It's almost like an addiction—the feeling of owning these items brings me so much joy.

Even though I can't use them all, and some are still brand new with the tags on, I don't regret it. It’s a passion of mine, something that enriches my soul."

"My husband says it’s probably because of the bad memories from before. Now that I’ve found good pots that make cooking easier and are colorful and cheerful, they’ve helped heal me, so I collect them passionately," Ngoc shared.

Since transforming her living space and investing in her kitchen, Ngoc feels that her marriage has also been "painted" with brighter, more vibrant colors—just as she had hoped.

Her outlook on life has also changed compared to the past: "I’ve chosen to let go of unnecessary pressures and live fully in the moment.

Even if we’re still renting, even without the pressure of buying a home, I do what’s manageable now. As long as we live each day as we desire, that in itself is a beautiful thing."