Quite some time ago, I wrote about the beginning of our kitchen remodel.
The photo here shows the original kitchen. We removed the microwave and replaced it with a stainless steel vent hood. That was an adventure of which I failed to write. (How does one wrap up an afternoon of not one but TWO E.R. visits, 22 stitches in two different children, a wedding photo shoot and witness to a marriage con-validation in one simple blog or journal entry?)
Suffice it to say, the hood was in place before the new pine countertops were installed.
Here you can see the large glossy (slippery) ceramic tile that was spread out for over 600 square feet on this block and beam house. What you cannot see is the large cracks also spread out over various points of this 600 square feet of the block and beam house. Anyone who has ever lived on a block and beam house knows that you simply don't put 18-inch tile on 600 square feet of floor.
Besides being ugly and slippery, it was damaged in several places and had to go.
So it went.
It took us more than a year to remove all the tile from the living and dining room. Working in sections- when we had a few hours- one of us would pick up the mallet and chisel and break away at the tile, and then the hard tile set backing board underneath.
Removing the tile board underneath revealed a surprise. (though considering the history of this house- I wasn't surprised) The tile backing was laid directly on top of this hole.
We originally thought we would finish the kitchen floor, then tear up the dining room tile, then lay the wood in there. As it turns out, men from the church offered to lay the floor and they wanted to knock out both rooms. So into the dining room with the mallet and chisel!
One of these fine men also repaired the sub-floor. That was an all day job itself, which slowed the floor laying process.
Notice the vinyl we found under the tile.
When we lifted the tile off the dining floor, we could then see that the dining room subfloor was almost an inch lower than the kitchen floor. There was a slope at the threshold joining the two rooms, and a noticeable difference in the thickness of quick set material under the tile! So, before they could lay the floor, I had to back to make a trip to the hardware store for a stack of plywood.
 |
| The men put my son to work too! I loved seeing him learn carpentry skills. |
What you see below is the genius invention of 'the amazing' Matt. I met Matt a week before he started working on my house. Out of the goodness of his heart, he offered several weekends to my family to get this job done. The strip of wood material you see here is his answer to the threshold slope. He made the two rooms blend seamlessly with that strip of plywood, strategically cut and pasted with shims.
I lost count as to how many orders and trips to the hardware store I had to make for pine flooring. I wanted unfinished pine like we had in the rest of the house, but the when I ordered from the same source, I learned after getting it home that the tongue and grooves would not fit. This mattered because I still had 100 square feet left of the flooring I had used stacked behind my sofas. I then had to find another source, which was no short order. After finding a lumber yard, it took several weeks to get enough to finish the job. And since the men who were doing this work were volunteering, I was at the mercy of their other responsibilities and time lines. My children and I had [almost] grown accustomed to stepping over stacks of pine and crawling over misplaced furniture.
In the meantime, however, I was able to get the 70's brown paneling painted in the kitchen. I approached this with trepidation. I am not good at making decisions, and without having a unanimous vote to do it from the children, I started without assurance. By the time I finished, however, (which took more than a weekend because after starting, I decided the color I had chosen - which was plan 'B'- was too dark, so I had to go back to paint store for plan 'A'. I then decided to use plan 'B' in the dining room)
We then sanded the entire surface with a rented power sander and then sealed. We left it more natural than the rest of the house, so even though it is the same material, it will age differently.
Back to the kitchen-- we have loved the look of the pine countertops. However, the oil we used for the finish was not as protective as we deemed necessary for the abuse our tribe dishes out in the kitchen. My son-in-law and daughter volunteered to cover the wood with food-safe epoxy, (or did I volunteer them?) which turned out to be better than I had expected.
They came on a day following a double shift for me, so I spent most of the time in my bed recovering, and awoke to a finished kitchen, with counters that resemble stone.
The counters can hold up to the spills and abuse my children have dished out, and look amazing. First glance tricks the mind into thinking it's granite, but it's still the beautiful pine.
The backsplash is still to be completed. I have the tiles and tools, but I am waiting for some electrical work to be completed before commencing this final chore.
I wasn't happy with the glass top electric stove that had no reasonable way of tracking low-to-high temperature changes, so I was thrilled to find a gas line under the counter. After finding a five burner gas stove at Habitat for Humanity I am proud to say I now know how to connect a gas stove. \There is no 'before' photo of the sink area, but the 'all too small to hold a pasta pot' enamel coated cast iron sink was replaced with a VERY deep single basin stainless steel sink I found on Craigslist. The seller was already asking a very fair price on the practically new sink, but when I went to pick it up, she and I recognized each other from our homeschool group, so she gave me an even better deal! (thank you, Suzi!!)
The house never had a pantry, so our old Ikea bookshelves have served that purpose. The 'island' is a solid wood table I scored as is in a resale shop for $20.
The other half of the kitchen is now a comfortable sitting area. Guests and family members can relax with a drink or curl up on the comfy sofa and keep me company while I cook. This has turned out to be my favorite spot for morning coffee when the weather doesn't permit my outside spots, or the sun hasn't come up yet.
It's the perfect spot for the trilogy pieces of St Peter the apostle. I still need to move that middle piece to the right....
The view from the sitting area is this massive dining space. Both china cabinets almost found themselves by the curb before my sister from a different mother offered to help me paint them. I'm forever thankful because I'm sure my china would be in broken pieces if I had nothing but the floor on which to keep it. The corner cabinet- a second hand find more than twenty years ago- is now the medicine cabinet
Since I took the photos I have changed the curtain in the kitchen, and replaced the lightbulbs in the dining room. Each week I try to tackle some small task to being this project closer to completion. Will it ever be the French country I admire and long for? no. That requires not only the large pallet I have here, but also a bank account with a few more zeros. But the changes meet our needs as a family, and gives me the confidence to say that this old house is our home.
