Fall on the Back Verandah

We need new floors!!

Well, as I may have mentioned a hundred times before, we live in an old house. Over 100 years old. The floors are uneven, and on the main floor of the house we have some nice pine floors which are original to the house.

 

  The floors may look nice in the photo, but this was taken about 5 years ago when we had just refinished them. They were refinished with about 6 coats of Diamond Finish Clear Poly.
CONS:
~When we refinished them we sanded, and the nail heads were starting to protrude above the wood. This means no more sanding! 
  After several years I have some annoyances: (is that a word??) anywho...
~this floor is dry, & brittle. Under the desk area, where the chair moves in & out the floor has literally deteriorated & large chunks of wood have just broken off!
~Also there are large gaps in between the planks. This means in the kitchen area I can not even sweep! I have to vacuum. The inconvenience of taking out the vacuum 3 times a day (not that I ever do..shhhhhh)  is wearing on me.
~From a design point of view, I don't like the brown cupboards, brown wood floor & brown counter top (which was supposed to be black) - going on here.  Too much "matchy matchy"!

PROS:

~When we renovated the kitchen, it saved us thousands to NOT have to purchase new floors. :)
~Crumb catchers are handy. (big gaps between boards)
~The natural ambered natural color is GREAT for hiding dirt...seriously if it were not for the big gaps filled with crumbs, it would never look dirty!


I do work in a flooring speciality store, so I have a couple of products in mind:

 http://www.gerflorcanada.com/canada-en/floors-for-the-home/product-page/texline-bois,277.html

GERFLOR

I like this for a few reasons.
~it has that 100 year old house feel,
~it will brighten the kitchen & not be so "matchy-matchy",
~it is a ply able vinyl product so it will go over our EXTREMELY uneven floors without much prep,
~it is textured,and has a "feel real" wood vibe
~1 solid piece means no place for crumbs to hide & easily sweepable
~It has an anti-mildew layer, which means it is great for wet areas - & will not grow mold
~It is softer & warmer & more comfortable than hardwood
~The backing has a fibreglass layer, which prevents it from curling up on the edges 
~Pricewise it runs about $3.67/sf for this particular series

 

OK, so next is MARMOLEUM (no photo available..just the link)

 

Marmoleum has been around for 100 ++ years!  It is a completely natural product!  Interestingly enough it is made from some basic ingredients:

• linseed oil
• sawdust (tree flour)
• tree gum (tree resin)
• jute backing
• natural pigments

Cool eh? 

 

It comes in a click floor (which has a natural cork backing),

a tile form & a sheet form

(here is the link)

http://www.forbo-flooring.us/Residential-Flooring/Products/

 

PROS: 

~They offer matching cool borders too!  (for the tile & sheet product).   

~All 3 types of marmoleum is refurbish able!  They can be polished up like new over & over again. 

~Environmentally friendly - biodegradable

~It is considered a "breathe easy" flooring product

 

CONS:

The only disadvantages of this product were hard to think of, but here are a few downfalls:

~I guess just the price.  This stuff goes for $6-$7ish per square foot in Canada.  That can add up if you have a large area, but seriously it will last forever. 

~The only downfall of that is if you ever remodel, you have no excuse to get a new floor!!

~The sheets MUST be installed by professionals, due to the weld-rod they use to seam it together. This weld rod requires a special machine. It is a 6 foot wide roll.

 

So which do you prefer?

 

 



 

Opening the Door to Communication

In a former post I showed how I painted my fridge with chalkboard paint - It was old, scratched & I kinda wanted a black fridge anyways.  It was a GREAT idea, and worked really well for communicating with my family.  Recently the old fridge died :( & I am NOT allowed to paint my new fridge...lol...not that I would!  So, our family lost that communication.  Right around the corner from the fridge is the door to my basement.  It is a 5 panel wooden door.  This is what I did:

 

Chalkboard Paint + Vinyl + Cricut & various Font Cartridges

 

 

 

 

 

Clearly this is new, and this space is obviously going to be too small  ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tile Backsplash

I have been meaning to procrastinating my kitchen backsplash project for a little while quite some time now.  You see, I work in a tile store...and can't seem to find a tile guy with 10 seconds in his schedule to help us!  My DH & I are quite handy people, but have never tiled.  That is something very new for us.  My DH was a little  very intimidated by the whole thing.  Part of the problem is everyone knows I work in a tile place, and if WE do a crappy job, it might reflect on our place of business.  Also, when my co-workers come to our house, it could end up quite embarrasing!  Anywho...we tackled the job, and with a little help & some lessons form an installer, it is complete!  There are some mistakes...some imperfections...but all in all the wall that the installer did looks fantastic...and the walls we did after he left look acceptable.  :)



BEFORE




AFTER

BEFORE



AFTER

The little insert is "Aged Nickel"



We wanted to choose a tile that suited our 100 year old house.  We didn't want the modern glass or stainless steel that a lot of people go for.  It just doesn't suit our house.  It was because of that fact, it took me a long time to decide.  Also, our counter top & our cupboards are a little monotone, so we needed a contrast.  A focal point.  So, this is what we came up with...

AFTER

 The only issue we have with it now is we both feel we need to repaint the kitchen!! uggg, picking paint colours can be so hard!

Here is the realistic view after we "moved" back in!  I often wonder how some people exist without any clutter on their countertop?  They must not use their kitchen other than to order dinner & open the boxes.