This morning while my hubby was making Reuben and himself some eggs, I read my blog post to him and even showed him the picture where he was laying on the floor with Reuben. He didn’t seem to mind! :o) THEN… ahem…most importantly… I read him your comments. I think there were 8 at the time…You all kept mentioning how nice it would be to carry on with the flooring into the kitchen! I didn’t say anything… really I didn’t… but I silently prayed that he would think it was a good idea.
After breakfast we started on the area in front of the fireplace and when we finished, we saw we had 3 boxes and 3 planks left over. My hubby (incredibly) said, “Well, that would be a good head start on the kitchen, if we decided to do it.” The next thing I hear is him on the phone calling the guy at Karpet Korner, asking if they still have the Ashwood color of Loose Lay vinyl planks… They did, so my hubby said, let’s get changed and go get a few more boxes to do the kitchen! I was wondering WHEN I WAS SUPPOSED TO FAINT!!! We did pick them up and tomorrow morning we are going to do the kitchen floor. 13 years ago we put down commercial grade peel and stick tile because I couldn’t stand the plywood in the kitchen. It has held up fairly well, but it was funny, once we decided to get the flooring for the kitchen, my hubby said, “You know, there are some spots in here that are starting so show wear.” I just agreed! :o)
There is a slight ridge between the kitchen and the dining room but my hubby thinks he can smooth it down with a tool he has and then it will just be a slight gradation from the flooring we already have up to the kitchen and then we’ll put the new stuff right on top of the tile. It should go pretty fast…we think! We are going to butt it up on the right side where the base of my cabinets are…and then go across the floor with the planks. My hubby unscrewed the cabinet base on the left side and we’ll just extend the planks a little beyond that base underneath and then set the cabinet back back in place and it will hold the planks in place on that side of the kitchen.
It’ll make more sense when I show you…but I won’t make a big production out of the kitchen floor.
When and if we ever get new cabinets, we can take that cabinet base back out and there will be a little extra underneath the cabinets if it needs to slide one way or the other, it can. Remember, this loose lay stuff isn’t glued down…it’s just laid in place and held tight against the edges. The guy at Karpet Korner gave us a half gallon of adhesive in case we needed it so we might put it just on the very edges of the pieces under the cabinet base on the left side.
So that’s what’s happening tomorrow… now, what happened today?
Well, we got all the flooring in the living room finished… I had to cut lots of template pieces around the fireplace. It wasn’t a perfect fireplace and so every piece had to be made with a custom template. I thought you’d get a kick out of my “template” making… It isn’t pretty!
But it worked…every time… I think I had to do 8 of them!
Here is a glance across the room with the new flooring…
When we got down to the last piece I had to make a template for, I could hardly believe it. I had the piece cut, but I told my hubby, “I have to take a picture of this last piece… one last shot of what the floors looked like for 13 years!”
…and AFTER!!!
After we got back from getting the flooring to do the kitchen, we started putting our house back in order, BUT we wanted to be careful with our new floor, so we picked up some glides to put on the bottom of our couch, the buffet, and the 2 chairs. We decided to use wool felt squares on the bottom of our very heavy dining room table…
The rest of the time we got things put back in place and cleaned off pieces that were pretty “overdue” with dusting. It’s really wonderful and if you all lived close to me, I’d have a tea party… an “inside one!”
Well, I’m hoping by Monday, my life as a seamstress will be back in session! I bet you are hoping so too! I’ll show some pictures of the rooms but I won’t go overboard like this past week… I’m hoping to take Marilyn’s advice to heart and REST on Sunday… I am really sore from all the up and down work…and I think my knees might have “a fever.” They are hot and red. Oh well, I have new floors! I’ll get over them! :o)
See you Monday,
Blessings, Jeanne
How like you to have picked up on my only sensible advice — get some REST. You can’t recharge without it. I think the floors go especially well with your paint colors. I hate to think of a new project, but I do wonder about painting the cabinets since you already have paint colors that work. You’d probably need an accent color — a nice project for you and Cindy on her next trip.
I have a Hoosier cabinet and the back piece was in wretched shape — painting wasn’t enough. I cut pieces from cardboard boxes and covered it with contact paper, wrapping the paper around onto the back. It covered the bad wood, added color, and makes the back of each shelf look slightly padded. If I get tired of it, I can just take the pieces out and re-cover them. A neighbor took two of my top cabinet doors and cut rectangular holes out of them and replaced with glass, so that the cabinets that hold my best china have glass doors. That added a little interest to the room.
A lot of people just add new doors to existing cabinets, and the cabinets look new. I covered cardboard with contact paper for the bottoms of my drawers too. It’s easier to clean too because the cardboard can be removed.
I wonder how your new floors will stand up to high heels. I wonder about taking a scrap out to the porch and putting on your highest heels and standing on it to see if it will be dented or marked at all. The ideal thing would be to have someone who weighed a significant amount do that — George is taller than you are and would do nicely, but I’ll bet his feet won’t fit in any heels you own.
Hi Marilyn,
We almost made it to the finish line but decided we were so tired it would be too easy to make a mistake, so we decided to stop with just a few rows to go.
George was talking about the cabinets and so were a lot of you, but they are in very poor condition. My pictures don’t show the missing veneer, the cracked wood, the clear coat finish on the top cabinets peeling off. IF I did decide to paint, I most definitely would consult Cindy and Debs hubby Mike. He just painted their cabinets and I’m sure he could give me good advice.
You cracked me up with the high heels comments! I find myself being just a littLe bit cautious with the new floors…no table scraps given to Reuben on the floor, no empty cans of canned chicken to run away with and lick out, etc…maybe once I realize they aren’t “going to break” I’ll relax!
Thanks Marilyn,
Blessings, Jeanne
I think Marilyn just took the words out of my mouth! I too, would consider painting your cabinets and then putting new handles on them! That’s what they seem to be doing on most HGTV shows. Soft, white cabinets would go well, and brighten up your room. Now don’t think we are trying to keep you away from your sewing, Jeanne! That could be next year’s project!
Oh, your living room looks just wonderful! I can’t get over how NEW it looks, and the colors go so well together, especially your new wall color!
No matter what your floors are made of, you have to put something on the bottom of the furniture to protect the floors from scratching. We bought some of those felt pieces that stick on at Lowe’s to put on the bottom of the chairs and everything else. That makes the chairs glide easier when someone sits down to eat at the table. They wear out after awhile, but are easy to replace.
I bet every time you walk into the house, you just can’t believe it how nice it looks! Now, both of you, REST tomorrow! You deserve it!
Linda is a genius. New hardware. That radically changes the look of the kitchen, and looking at hardware is only mentally stressful, not physically stressful. Exccept for standing up. Rest your knees first. You can’t make a good decision standing on aching knees and feet.
Thanks Marilyn,
Now you’ve put 2 smiles on your face today.
Blessings, Jeanne
Hi Linda,
I’ve always wanted white cabinets…but it would be pretty much a miracle if these were able to be transformed…they are in pretty poor condition when you see them in person. I didn’t even want to put my dishes in them when we first moved in. It’s not that they aren’t pretty…the word I think best describes them is ratty.. ..or maybe nasty. I might have to show you some close ups…
We already had glides on the chairs…and yes, everytime we walk into the house, it’s pretty much unreal!
Thanks Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
The spot by the fireplace is perfect. There are times when it helps to be a seamstress, artist and perfectionist and this was one of them. What an amazing job you two have done. So glad the kitchen will have new flooring too. How exciting to watch this come together. Thanks for taking such great pictures so we could watch it come together.
Thanks for your compliments, Susette.
We almost finished but we’re just too tired to finish the last few rows.
Well, I certainly used some pattern making skills making those templates and I used some little sticky dots I had on the back of my paper roses…to put on the big long metal ruler to keep it from sliding on the vinyl planks….when we had to make long cuts. I used some of the wool felt Cindy had sent me for the bottom of my table feet…
It’s so nice and seems so much more cozy than ever before. I can’t wait to see our friends faces when they walk through our door. It truly changes the feel of our house…
Thanks Susette,
Blessings, Jeanne
The floor looks wonderful and the kitchen will as well. You did a great job on the templates. It takes time but look how precise your cuts are done. I hope you do get some time to relax.
Have a great day.
Take care.
Thank you, Charlotte,
The kitchen got about 3/4ths finished, but we had to call it a day…
It does look wonderful and we feel so blessed to have been able to put this down.
I’m glad you’ve enjoyed seeing rhe progress.
Blessings, Jeanne
Jeanne, After all of this masterful work that you and George have accomplished, I’ll bet that your sewing will just be soaring. I can imagine that as the weather gets cooler and these beautiful rooms are there to behold, your energy will blossom even more. It’s wonderful to have such lovely work to inspire you.
I do trust that you can REST on Sunday. I’ve noticed that my body just does not take the bumps and bounces as well as it used to. I trust your knees will recuperate quickly and no challenges will be left in them.
Blessings.
Thank you, Becky,
We didn’t quite get finished with the kitchen, but we had to stop. There’s only a few rows to go and it can wait till Monday.
I do think a nice clean and neat house just might inspire me to make lots of “pretties!” I think I’ll take more pride in my house and spend a little more time each day making it neat, which in the long run, will make me have more time to sew!
Thank you Becky,
Blessings, Jeanne
Jeanne, I love seeing other parts of your life as well as the sewing. No worries on that. Your floor looks wonderful, and I agree, you need rest on Sunday. I am very pleased that you have your new floors. It’s wonderful how something as getting something fixed really kind of rejuvenates you and brings some relief to a stressed or anxious head. Enjoy and get some much needed “you” time. 😀
Hi Christine,
You won’t hear any complaints from us about resting on Sunday…we plan on doing just that!
Thank you for your kind comments, Christine,
and you are so right, when things are in order and all neat, you really can think clearer! I’m enjoying our new floors very much!
Thank you,
Blessings, Jeanne
Love the new look. The flooring looks great, especially with the wall colors. And soon, the kitchen will be done! Yay! When you get back to the sewing room, you’ll feel so happy with how new and beautiful your house looks, that it will give you new energy to start up your sewing again.
So, so happy for you, Jeanne.
Thanks Paula,
I didn’t even have a paint chip of my wall color with me when we picked out the flooring, so I was really hoping they would go together and I think they do. I’m so glad I painted the living and dining rooms before we did the floors. It really does look different in here now.
Yes, back to sewing…that does sound like fun!
When I have hand sewing to do, I can come sit on my couch and glance up at my floors in between stitches!
Thanks so much,
Blessings, Jeanne
I’m with Marilyn and Linda. Paint those kitchen cabinets, get some new handles, and they will tide you over until you can get what you want down the line. With the new flooring, it will become an amazing space. Know it is a lot more work, but it wouldn’t even require taking everything out of the cabinets. Just a spruce up.
I’ve enjoyed the house redo as much as when you are whipping up a new outfit for the dollies. So, perhaps you could do one or two cabinets a week and before you know it, the kitchen would be done. 🙂
Turned out it was 110 here yesterday. My deck plants just turned crispy critters even though watered. Brought them inside to try and revive. Won’t be quite as hot today, but up there for sure. San Francisco set an all time record yesterday at 106. This was a 143 year record high. Talk about shake and bake as we say.
As to your knees. Definitely take a break tomorrow. My sis in law says she has kneemonia everytime she gets up! Maybe it is catching. 🙂
Good luck with your work today and look forward to seeing which dollly gets the next outfit.
Hi Joy,
Well, I’ll have to show you all some close ups of my cabinets and then see what you think. They are pretty bad…but maybe some paint might work for a while.
We are resting tomorrow…just couldn’t get it totally finished this evening…there’s always Monday, because we ARE resting tomorrow.
We’ll just enjoy looking at it tomorrow.
My goodness, you’ve had it hot…I hope you can revive your plants…poor things.
Thank you Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
So happy for you that the flooring is continued into the kitchen!! Its perfect now!
In sure your dolls are thrilled that mommy has new floors:) They know your joy will show in their new dresses:)!
Congratulations!!
Hi Shara,
Thank you so much for your kind comments. Our new floors are so nice…I’m having a hard time even believing they are ours! You just can’t imagine the change from dry splintery, worn out, plywood floors and now these nice, clean and pretty floors!
Thanks so much,
Blessings, Jeanne
Your new floors look wonderful, and congrats on being able to continue it into the kitchen!
I added a note to yesterday’s post, but just in case you didn’t get a chance to go back to it, I’ll tell you here, I’ve had internet issues lately, so haven’t been commenting on your posts as often. At the moment I have my little netbook out at the fair, using their wifi! In about a half hour I will be judging the 4-H needlework contest. I brought my own knitting along to work on when I’m not walking around, looking at what the kids are doing!
Hopefully my own internet will be much improved by Tues. night!
Thank you Charlotte,
Yes, it truly was a wonderful idea to continue the floors into the kitchen. It makes my whole house feel all pulled together…besides it looks incredible!!
The big fair around here is called The DuQuoin State Fair and my favorite part was always going to the grandstand and looking at the sewing and needlework pieces. I used to enter things in sewing and smocking and doll things, but haven’t for years. I won quite a few ribbons and some cash prizes.
I hope you get your Internet troubles solved soon.
Blessings, Jeanne
Would I like to see some of the needlework Charlotte T. is judging. Maybe she’ll send pictures.
Hi Marilyn
I would like to see them too. Maybe she’ll see this before she’s finished.
Blessings, Jeanne
I’m sorry, girls–no pictures, as I didn’t see this response while I had the chance, but I can describe them, anyway.
We had two girls in this particular contest (we’ve seen the numbers in 4-H sewing and needlework decrease in recent years, sadly), which lasted two hours.
K., a “senior” (h.s. age) chose to make an autumn garland for her house. First she crocheted five maple-like leaves in different colors, then strung them on cord with a number of beads between the leaves. I would guess 8-10 beads after each leaf. She tied a slip-knot at the end of the last knot and didn’t cut the cord, as she’s planning to add to the garland when she gets her project back from the fair. She has been crocheting for about 6-7 years, and was pleased that the pattern involved four different crochet stitches, which made it a bit more challenging. She got a blue ribbon, with a perfect score!
C., an intermediate (middle-school age) chose embroidery. She had prepared four small tea napkins, then used buttons of different sizes and colors, to represent fruit (several small light green for grapes, a single large red for an apple, etc.), which she sewed in place with matching floss, then added embroidered stems and leaves. Each napkin featured a different fruit. C. has only been embroidering for a year or two, so her embroidery stitches were fairly simple; I encouraged her (in my notes on her judging sheet) to learn some new stitches, too, as it would make embroidery more fun. She also got a blue ribbon!
In addition, I had judged two sewing contests (where the kids bring their machines in with them, and make something with materials provided–they get to choose, but are limited to what we have available), and I also did Entry Day which is before the fair opens. The kids bring in all the things they made and we interview them individually, and judge each item separately. That is always fun, and I especially enjoy getting to know the kids, and see how their skills improve over the course of a number of years!
Hope that helped make up for lack of photos!!
I wonder about painting the upper cabinets themselves sackcloth and the doors colonial white. The nasty part is that the doors have to come off. But at least that will make them easier to sand and paint. I’m wondering about painting the lower cabinets, doors included, sackcloth. I saw a backsplash in a herringbone pattern, which I always like, but I’m just sure that Cindy would have a color or an idea that would really bring the kitchen together. Being able to see like that is a gift like yours for putting colors and patterns together.
I can tell you something else (that you already know) — painting the inside of cabinets means being a contortionist. I used a textured lightly self-sticking sort of contact paper for the cabinet shelves for low impact protection for glasses and china — it has held up well. It’s probably toxic — what’s not?
OK, back to work on my house. And what brand names are your paints?
I like the idea of the sackcloth cabinets and white doors, Marilyn. Would definitely fit in with the other rooms. But, even all white would be a lovely change. For Jeanne, if the veneer is just loose, it can be glued and clamped. And if missing, filled in with any joint compound and then sanded. If the existing cabinets are solid wood, it may be worth it to redo them. But, then there is the hinge problem. If I were going to paint, I’d pull them too and probably get some new ones. Then fill any holes. A nice primer coat that sticks to varnish then new paint. Voila