More kitchen details

Some time ago, we made the cabinets above the stove  using two old vintage glass doors that we found  at an architectural salvage store  in West Palm Beach . The doors were originally a light yellow green. With the new sea glass colored glass back splash, the door color had to be changed. The inside of these upper cabinets were painted turquoise and the outside light to match the base cabinets.

                   

Also painted the vintage "Icebox" to  break up what was becoming an all white kitchen.

Glass back splash tiles next to icebox color

Adding more charm and character to the kitchen

In previous posts, I discussed how we applied a wood shiplap wall over the new drywall to the living room. It really turned out wonderful and created the old cottage look we were trying to preserve.
It was now time to do the same treatment in the kitchen. The kitchen was a new  addition that we had added to the back of the existing house and the  walls were covered with drywall

                                                     THE PROCESS BEGINS

Started adding the 6" wood strips at the top which keeps a full piece at the top.

SOME PIECES WERE TRICKY TO CUT

FINISHED

Adding some details

As a painter, it is said that "the devil is in the details". Probably would be better stated to say that the details can add much to a project. The details are, in  many cases, the first thing people notice when entering a room or looking at a painting.

Decided to make and add a palm tree detail in the form of a corbel or roof bracket at the end of the hall that brings you into the kitchen dining area. It turned out to add a nice and inviting beach cottage touch.

When we bought this cottage, the only bedroom, now the guest room, had vertical batten strips from floor to ceiling to hide the joints in the wall material (upson board).  When we removed the old wall material for new drywal and wiring and insulation, we saved the wood batten strips to reinstall to preserve the original look and character.

APPLYING BATTEN STRIPS ON WALLS AND CORNERS

PAINTING THE BATTEN STRIPS

FINISHED GUEST BEDROOM

New wood floor for the caretakers bedroom

Our bedroom was part of the addition and started with a concrete floor. We knew we wanted a wood floor to tie this room in with the rest of the house so had the concrete poured 1 1/2  inches lower to allow a 3/4 inch sub floor and a 3/4 inch floor. My brother and I installed the sub floor some months ago but this week we installed the tongue and groove  pine floor.

Finding a stain that closely matched the living room was tough. After buying several stains and mixing them together in different amounts , finally came up with an acceptable formula. After applying a wood conditioner to allow the stain to be more even, applied the stain followed by three coats of polyurethane.

                                       ROOM WITH SUB FLOOR OVER CONCRETE

                                               

INSTALLED PINE TONGUE AND GROOVE

FINISHED FLOOR

SHOWING TRANSITION FROM OLD TO NEW

Kitchen Island

Creating this kitchen island was a fun project. There was a dresser left over from our move that was a perfect size for this kitchen island area, so it was decided that we try using it for a few months to see if it "works" .  It worked out great so on to the refurbishing stage and one step closer to an unfitted kitchen.

We started by creating a new surface on the back side which was a plain solid masonite type material. Used the nail gun and liquid nails to attach vertical shiplap wood strips and  framed it with old batten strips we had saved from the original walls.

                                                                 BEFORE

The next step was painting the dresser with a lacquer paint that we got from the factory that made our base cabinets. This involved sanding the original wood finish, a coat of primer, and two coats of lacquer. 

The next step was adding drawer pulls that matched the ones we put on the base cabinets.

In our last house, we had stainless steel countertops made and installed and loved them. Virtually indestructible and surgical room clean. For this reason, we had a stainless steel  top fabricated to fit over the top for the crowning touch. In addition, the new countertop ties the pendant lights and the drawer pulls together.

Last Night's Sunset

A view across the Intracoastal Waterway last evening.

Floor refinishing

Now that the rough construction and painting is done, it is safe to have the floors refinished. I thought about attempting this myself, but was talked out of it with the wise words, "Leave it to the professionals".
These guys did a wonderful job of bringing the old heart pine back to life. Lots of sanding, scraping and filling to prepare the wood. This was followed with a sealer coat and two coats of satin polyurethane. After each coat, the floor was buffed out to make it super smooth. All that is left to do now is add the 5 1/2 inch baseboard.
This could be one of the biggest  "WOW"  moments yet.
                                           

                                                                BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER