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

Painting the back of the house

I guess like most people, I saved painting the back of the house for last. After all, who sees it?
Nice to have this job checked  off. The object in the lower left is the gas grill with it's cover.
Looking forward to creating a special tropical planted area back here one day.

The outdoor shower

There is nothing  like taking a hot shower under the clouds and trees . Something very basic and special happens feeling the breeze against your wet skin. Today I cut an opening in the guest room wall to expose the hot and cold water pipes . It was then just a matter of cutting into  the pipes and adding a few elbows and sending the water to the outside of the house.

Next was to solder all of the copper members together along with two shut-off valves and connect this assembly to the PVC water supply.

Looking forward to using it this evening after the glue has a chance to dry :0)

This will be great when coming home from the beach. Also a water station (hose bib) to rinse the beach sand off of your feet.

A new fireplace surround

Now that the living room walls are finished, we spent this week working on the fireplace. The original bricks had been painted a shade of red which we did not care for and the original mantel was mad of concrete and leaning forward about 15 degrees.
The first thing I did was to remove the concrete mantel and then knock away the bricks that were holding it up.
We used a coral  product to cover the brick around the fire opening and then framed and covered the remainder of the brick with wood. Also created a new wood mantel.

                                               BEFORE

This is how the fireplace looked before. The mantel has been removed.

DURING

Everything is covered and awaiting paint and wood moldings

AFTER

This is the final product with moldings and paint applied. Like putting lipstick on a pig. The magic cable box with the DVR is hidden under the mantel and behind the piece of wood running horizontal.  The piece of wood running horizontal below the mantel flips down while we watch TV so that the remote control can be used and flips back up when we are not using the TV to hide the box. The Television will go above the mantel. I will paint a large painting to cover and hide the television when not in use. 

T

Living room wall treatment

We finished up the wood shiplap walls in the living room this week.
Lots of prep and painting and sanding , but well worth the labor (of love).
This will all get another coat of paint.



This is a panorama picture of the final product. More charm. Also more paint needed.

Panorama of living room

                                       
                                         A close up of the new wall texture.