Some of you may recall the kitchen roof leak discovered the day before we left for Africa back in February. Well, the contractor came the day after we left and ripped out part of the ceiling and took a cabinet off the wall...to return 6 months later (actually a different contractor came to fix it) to complete the work. In the process, one of the workers mentioned that the black slate (which I have HATED from day one in this house because it's soooo dark in there and uneven, some were wobbly, and it did NOT wash well) was laid on hardwood flooring!
So I had a look down the vent where the guy was showing me and I decided to make an executive decision...rip it out I said! It took only about 20 minutes and all the slate was stack out back and there was an original oak parquet floor.
With a little (actually a lot) of elbow grease, we managed to scrape, sand and scrub the mortar off the wood to reveal what we now were dealing with. I'm not a fan of oak when it's yellow, orange etc., but when sanded down and refinished in just the right shade of whatever...I really love it. And parquet! I was so stoked to work on this and see what 'old' we could make 'new'! (...and hopefully look good too!)
So the kitchen wall, ceiling etc. was fixed from the leak and the cabinet put back. In the meantime, we had decided to do something different with the cabinets. In the process of the insurance work being completed, I had the contractors paint the wall a new colour (cashmere grey...which has a blue tone) and therefore, the other 3 walls needed painting and I was not up for that challenge with these ceilings...
So I found a stain I liked for the floor, that I was also going to use on the island as a contrast to the cabinets which we were going to do lighter. But then I decided to try it on the island and feature cabinet and wow! We loved it. Spanish Oak. This is just a rough coat...and it's hard to appreciate in the picture but it's very awesome in real life!
I'm admitting publicly that I do not take good iPhone pics! Not complicated enough for me I guess. ;o)
So with a little help from our people...missionaries and Shannon and Jenna...
...the floor is almost ready to stain...
...and I sent everyone to the pool with Dad, and the big boys and girls while I finished what I started. Cabinets. Cabinets. Cabinets.
We are so excited with the results...even though I didn't get the finish coat on yet (it was midnight and I was D.O.N.E.). The floor will be stained a lighter brown--and the cabinets will get crown moulding and all the lighting will be changed out. Including that ugly pot rack that provides no light and is an eyesore (in my opinion...I just like my kitchen items concealed!).
This week: 24 cabinet DOORS and 16 DRAWERS!...
and then the floor again...
and then...clean, clean, clean, restore, replace doors and drawers after we put all the 'stuff' back in them...and finally lights!
So here are a few 'before' shots that I found that Kaitlin took when we were away in February.
The 'after' shots...stayed tuned.
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