We're installing hardwood floors in the living room and walk-way from our garage to our kitchen and re-finishing the kitchen floor. We'll interlace them so it's continuous and we'll rip out the baseboards and replace them with big white ones on the whole main floor. That part we're sure of. It's raised A LOT of questions though and here are a few:
1) Do we carpet the family room? It's carpeted now (with tile underneath) and we'll demo all that and were thinking of re-installing a patch of carpet where our couches and tv are. You know, to divide it from the rest of the main living area? Or would it be better to put hardwood floors in there and then buy a big ol' rug?
2) We have this half wall thing that we're wondering if we should demo as well. It would give us some more room for a larger dining table and maybe open up the room more but at the same time I kinda like how it divides the room. If we demo'd the wall we'd probably do hardwood from that wall to the back of the couch and make that a little computer area or something.
3) We LOVE the dark hardwood floors - like almost black. A dark Walnut probably. I went looking at model homes a few days ago and 7 of the 7 had dark floors so I'm thinking it's the new thing which would make my house sell better if we were to sell in 5 years? I'm a little teeny bit worried it'll make my house feel smaller. I don't have high ceilings so that's a concern...just a teeny one. From what I've read it sounds like I'll have to commit to dusting and mopping more. I'm ok with that since I love the look so much and I've read a lot and the consensus seems to be if you get a matte finish instead of a semi-gloss the dust and footprints and scratches don't show up any more than they would a light floor. So I'm pretty sold on dark hardwood floors with a matte finish. Any one want to challenge me on that?
4) Since I'm pretty convinced I want the dark floors I have to get rid of my oak cabinets. I can't afford to get new cabinets so I'm going to sand them down and paint them white. Not antique but white. I LOVE white cabinets and I love the white cabinets and dark floors together but I'm worried about whether or not I can paint them well enough. If I screw it up I'm going to have to get new cabinets which are NOT even close to being in the budget. Keri, you still on board with helping me paint them? I'll get us babysitters and we'll make a party of it. My friend Lucy told me to ding them up - like take a hammer and chains to them - before I paint. Make them look distressed. Again, super scared of that.
5) I think I'll hate our counter tops with the beautiful dark floors and white cabinets. This doesn't have to be changed right away but as long as we're in construction I was thinking of getting a dark laminate to put on top. I'd love granite blah blah blah but don't have the money so this would be a solution until we saved up for nice counter tops. From what I've read we could do it ourselves pretty cheaply.
6) Not in a big hurry but since we're doing all this I want stainless steel appliances. They just would look better. We're creeping up on the 10 year mark anyway so it's got to happen eventually. Any one with young kids hate the fingerprints on your refrigerator? I'm not one to worry about fingerprints. In lots of ways they make me happy that I have a 9 month old that likes to stand at the sliding glass door and look out so I don't think it won't bother me...will it?
Those are a few of the questions that have come up since we decided to re-finish the kitchen floors. It's turned into an expensive project - much more than we anticipated but once everything is turned upside down it seems like we should just work work work and then be done. I'm definitely ready to be done with oak so I think I need to be brave and go for it. Mostly I'm just scared I won't like it in the end. PLEASE give me your opinions!! I may not listen but I DO want to know.
4 comments:
Kat, just mho, but if you get stainless appliances, get high quality ones. They are more maintainance than I thought! My dishwasher, toaster and microwave are pretty good with the smudges, my fridge and oven not so much--and they are all the same brand! apparently there are different qualities of stainless. Have you thought about black appliances??? You are brave! One thing always leads to another doesn't it? I would love new baseboards but that leads to door frames! Ok, just get new doors! See what I mean???
Ooo ooo oooo! I have opinions. So...I totally do consulting for some friends of mine who flip houses....and I LOVE it. I get to go in and tell them what to demo...what to build, what color to paint what. Also get to pick the finishes and floor colors. I love design. Anyway...your right, the dark walnut or ebony hardwood is the "in" thing right now. So is hardwood throughout. I would definitely take the floors into the front room baby. Nix the carpet. Buy a "big ol' rug!" Demo the half wall...you don't need it in today's living. That is there for a "separation" of living spaces. Houses aren't being built that way anymore. Open it up.
Painting cabinets is hard. I've found hiring a painter to spray them gives you a professional look. I've done it both ways....and let me tell you, the sprayer is a ton more professional looking. You can always rent a sprayer and do it yourself. But practice first. Go slow...LIGHT coats! If you have to paint by hand...roll the paint on with a roller and then BRUSH stroke it while the paint is wet with a good brush or it will look like major crap. Even if you try and use foam rollers...it will still look unprofessional and have a weird awful looking texture to it. Also..paint your cabinets with a an eggshell finish. The high gloss will just peel eventually. The lower the sheen the better your paint will stick over time. If you use flat...you can always go back and coat your cabinets with a matte finish poly. I did that with my moms' cabinets because she wanted the rustic look as well. The "distressed" look. I painted them with a flat paint and then rubbed stain all over them. I wiped the stain off and left it in the distressed areas. Afterwards...you will need to poly the cabinets...but go with a low sheene poly. It looks more professional that way.
Stainless Steel rocks....and it makes you realize how often you need to clean your fridge. When I had white appliances....I would wipe it down a few times a month...but let me tell ya, what shows up on the stainless in a weeks time is SCARY! I love being able to see the yuck and wash it away. A trick I have up my sleeve is to make the kids clean the stainless for a morning chore before school. It's easy once they get the hang of it....and it keeps my fridge, dishwasher and stove sparkely with no work on my part!
Thanks for letting me rant! What a fun post!
OK, Kat, I have no opinion on what you do with your house, but my only plan with my house is to redo the hardwoods and rip out the carpet on the entire bottom floor! I'm tired of toddlers and carpet! And of course, I'll help you any day of the week with those cabinets!
So I'm with Amber, nix the carpet, and get a BIG area rug--it should extend underneath your couches at least 6 inches. Demo the half wall, just a dining table will create enough separation in those two rooms, and it would be nice to have them open. I'm scared of how dark it will be with walnut floors, but that is a big pet peeve of mine, I'm all about light. I do love walnut and I think they would be great, but that brings me to my next point. I'm not so sure that white white cabinets would look good with black floors. I'd need to see pictures of what you are going for. Wood floors (even dark) have such a warm inviting feel and white is very modern clean so I'm not sure that will fit.
I think it would be great if you did like Amber was talking about and rubbed stain, those look great are easier to do because they hide flaws better. But I know you don't like the antique look, so again I need to see pictures of white cabinets with wood floors that look great.
Distressed wood is by far my favorite, it is so casual and easy to care for, so I agree with Lucy it would be good to bang up the cabinets, but my one concern is that I've never seen modern white distressed cabinets, they are always aged and antique looking, and more cream color.
So scour magazines and find pictures of what you want to scan and post, don't spend all that money and then be disappointed, the kitchen is the #1 area that sells a home!
I think stainless appliances would look better with walnut than black, and I bought a fridge that has a special coating on it to prevent fingerprints--I love it! I can wipe it down with a wet rag and it looks great. The only drawback is somebody at the place told me that they don't always match regular non-coated appliances exactly and not all companies make the coated kind, so get all or not. The non coated kind do look scruffier with kids, my mom's always was messy when my kids were around. I think you could live with it, and it would make a great job for Logan.
You should have my mom come look at it, she is awesome at vision with these things. I'll ask her if you want.
And lastly, I got my fridge there before I left, at a new appliance warehouse that sells slightly damaged but new things, like stuff people ordered and weren't happy with so they sent back. It is right on County Line and University, on the NE corner by the bowling alley. I forget the name. I paid $600 for a stainless steel fridge. It has black handles because my other appliances are still black so it matches. You could try that to save dough and then replace the rest later!
Now you'll think twice before you ask my opinion again!
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