…Wooden you want this floor?

The first couple of days of the kitchen/bath/laundry renovation are behind me now and it’s been a bit of a roller coaster already.

One of the discoveries as demolition started was that the kitchen and bathroom still had original wood floors under the ugly linoleum.

When my contractor called me to let me know of the find, the entire linoleum floor had not yet been removed. He wanted me to consider refinishing the wood floor instead of purchasing a new floor. I told him I’d consider it.

But inside I was resisting this idea. I have never cottoned to the idea of wooden floors for a kitchen, any more than to the idea of carpeting in a kitchen. Ugh. Impractical.

But so many people love and have wood in the kitchen. What was I missing? I spent the evening and the next morning visioning my kitchen with a rich, warm wooden floor, full of character from the life it’s lived since 1929.

By the time I next heard from the contractor, I was convinced I needed to save the kitchen floor. I imagined how it would warm up the space and add colour and ambience to my Euopean-looking kitchen. And also pay a nod to the heritage of my home.

Then came the call: the rest of the kitchen floor was in too bad of a shape to consider saving the original wood. There had been a closet (pantry?) at some point and there were too many sections of the floor missing.

I had to re-wrap my head around the original black and white checkerboard floor idea. Which was now almost as hard as accepting the idea of a wood floor!

Huh?

I let my flooring guy know to continue to prepare the tiling quote for me. I looked up photos black and white floors on the innernetz and once again I was in total love with my black and white floor vision.

So this morning my contractor showed up with a laundry list of things for me to consider. And, you guessed it, he has figured out a way he thinks he can save the floor. With strips of the same  hardwood carefully removed from the bathroom floor. He’ll have a price for me later on this week.

Remember that sappy 70’s song “Torn Between Two Lovers”? I can’t get it out of my head for some reason. 😉

The WB

…Vision

Sometimes it takes one little thing to be the catalyst in order for the vision to crystallize out of the murky solution of ideas swirling around in my mind.

This happened to me this week, regarding my renovation. I was out with my contractor, looking for floor and wall tiles for my bathroom. I had nothing firm in my mind…I just knew I wanted something very plain and light for the walls. And I was confident I would find something to match for the floor. Sometimes I’m a “I don’t know what I want but I’ll know it the moment I see it” type person when it comes to decorating my person or my abode.

Well, I saw some slate floor tiles at the first place and I was stopped cold. I suddenly remembered how struck I had been with multi-coloured slate the first time I ever saw it, years ago with JD at Home Depot. So right then I knew I had to have slate on the bathroom floor. A visit to 3 more stores was needed to find the perfect batch of slate – a mix of pinks, pale burgundies, greens and bronzes – that just happened to be on sale.

Now my vision for the bathroom has crystallized to a serene white spa retreat with a showstopping (to me, anyways), fabulously coloured natural slate floor.

And no chandelier over the tub for me anymore – too busy now (plus I’d be fretting over dusting/cleaning it instead of relaxing in my soaker tub). Last night I found a fixture at IKEA more suitable to my new vision (AND budget!):

I should have remembered that this would happen to me.

In my first home of my own as a newly-single woman in 2000, I pulled all the wall colours for the whole house from a Mucha print poster of a Moet & Chandon champagne ad that I found at a flea market.

It’s funny how a single object can create a vision for a whole room or even a whole house. But that’s how it works for me. Anyone else decorate in this way?

The WB

 

 

…Renovation Madhouse Madness

So, the plans I have been mulling, scheming, tweaking and refining for the past year are about to become reality…in a very big hurry. My apartment renovation is now ON. My kitchen and bathroom will be completely gutted later this week in preparation for their brand new replacements. One of my spare rooms is being fitted to accept my laundry pair and another is getting the long-suffering, water-damaged ceiling fixed so it can become my future office.

I signed the paperwork with my contractor last night and the wheels are now spinning out of control very fast. Like zero to sixty fast. Like I have less than 48 hours to empty out my kitchen, bath, hallway and 2 spare rooms.

And did I mention I have a head that feels like cement and a nose that drips like my soon-to-be trashed leaky kitchen tap?

Isn’t there an adage somewhere that says you are supposed to sweat out a cold? Well my dears, I’ll be sweating up a storm the next couple of nights as I start the descent into Renovation Madness.

The WB

…IKEA

Right now my living room smells like an IKEA warehouse.

Which is not a bad thing at all. It means I am that much closer to having my kitchen/bath renovation actually start. I will be posting many pictures (including   “Befores”) as things start happening around here.

My renovation started out as a vision, but like with all visions I had to come down to reality as I started investigating pricing. For example, my vision included high-gloss eggplant (dark purple) lower cabinets. Funnily enough, no one has eggplant kitchen cabinet doors as a stock item. I know – I was shocked too.

So, my revised vision is for black lower cabinets for the first 5-10 years, then to splash out on my custom eggplant doors when I win the lottery, per my life’s plan.

Happily enough the only true black cabinet doors at IKEA were also one of the cheapest most reasonable choices. And they will look just fine with my stainless steel countertops (gosh, I hope I can retain this part of the vision) and high gloss white upper cabinets.

Yesterday was a whirlwind of visits from my contractor. Morning, noon and night I had to be present as he brought various tradespeople through to look at the project in order to estimate their part in it. Exciting stuff!

Lighting is one part of the vision that has eluded me so far. But Jamie the electrician was most helpful in this regard. “You’re gonna want pot lights here, here and here in the kitchen. And pendants over the breakfast bar,” he said, while marking up the diagram in his hands. “Is your tub gonna be a soaker and separate from the shower?” I nodded. “Then you’re gonna want a chandelier above the tub,” he said. I was struck dumb for a moment. Then I fervently agreed. Yes. OH YES. I DO want a chandelier above my soaker tub. Jamie my man, I like your style I thought to myself.

Now if only the budget can sustain this new addition to the vision. Next week the numbers start rolling in, for real. I will keep you posted.

What are your thoughts about IKEA in general or their kitchens in particular? I think it’s a great store, so long as you are not interested in heirlooms to pass down through the generations. IKEA seems to divide the masses, but so far I am a fan.

The WB