We can’t enter the house yet because the new finish is still curing, and there’s one coat left to go. But that didn’t stop me from taking pictures through the windows! Here’s the dining room and kitchen. Remember that the dining room floor in front is brand new, while the kitchen is nearly 60 years old. Both are solid oak and will last for many more decades with proper care.
Here’s another view of the kitchen. We can’t wait to walk on it!
With 10 days left to go until we have to move, a lot is happening. The floor sanders arrived on time this morning and set up their industrial-strength sanding and vacuuming equipment. The 1955 vintage hardwood floors are in good shape. They’ll look like new after a professional sanding and polishing.
It’s a good thing that our new furnace got switched on today (it had been disconnected while the gas lines were being rerouted) because the weather forecast calls for chilly, damp conditions over the next few days. A toasty house will help the floor finish cure much faster.
We’re expecting the floor finish to be applied tomorrow, and we’ll be barred from entering most of the house until at least Thursday afternoon. There will soon will be new or newly refinished hardwood floors throughout nearly all of the house. See the floor plan below.
Although our house was a wreck when we bought it, it has good bones. It’s structurally sound with untouched period details like original hardwood floors. They’re in good shape and will just need to be sanded and refinished to bring them back to life.
Unfortunately, the hardwood didn’t extend to the former kitchen. It’s the space that will become our dining room since we moved the kitchen into the adjacent bedroom. The room was covered in an old brown linoleum that was way past its prime.
So we decided to put hardwood in the kitchen too. It’s solid red oak that matches the width of the original flooring. Since all of the floors will be refinished they’ll blend together seamlessly.
First, Chuck had to pull up the original floor, which was glued and nailed to old plywood. It was a backbreaking job that generated a ton of debris and splinters.
And here’s the new floor. We can’t wait to see the final results after refinishing!
And now for a preview of our color scheme. Our views are of ocean, hills, and sky so we’re going with watery cool blues and grays in the tiles, paint color, wallpaper and countertops. The wood tones in the original hardwood floors and new cabinets, along with some accent wallpaper will warm it up. We’re getting the cabinets and countertops from Chuck’s C W Quinn Home showroom in San Luis Obispo, of course. It’s very convenient to be married to a kitchen and bath designer for a project of this scope.
930 Stratford 