For those of you who don't know, we live in a charming old house that's just loaded with character (a.k.a. a fixer-upper)...I mean lots and lots of character!! Over the past four and a half years we have worked diligently to mold the character of this somewhat grand old lady into all that we envision. We've had positive results, but the process has been arduous to say the least. This summer the main project has been the kitchen and today marked a turning point in the long road to my dream kitchen (or at least my kitchen that doesn't give me nightmares). For today...our new floor arrived! Now as lovely as this old floor looks in this photo, let me assure you that it's ten times worse in person. (Note that I also got some of the gross brown cupboards in there, too. My Grandma Boyer would have had the perfect word for that color, but I don't seem to have gotten that gene.)
So when the floor guy called this morning to say that they had a sudden opening and could they possibly come today instead of tomorrow, I had to bite my tongue to keep from yelling into the phone, "I've been waiting for you for four years! By all means, get over here!" The project turned out to be like all other projects in our house: much more than anyone bargained for. Fortunately, this time we weren't the ones bargaining, and I only had to listen to the frustration of our two capable installers rather than that of my husband. After removing three layers of old vinyl and a 1/2" layer of plywood, the original linoleum was revealed in a stunning shade of black...interesting choice. By 5:00, we had a floor that looks like this, and your feet don't stick to it.
Just your typical vinyl kitchen floor, but I couldn't be happier with it. Choosing a floor like this, some of you may know, involves looking at approximately 3,000 samples of vinyl that all pretty much resemble one another. Then one must bring home at least half of these samples to examine how each variation of beige-ish tan appears in the lights of the room in which the floor will be installed. Besides getting the color right, I wanted a pattern that had a "strong diagonal line". (I worded it like this, so I would seem artsy and knowledgeable to Don, the friendly salesguy, who never laughed at me - to my face, at least - even when I returned our fourth set of samples.) Anyway, the floor is in and it's just right, so we're rejoicing tonight. I always thought the new kitchen floor couldn't get here a day too soon, but, whaddya' know, it actually did!
So when the floor guy called this morning to say that they had a sudden opening and could they possibly come today instead of tomorrow, I had to bite my tongue to keep from yelling into the phone, "I've been waiting for you for four years! By all means, get over here!" The project turned out to be like all other projects in our house: much more than anyone bargained for. Fortunately, this time we weren't the ones bargaining, and I only had to listen to the frustration of our two capable installers rather than that of my husband. After removing three layers of old vinyl and a 1/2" layer of plywood, the original linoleum was revealed in a stunning shade of black...interesting choice. By 5:00, we had a floor that looks like this, and your feet don't stick to it.
Just your typical vinyl kitchen floor, but I couldn't be happier with it. Choosing a floor like this, some of you may know, involves looking at approximately 3,000 samples of vinyl that all pretty much resemble one another. Then one must bring home at least half of these samples to examine how each variation of beige-ish tan appears in the lights of the room in which the floor will be installed. Besides getting the color right, I wanted a pattern that had a "strong diagonal line". (I worded it like this, so I would seem artsy and knowledgeable to Don, the friendly salesguy, who never laughed at me - to my face, at least - even when I returned our fourth set of samples.) Anyway, the floor is in and it's just right, so we're rejoicing tonight. I always thought the new kitchen floor couldn't get here a day too soon, but, whaddya' know, it actually did!
4 comments:
Hallelujah!
AB
I can relate to your excitement of a simple linoleum floor. While remodeling our kitchen/dining room/den a few years back(a Paul Bouman project consisting of tearing down walls)we went for quite some time with just plywood on the kitchen floor. And of course my kids made up a song something like "Eatin' on the (clap) plywood". We still sing it occasionally today. Thank you for reminding me to appreciate that floor.
I like that strong diagonal line and the shade of beige you've chosen is spot on!
You are closing in on it! The floor looks great. I am anxious to see the finished product.
Mom
Post a Comment