Before
here and
here... The kitchen and dining area before had white walls and blue and burgundy accents with linoleum flooring.
Now the walls are a warm maple cream with deep berry brick curtains and black and cream accents.
The project hasn't been without it's problems, namely the finishing of the hardwood floors. We had problems applying the polyurethane with the applicator the manufacturer recommended and had to strip the two coats we applied. Husband K did all the work including all the sanding between coats. Tips for applying polyurethane: lightly sand floor before applying 2-3 coats by hand with a brush. Allow to dry more than 16-24 hours. Sand and reapply additional coats.
The light fixture we wanted for over the island didn't come in black so I sanded it and sprayed it black to match the new black chandelier.
All the hardware was gold and we replaced it with a burnished brass. The chandelier is black with gold brushwork.
It's hard to capture the color of the walls however they are a beautiful warm maple cream and we couldn't be happier with the way they turned out. K also upgraded all the baseboards and added new corner pieces throughout the main floor.
We just love the new hardware! We'll replace the faucet with a new black one as soon as we can find the one we want.
The flooring continues down the full length of the hall to the upper bedrooms and is just beautiful. We plan to change the countertops to granite or granite like in the new year and we'll replace all the appliances with stainless steel or possibly black, still undecided yet.
New blinds for the windows (for under the drapery) will be ordered and I'll swap out the china in the cabinet for the cranberry Wedgewood "Bramble" from one of the other rooms.
We found the table cloth but I am still not sure if I like it, the pattern is quite large, but it has black it in. My husband says one can never have too many table cloths so live with it, see if it grows on you and purchase new ones as you find them. (What woman wouldn't love to hear her husband say this! :) I may even have one custom made if I can find a fabric I like. We've been searching for two oil paintings for each side of the china cabinet but still haven't found the ones we want.
Labels: "finishing floors", "Labor Day Project", hardwood floor", kitchen, renovation, tips
