Counter Productive

So the final stretch is here...everything but some minor trim work is complete.  Well, everything but the kitchen sink....we can't install it yet because there are no counters for it to go in.

I decided when I was planning the kitchen to put quartz counters on all the cabinets on the north wall.  They went in about a week and a half ago and I love them.  But I wanted the kitchen island to stand out.  Everything around it is modern and sleek....it's going to be rustic and aged.  So I decided to go with wood counters for the island.  And I am going to clad the cabinets with some old doors turned on their sides.   It would add some warmth and character to the kitchen and really make a statement....Sounds easy right?

After finally finding some great boards, getting them milled down to be a consistent thickness I joined them together with the biscuit joiner.  (see previous post for details)

Once I had them together, it was time to cut the opening for the sink and do the final sanding.  I measured carefully and marked out the opening.  I drilled holes in each corner large enough for the jigsaw blade to fit into.  Then I inserted the blade and began cutting out the opening.

Much to my surprise once I was finished cutting out the sink opening, I found that there was a large section of the wood that had huge cracks and gaps in it.  I was so frustrated because the process has been slow going and this was one more thing to set back the timeline.  I mixed up another batch of filler (wood glue and sawdust I had saved from cutting the boards)....patched the cracks and gaps and let it dry...again.

There are no pictures here...I was way too upset to stop and take any!!

Finally I was able to sand off the filler and get ready for the final finish.  As with any wood surface, before you do the final coat of paint, varnish or oil you have to make sure it is really well prepped. Work in stages of coarse to fine grades of sandpaper and the wood will just get smoother as you progress.  When it feels very smooth to the touch, it is done.

I was able to put on a coat of stain on after sanding it really well and it is looking great so far....I now need to put on 3-4 coats of Waterlox (a treatment I found online that is supposed to be the best product for this application) and then they will be finally done....here's the progress so far.

Since I was a bit way-laid by the counters, I had to complete something today so I worked on my message board/calendar.

I took one of my old window frames and made it into part cork/park chalk board earlier.  Today I painted the lines and letters on it so I would have a chalkboard calendar that I can write on month by month and change it each time.  It turned out well, and took a bit of sting out of the counter dilemma.

I added two 1/2 moon vintage handles mounted upside down to hold the push pins and chalk.  I also found these great chalk markers online that will give a very fine line and wipe off the chalkboard.  They arrive next week so I can't wait to try them out!

Stay tuned for the final reveal on the counters and the complete kitchen reveal!

Almost there!!!

It's been a productive week in the Robert's household....I started working on the counters, we got the wood cladding and pendant light fixture installed and I made a phone shelf.

The counters came back from Peter at Wunderland and were levelled enough to use so I then started the process of joining the planks together.

First I had to make the edges straight and true to be able to join them together seamlessly.  I laid it out several times and measured carefully to figure out what portions of the boards were the best looking for the counter.  I aligned them so that when we did the cutout for the sink some knots and other not so desirable areas would be cut away.

I had decided to use the biscuit joiner for this project.  I must say it might be one of my fave tools.  Super easy to use, super accurate and super fun!

The biscuit joiner is a tool that cuts out 1/2 elliptical slots from the material to be joined.  You do this on both pieces and then insert a "biscuit" which is an elliptical shaped piece of wood that you glue into the slots.  It's hard to describe, but the pics below may show how it works easier than me trying to write it out....

 

 Dry fit boards together and mark where you want the center of biscuits to be                                  

Set depth of slots from top edge.   I did 2 rows, 1 at 1/4" down and 1 at 1 1/2"

  

Line up the marks with the joiner and make the cuts..repeat with all marks

First row done!  Adjust the depth setting and repeat for the second row.

 

 Put glue in slots and insert biscuits

         Put both pieces together and tighten clamp to hold while glue dries

It took some time to get it done perfectly and I almost wanted to be sick while joining them in case it didn't work and they didn't line up...but that's the beauty of this joiner....it made it so simple to align them perfectly.   They came together really well and I mixed up some sawdust I saved, from cutting the wood, with some glue and used it as a filler for the larger holes in the top.

While the counters were drying, we cut and installed the boards to go along the nub wall in the kitchen.  This was the section the previous owners cut out from the old exterior wall and now was an awkward bump in the plan.  

I had gone up to Ed's place to get some boards for this purpose...and out of this pile picked a few great ones....Here is the opening before

And here it is after.

  I love the way it adds so much warmth to the space and the way the light fixture looks on the wood.

While Fred was installing the light and boards, I installed a shelf for the telephone message center that I had made out of an old wooden ladder and a piece of old barn board.I love the metal hardware detail on the ladder.  This shelf will be the perfect spot to hold our phone and iphones, ipad etc while charging.  I am also making a chalk and cork board to hang above the shelf so it can be message central! 

Told you it was a busy week around here!  The kitchen is really coming together and now all that's left is the wood counter and sink....plus a few little finishing touches.