Islands in the Stream....

Progress is being made on the island...honestly it feels like it's taking forever but between the kitchen, my real job, kids, working on the charity (www.longboard4kids.com) etc etc....it actually is taking forever!!

I was able to get the cladding on the sides and put on the wood kickplates at least.  The counters are now finished and just getting their "treatment".  Which is a fancy word for brush on...wait 24hours...brush on...wait 24 more hours...do this 7 times (4 coats on the top, 3 on the bottom).

I started the cladding with some old panel doors cut to size and mitred the corners so they would be neat and tidy (this job I assigned to the hubby since I just had no desire to do it).

I cut the kickplates to the correct height (width of door subtracted from countertop height) out of the same wood boards as the countertop.  I left these a little rougher because I just liked that look.

I installed them by simply screwing into the base frame of the island.

Once the doors for the sides had been measured, measured, measured and then finally cut....I was ready to " put a little English on them". 

They had been painted white, but under that were several years of paint colours.....curiously every door I seem to come across has some shade of teal in there.  I think it could be like finding the age of a door by peeling back the paint layers.  When you get to teal, I think you are somewhere back in the 40s...it must have been the colour of the day but I can't imagine those teal doors in a room.

After sanding and scraping all the loose bits off....and sanding down enough in the areas that I wanted to show as wood in the final finish....I quickly slapped on a coat of white paint.  And I truly mean quickly slapped it on.  By this time in the project I was so relieved to be moving forward I just literally finished this step in about 10 mins.  Good thing that the look I am going for is very vintage rustic.

I used up the last of my Annie Sloan Chalk paint in Pure White....you may remember Annie from my table project from an older post....this time Annie wasn't such a pain in the arse to work with (thank goodness) and 1 coat stuck and was all I needed to spruce up the doors.
I didn't want a perfect finish anyway so I just made sure enough paint went on to freshen it up.

After this step I sanded back the areas that would naturally get wear...corners, edges etc.  I sanded back to the bare wood here to give it some character.  And just for fun I sanded back to the teal green to show just a "hinch" (my 10 year olds word combining hint and pinch) of the colour.

Next I brought out the wax..hello again to Annie!  I applied one generous coat, let dry 10 mins and then buffed to a nice sheen.  I must say I do love the finish that Annie produces but she can be a royal pain sometimes!

Voila!  doors finished...this whole process took roughly 1/2 hour and satisfied my impatient need to actually accomplish something.

I installed the doors on the sides of the island and was thrilled with how they turned out.  It is exactly the look I wanted for this piece.

Doing this confirmed my belief in using old doors for these purposes.  The wood is solid and well put together.  There is already detail and character in the mill work.  And you get to save some really neat doors from a landfill while adding amazing charm and history to your home.

The counters are done their 4 top coats and 2 bottom coats.  I more bottom coat, sink and faucet install and we are done!  Can't wait to show the final, final, final reveal!!

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.

Island of my dreams!!

Slow week really...had to work at my "real" job to be able to pay off some of those purchases!!

Back at it this week though....We managed to install the island and get some doors and hardware on the cabinets.  It is looking fantastic!

I have always wanted an island in our kitchen.  We never thought we could do it since our space is really tight width wise, but we managed to just squeak one in.  We bought all the interior fittings with the rest of the cabinets at Ikea, and I will be covering it with some old doors on the sides and a beautiful wood top made from Hemlock flooring from an old barn.

I sent them to the neighbourhood coffee shop to be planed down...because of course that's what every neighbourhood coffee shop has right?  A portable saw mill in the back?  Well ours does, and Peter at Wunderland was amazing!!

He got the undersides prepped so they are relatively level and good to work with now.   He also gave me a handy tip for cleaning kitchens and bathrooms without chemicals...he uses a 3% peroxide solution as a cleaner and said it kills all the germs safely and quickly without harmful chemicals...great suggestion Peter!

Tomorrow I will start the process of getting the wood slabs true and then joining them...still researching the best product to seal and finish the tops so they will be impervious to water since our sink is going to be there.  I think I have a lead on a great product so when I confirm it will work, I will let you know....stay tuned for more updates....

Kitchen Update

It's been a busy week here.  We ripped out everything, put in new electrical and plumbing and then put in new drywall.

Then we starting building the cabinets and mapping out the kitchen.

Here's how it's looking so far.

I am so thrilled to finally have pot lights.  It has been said many times that lighting is one of the most important aspects of a room and that is so true.  I can honestly say that I think one of the biggest changes has been the new lighting.  It adds sparkle and interest to the space already and we aren't even completed yet.  So if you are planning a reno, don't forget to plan your lighting carefully.  I can't say enough about dimmer switches either.  Being able to control the lighting from the dimmer switch is pure magic.  

My 10 year old was playing with the switch and narrated "dinner time", "romantic dinner time" and "PARTY TIME" according to the brightness in the room.  It's a great and super inexpensive feature if you can change the mood with lighting.

Up next...more cabinets to be built...and the big kitchen island project.   I found some really great old boards from a barn that will be used for the counter top on the island...

I literally had to scrape the hay and manure from the bottoms!!  Don't worry they will be well cleaned up by the time they hit the counter top!

I am planning to  use old panel doors as the sides. Considering I have about 10 in our shed, it will be great to use some for this project.  I can't wait to get started on it.  I think the super modern and sleek cabinets and appliances will be a good backdrop for the rustic, vintage island.

Stay tuned for more updates as we progress....

Whose Idea Was This???

Well, it's too late to turn back now....and while I am really excited about how the kitchen is going to turn out...I must say I am super impatient and frustrated with the mess, work and the fact that everything we own kitchen-wise is in our living room and dining room.

The plus side is that now I have my computer, coffee, tea, toast and wine all in one handy spot!!!

On the minus side...the dust and dirt is all over everything we own.

We spent the better part of 2 days ripping out all the old stuff we didn't need and then the next 2 days putting in all the new stuff we did need.

The old kitchen is now in the back yard/trailer park waiting to be picked up by Habitat for Humanity.

 We are working on new plumbing (while correcting the mistakes of the previous owners plumbing fiascos), new electrical (finally pot lights...yay!!), and getting everything ready to go for the new wood floors and kitchen.

 Back to the plaster and lath...

 My Crew hard at work planning...

It's tons of work and I'm trying to be patient (my husband would not quite agree with this small white lie) but I can't wait to see how it comes together.  Right now the new kitchen is in boxes in the basement "assembly zone".  Okay it's really the kids' lego space but, whatever.....

I will start working on putting it together in the next few days and the wood floors go in tomorrow.

Stay tuned for the updates as we progress....it's getting a bit nutty around here as we wash dishes in the bathtub but hopefully at the end of it all we'll have a great new kitchen space.

Kitchen Reno...ready, set, go!!

After much planning and talking, google imaging, researching, drawing, sketching and many trips to Ikea....our kitchen reno is finally able to proceed.

One of the things I have learned through this process is something I think is the key to success in any home reno project.  PLANNING!!  The margin of error will decrease greatly if you plan and think things through to the very last detail.

The first step of this project was really coming up with "the Plan".  Measure the space carefully and draw up your floor plan.  This way you can play around with the configuration of the space.  I like to work on tracing paper so I can do many overlays of different plans to see which one is the best for the space.  This is the way we worked when I was at Ryerson and it's a quick and easy way to make many plans and compare.

Once we decided upon the best layout for the space we were able to start looking at design.  I always tell clients of mine, whether they are planning a full reno or a minor facelift of a space, to do their homework and find the style they love.  I find the best way to do this is to use Google Image, or magazines.  The internet is a great tool to see different looks and choose the ones you love.  Chances are you will look back at the pages you bookmarked (either in real life or the virtual world) and see a pattern.  For me it was "the white kitchen".  I kept coming back to the clean, white industrial kitchen style.

I also knew I wanted to mix a look of modern cabinets and old vintage elements.  I love the eclectic mix of using old reclaimed materials with super clean and modern elements.  

After many trips to Ikea, and the invaluable help from my genius friend Tammy....the Ikea plan was complete and I ordered the cabinets.  

We then chose a new fridge to fit into the space.  We decided that with 2 growing boys we should "go big, or go home" and we had allowed for a 36" fridge on the plan.  We found an amazing deal on a scratch 'n dent stainless fridge.  

  We also chose the countertops for the main kitchen part, but for the island I am going to use reclaimed wood from an old barn floor for the top.  I am also going to clad the island cupboards in old doors on their sides.  Set against the modern cupboards the island will be rustic and vintage looking.  I found a great light fixture online to go above the island.

We have a funny ceiling configuration where the past owners cut through the old exterior wall so I am going to clad it in some old wood and hang the light from this.
Of course this made a trip to my good friend Ed a necessity.  I got some great 2" thick, 15" wide boards that are really weathered.  They are going to look amazing in the new space.   As usual, Ed came through for me after an email to tell him what I needed.  I'm posting his contact info again since I have had many people ask me about it.

This week, demolition starts....here is the kitchen "Before"

....stay tuned for more posts as the progress continues.