Well helloooo! Thanks for all the thoughts on the flooring – it’s helped a LOT. I’ll keep you updated on our progress. (Which I hope happens soon!)
Last week we saw some progress of another kind – we got our kitchen island reinstalled and I was so happy to have it back!
The guys doing the work had to pull off all of the beadboard and the corbels in order to get the island up and moved (into my office, which is why progress has stalled in there). But they came back with all the supplies, ready to rebuild the whole thing!
I felt bad, cause usually when they go back to a house to reinstall and island, they reinstall an island and move on. At our house, they had to redo all the “extras” I had done. ;)
I was pretty good – I didn’t hover. (Ahem. Too much.) And they did a great job! The guys bought a different kind of beadboard:
And I actually quite like it! I’ve never seen this one before, but the “board” and “bead” parts are both wider. I like that it’s now a little different than the beadboard backsplash.
They also fixed a couple things that had bugged me about my installation. I didn’t leave enough of an overhang with the butcher block on the cabinet side when I installed it, so I had them move it out a bit:
It always bugged me before -- it’s the little things! (That drive me crazy and then make me happy.)
And when I installed the beadboard around the island I cut out around the outlet, instead of installing the outlet cover over the boards, like I did with the backsplash. So they fixed that for me too:
The whole island needs a light sanding and another coat of paint, but I’m waiting till the flooring is done before I do that.
There was a little mishap with a ring of black paint on the butcher block countertop, but it was a small price to pay after all the hard work they did. And it was time for me to apply another coat of Tung oil on the counter anyway.
Many of you have asked how the butcher block has held up and I must say – I LOVE IT. At first I was obsessed with keeping it perfect, but I’ve long since realized perfect is impossible and wear and tear shows character. (If you keep saying that to yourself it finally sinks in. Realize it or go crazy I say.)
I hope I feel that way about the floors years from now. ;)
There’s a few small scratches here and there, but they aren’t bad at all – overall it still looks beautiful! We leave cups and and liquid on it all the time, and it holds up GREAT.
To take care of the black paint, I had to sand it down a bit:
I went after a few other minor scratches while I was at it. Then I just wiped it down and covered it with another coat of Tung oil:
You can see how it brings the wood to life – the oil is applied on the left of the wood below:
It needs to dry for about 12 hours, and then after a sanding with steel wool, you can do another coat. I only did one for now, but the first time I did it (a year ago), I think I did three coats.
It still looks fantastic!:
And now things are getting back to normal in the kitchen. We even got the new fridge yesterday – no more walking to the garage for a piece of cheese! YAHOO! :)
Now the plywood on the floors seems so much more manageable:
The island houses our trash compactor, so it’s so nice to have that back too. And the island is the hub of our kitchen – I couldn’t believe how much I missed it!
We celebrated it’s return by making cupcakes:
They were Halloween cupcakes, I admit it. ;)
One baby step at a time…we’re getting the kitchen back! Just in time to tear out all the floors! Ah well…I am not complaining!!
Overall I’m thrilled with my butcher block counters -- they aren’t nearly as much upkeep as I thought they would be. It’s all about treating them after they are installed and knowing they won’t stay perfect!
I’m so letting go of perfect. :)
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