House wafflings: bunch of floors
I've got the plaster to repair round where the new fireplace was put in, and I really need to get round to doing that as we've got some floor oil on order. While we varnished the bathroom floor, we're going to try using floor oil on the boards in the living room as that gets more foot traffic, and I'm hoping the oil will wear less obviously than varnish would. It's more expensive than varnish, so I hope it's worth it. The plastering will create dust, so I need to do that before we sand and oil the floor, and we need to do that before the new sofa and chair arrive. I'll tell you more about those when they arrive.
We've also ordered new tiles for the kitchen floor. We laid the last one ourselves and didn't get them flat enough so they're now all cracked. As the kitchen is 1950s-style, we're replacing them with a proper black-and-white chequerboard, and getting Dan, who did our bathroom, to put them in. He's brilliant at tiling. I know, white on a kitchen floor - I'll spend forever in there wiping it. But it will look lovely. The kitchen also desperately needs repainting as it hasn't been done in a decade and we cook a LOT, so I guess that's another task for us this year.
Incidentally, after all the faff we had finding tiles for our bathroom, it seems the 'eclectic Victorian' look is now well and truly in; Topps Tiles was full of that style. Looks like Mr Robot and I are actually ahead of the trends for once. We'd have had a lot more choice if we'd waited till this year to redo the bathroom.
We finally got rid of the 1950s fridge. Sadly I couldn't rehome it, so the council took it away and junked it. I do feel slightly sad about that. (I'm not very good at throwing stuff out, especially when it's been part of my life for a long time, and 1950s fridges aren't commonplace, either.) But we simply didn't have space for it; we need to put a cabinet in the dining room to hold some of our crockery. As I said, we cook a lot, and have all sorts of pans and pots and crockery. It seemed silly to keep an old fridge that was doing nothing, when a cabinet would help us free up space in the kitchen and make our lives easier and tidier.
Is the coming spring putting you in the mood to do housey things?
Sounds like plans are afoot. Same here! The outside render that's letting (a teeny bit of) water in is priority 1. Master bedroom next, I have the paint. I look forward to seeing the new sofa, floor tiles etc.!
ReplyDeleteErk, water coming in always has to be put right, or it can ruin everything.
DeleteWow, you've got a lot going on. I can't wait to see your kitchen floor, I'm a real sucker for black and white checkerboard and even have it on my wing mirrors!
ReplyDeleteI tend to do housey things in the winter and then come spring I want to be out and about doing things. I'm determined to get the lounge finished this year though. xx
I'm pathetic right now, I don't have the energy or willpower to do anything interesting. I'm not even blogging much! Perhaps spring will sort me out...
DeleteYour kitchen floor will look great in that chequerboard pattern. We've got the same pattern in our utility, but lino instead of tiles.
ReplyDeleteYes - I've got big house plans for this year! First is completely refurbing the front room, including removing the 1950s (not nice 50s either!) fireplace and installing a period one. I also want to strip and sand a second door down like last year's front room door.
Ooh, a complete refurb is a big job. Changing a fireplace makes such a difference; I'm so glad we got ours done.
DeleteThat's quite a list! Our house desperately needs decorating with the kitchen being number one priority. Our floor is black and white quarry tiles and yes, it does need cleaning all the time - not that we bother! xxx
ReplyDeleteCat feets probably won't help the state of the floors. I don't know how mine manage to get all the way across the kitchen, through the dining room, up the stairs and onto the bed or bedroom windowsill and still have feet muddy enough to leave prints.
DeleteMy kitchen needs painting. It's *horrible*.
Oh you are going to be busy, Mim. I've never heard of oiling floors so I will follow your experiences with great interest. Our downstairs floors are varnished; have the most heavy traffic in the house and aren't in too bad condition - even though they were due for re-varnishing about two years ago.
ReplyDeleteI have white tiles on my kitchen floor and frankly it was the worst home interior decision ever. It really needs to be cleaned daily. I can't be arsed doing that everyday I'm afraid so it often looks quite grubby! I don't care...
My plans this year are to find the ideal armchair for my study; I'd like to strip my bedroom floor and varnish it; re varnish the downstairs and ultimately open up the chimney breast and put in a multi fuel stove. Dream on, Veronica!
I'm hoping the floor oil will wear better than varnish in high-traffic areas. It's not cheap, so we shall see how it works!
DeleteSpring has sprung here already!
ReplyDeleteWe finally finished painting the house inside & out. Now the carpets, cabinets & curtains need replacing.
Oh yeah, the windows need washing baaaad.
I wash our downstairs windows but can't do the upper ones.
DeleteThat's a lot of replacing! Do you have to order stuff in to your part of Nepal, or is it easy to find things locally?
Sounds fab, I love black and white tiles. This house has laminate flooring so I find myself having to hoover and mop more than in the old house bah. I'm very excited to see what you have chosen sofa-wise.
ReplyDeleteIt's a super sofa! Red leather. Mmmm.
DeleteThat was a shame about your fridge. They really used to build things to last in those days, not like now with about 2 years of inbuilt obsolescence. Thank you for sharing about the floor oil. I have never heard of it before but will certainly look it up. My whole house needs to be redecorated, especially now that it looks like another move is on the cards in a very short space of time (it is complicated). The lighter days and nights are showing up the dirt everywhere. It is exciting doing up your house though and it does look lovely. Xx
ReplyDeleteThe oil should give a nice finish and protect the wood without looking too shiny. It'll be interesting to see how it comes out, that's for sure.
DeleteIt seems you're going to be really busy. We should really take a leaf out of your book, and do a couple of things around the house. Even if Jos is retired, he still needs quite a bit of nagging sometimes. I'm sure black and white checkerboard tiles will look lovely. We have shiny white tiles in our kitchen, which we hate, a legacy from the previous owners, but we have yet to decide what to replace them with. xxx
ReplyDeleteI think my house will always be a work-in-progress. We got it cheap because it needed so much doing to it, but we'd never be able to get everything done at once.
DeleteIt's all decluttering here which is never-ending and so hard, as I am ridiculously sentimental.
ReplyDeleteSuch a shame the fridge couldn't be rehomed 😩 xxx
I know, I feel sad for the fridge. But we couldn't find anyone who wanted it.
DeleteI hate decluttering. I try not to acquire too much stuff as I can't bear having to throw things out. It's easier if you can rehome things with other people - knowing they'll go somewhere they'll be appreciated.