I’ve received comments that all my posts, so far, have been focused on boy stuff. Well, until now, there really has not been too much going on that wasn’t simply dust covered and basically grimy prep work for greater things to come. Now, however, the greater things are starting to happen.
Currently, the kitchen is taking shape.
Katie and I selected porcelain floor tiles from Italy. They suggest the age and wear one might find in Pompei or other fine examples of vintage Roman real estate and our intent was to simulate an old look in keeping with the age of the hotel. We found these tiles last year and in the time it took us to decide to actually buy them, the tiles went on clearance and we saved quite a bit of money as a reward for our procrastination.
The cabinets were also on sale at Home Depot and we purchased them with installation included. We selected higher quality cabinets with all plywood construction instead of particle board and for the installation, I was quite surprised at how good the contractors were. I’d had a bad experience before with Home Depot contractors in CA which clouded my expectations but the results here in NV, were very much the opposite.
We chose not to have hardware included with the cabinets because the options offered from the manufacturer were very expensive and too modern looking for the age of the hotel. Instead, we provided our own, more period products, for far less money.
These drawer pulls were made in China based on original patterns and they are surprisingly accurate in historic design.
The cabinet pulls are antique glass from the 20s. When I rummaged around in the hardware that I’d collected years ago, I found enough of these for the lower cabinets. For the upper cabinets, Katie found a batch of them at a local antique mall which we scooped up and pressed into service.
Upstairs, there are more aesthetic things happening. Katie started wallpapering her office.
This led to the realization that hanging wallpaper looks really easy in Youtube videos but this, in fact, is an illusion. I can’t say that I learned any new four letter words during the process but I did hear some combinations that proved to be original.
While Katie was aligning paper seams and hurling invectives, I busied myself with sash painting and hurling a few of my own.
After twenty eight sashes with a wet paintbrush, I’m now pretty good at it. Notice the cutting blade and putty knife on the table. These are used in lieu of taping off each pane of glass before painting. Just lay the blade on the glass next to the wood and paint. Lift the blade quickly at just the right angle and bingo! You have a perfectly straight painted edge. Well, it’s not really that easy. It just keeps most of the paint from slopping on the glass and there’s always a bit of cleanup with the razor blade once the paint is dry. Now, do this process three times per sash, one coat of primer and two coats of color. Then, bang head on wall and move on to the next sash.
Now, I’m off to Reno to pick up tempered glass to finish the front door…. which will also need one coat of primer and two coats of color.