Upside Down Kitchen Update

A finished floor, but ...

a dilemma and a change to get there.

Once the first coat of polyurethane was down, 

it darkened the floor as seen in the following photo:

Hindsight: I should have used more chalk paint.

This created a dilemma since the Polyurethane is oil-based and another layer of the chalk paint

would not have worked since it's water based and would pool up on the floor. 

I searched and searched for a solution with no results.

So I winged it and added half of a can of an oil based enamel paint

to the polyurethane. A complete guess on whether this would work or not.

I had no idea what this would do and was concerned it would ruin the floor,

or that I would create a toxic combination.

So I tested it under the area where the stove would eventually rest,

swathed in a face-mask and safety glasses.

(In spite my scientist hubby, the NVO, assuring me it would be OK.)

Whew!

Two coats of this concoction applied with a lambswool applicator 

and it worked perfectly.

And now the floor is done!!!

And we love it!

Seven days of curing the floor before the appliances can be moved back.

In the mean time, the NVO will put in new baseboards and

I will paint the baseboards, finish painting the cabinets

 (just white on white to polish them up a bit)

 and cleaning and organizing every nook and cranny that I have not hit yet. :-)

Then we will relax with a cup of tea in our new kitchen:

 And think about how fortunate we are to have the means, health and time

for this project and how well we work together.

This is the floor before:


And here it is now:

Updated and fresh

...once again for about $1.20 a square foot,

or $2.00 a square foot with a new sub-floor too.

Happy Homeowners! Happy Floor!

(More on rag rugs with link for pattern can be found here.)