Floor renovation, Kitchen renovation, laminate flooring installation continues

on the left the old flooring, on the right the incomplete new flooring

The new in the foreground, it is such an improvement!

I couldn't be any happier with this laminate flooring. Though the project is not done, I can't help but wax poetic on it. It is smooth, clean and a pleasure to walk barefoot upon. Now, that is the true test....how does it feel underfoot. Quite pleasant would be the answer to that query. I love it. That is one of my biggest complaints about my 19th century living conditions, barefoot inside the house is not a pleasant experience. Being an old barefoot kind of creature, I have been very unhappy in this mid-century kitchen in a 19th century house. Before this upgrade, I felt unwelcome in my own home kitchen. The new flooring is a blessing. Laminate is not my first choice (hardwood is), but I have found that I can happily live with it. Here are a couple of pictures to tell this episode of the flooring and kitchen story. There will likely be another two postings on the flooring as the work continues, because it is still not completely done at this point.                      

 kitchen chaos caused by flooring install 

How is it looking? Looking just as good as it feels. It has been on hold as Mr helped with an Extreme Makeover Home Edition tv project for a needy family in the neighborhood.

On the right here you can see the floor progressing from right to left. This was done with all the cabinets left in place. In the photo above you can see there was side board/server (which also gets a EZ makeover in a future posting) in this area that was emptied onto the table in order to install the flooring under it. The flooring was installed around the cabinets which were already set in place and had been installed last year. That ability to install around existing cabinetry is one of the positives of installing a floating/laminate floor. This floor is installed piece by piece in strips, which are visible in the photos to the right above. This makes it very do-it yourselfer friendly. It also means that you do not have to empty the whole room to install this flooring. There is a similar vinyl flooring product which is vinyl flooring which comes in strips just like this, it is more flexible and glues down. This laminate floats, it does not glue down, hence making it a unique flooring installation. The photo below shows the same area completed and the side board (its legs visible in the top left) is put back in place on top of the laminate floor.

Today the kitchen renovation seems to be back on the schedule. There are going to be some new adaptations to the kitchen cabinets, molding finishing put on to the  floors, and some kick molding put onto the bottom of the cabinets, and some new finish touches to the island. Things like the kick molding don't cost much, and they don't require any skills really...I could do it with some scissors and construction adhesive....but they make huge difference in finish and look. They put the project over the edge into looking professionally finished, not just "made nice" by the homeowner. Often replacing something like that, that cost $15.00 on this project,  makes ALL the difference in the world in the look of the kitchen when done.