Over the past month or so, I have been sharing the biggest project I have ever done. I have been working on a 108 year old house in a tiny little village called Minburn Alberta. This house is owned by my Cowboy. It is the house he and his 7 siblings called home since he was born, and it holds a lot of memories for him.
We spent some time discussing what this house used to look like…and what he would like to see it as, after we fixed it all up. He did not want it to be restored…as he wanted it to reflect his personality today. So…the plan was made…to renovate and fix up this old house to be a rustic retreat, filled with his rodeo/cowboy memories, hunting trophies and comfortable soothing colors, textures and style. My Cowboy is one of the most gentle, patient, calm people I have ever met. His personality is not one of an extravagant man…but one of a hard working simple country boy…with a love of family, nature and a heart of gold.
While I have been diligent in working on the upper level of the house, fixing and fine tuning two of the four bedrooms, Cowboy has been changing the light fixtures, and repairing/ upgrading the electrical, and upgrading the plumbing to the kitchen and bathroom…he has been doing all the parts of this project that I do not know how to do myself, and/or refuse to learn or attempt to do!
When my Cowboy finally had enough of “his work” done in the old kitchen, I was able to do some of MINE! Today I am going to share the kitchen.
Lets get started.
I need to say that my photos are lacking in this room…I was excited to get this done, and simply forgot to take as many shots as I should have. Bare with me…
This is the kitchen…it is NOT pretty. In this photo, we have got all sorts of tools and supplies laying around…there is a lot of space in this room. It has great potential.
The fridge and stove still work, but not reliably. They need to go. The upper cupboards are not overly functional anymore…and are not going to stay either.
There is the start of a nice big window on this wall. It will stay, and we will have a window made to fit the space. That porch, if you remember me mentioning it before, is going to be removed in the spring…so that window will look out onto a deck and into the back yard. It will be wonderful!
I am sure that the Cowboy won’t miss the pink paint or wall paper in this room…lol
This table has seen a lot of family meals, and has been repaired several times…but will not make the cut. It will be taken out when we get started on the floors.
The floors…I think this photo pretty much says all that needs saying. There are nails, lifts, tears and damage all through out the kitchen lino. It will be removed for sure!
The ceiling is just as bad as the floors…so it will need to be changed.
As you can see…this room will offer a challenge. It needs a lot of work.
We got started…
OUT goes the old damaged linoleum…revealing…
…and equally ugly tile floor.
This tile floor would not be removed. It would serve as a base for something much nicer…and more comfortable.
There! That’s much better! It is just simple peel and stick tiles from the hardware store. They were inexpensive and will do what we need them to do! They will also look great with the wall treatment we decided on.
The walls…are being covered with an overlay of 1x6 spruce boards! They are treated with the same “brew” of rust, vinegar, baking soda and black tea, that I used on the dresser that I re-dressed to fit into this house. I brushed the mixture onto each board one at a time, and let them dry. Once they were dried enough, they were cut and pieced onto the walls to create a wonderful rustic look!
We originally wanted them to look like old barn board…but this is what we got. We both love this look and decided that it would be a nice treatment for the ceiling too….
So…I got busy and did more walls, and the Cowboy did the ceiling and the remaining walls. We are very happy with the look.
Now…the cupboards…
We ripped the top cupboards out…removed the old appliances…and finished the wall with the wood treatment.
Where the old appliances and upper kitchen cupboards used to be, I put up plank shelving. These will be on the walls on either side of the kitchen window, and will hold all kinds of wonderful things.
My Cowboy installed a couple of new light fixtures, and we are almost ready for furniture! All that remains, is to put some finishing touches to the wood walls…and clean up the mess that construction seems to create in spite of how careful we try to be! lol
That’s all I am going to share for today…I can’t hardly wait to share the finished room…it is SO perfect! I also have lots of great photos! lol
Stay tuned…the next chapter of this project is about to get VERY cozy!
Until Next Time…Happy Junkin’/ Renovating/ Decorating!
*)*)*)… True Love...is giving and asking for nothing in return.
Today I am linking into Manic Monday with the Mermaid!
What's it Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants
We Call It Olde at We Call It Junkin
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`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
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www.tootsietime.com
Did you miss a post or two in the 108 year old house series?
Article #1 If The Walls Of This Old House Could Tell A Story…The Saddest Chapter Is About To End.
Article #2 If Walls Could Tell A Story…The 108 Year Old House…On The Inside
Article #3If The Walls Of This Old House Could Tell a Story…The Small Bedroom In The 108 Year Old House
Article #4 If the Walls Of This Old House Could Tell a Story…The Master Bedroom
Comments
I can tell you both are having a good time fixing this old gem up.
Have a great week ~ FlowerLady
Thanks for joining in the linkin.
Your the best
Thanks for linkin in. Your the best
This grand old lady has seem many good days and thanks to you she will see many more as well. Cannot wait until the next collection of photos! You are doing such a wonderful job and have such good ideas.
outside front entry. The roof has style. yvonne
Deb
Blessings,
Cindy