This Week (S711 & S712 scheduled broadcast is 6/28/08 & 7/5/08)
Historic Summer Home – Kitchen, Appliances & Fixtures
We’re finally putting things back together in the kitchen at the historic summer home. It’s getting late in the year. Snow’s about to fly and the lake is about to freeze over. And this is, we think, the last house on the lake that hasn’t been updated and winterized and the family that’s owned it for 120 years wants to keep it that way.
So to keep our finishing materials (and us) from getting too cold we brought in a temporary construction heater. We wanted more firepower (and less fumes) than we could get with portable kerosene or propane space heaters. With this setup, the flame and the fumes stay outside, and only the warm air is pumped into the house.
We had removed the shelves and cabinets so we could pour the new concrete slab. We met up with Wes Foss in the Hometime carriage house and made some modifications in the old frames to create a toe-kick space and to accommodate the new farm sink.
Contractor Services
Statewide Construction, Inc.
612-590-2938
Re-installing the cabinets was tricky. Like most cabinets from a century ago, the doors were “full inset” and these have to be installed perfectly, otherwise with door will bind on the frame. Judd spend quite a while adjusting the cabinets so that the doors swing as well as they did when they were first built.
We’re putting down new linoleum for the flooring in the kitchen and the bathroom. Some people use the term “linoleum” to refer to modern vinyl flooring.
But “linoleum” is a very specific type of flooring that’s been around for more than a century. It’s made from linseed oil, wood or cork powders, limestone, rosin and mineral pigments.
We all figured that with the house heating up every summer and freezing up every winter the interior paint would get a lot of wear and tear from expansion and contraction. So we used EXTERIOR grade paint as we re-painted the kitchens and baths.
We went around and around about what would be the right countertop material for this restoration. Stone or synthetics just didn’t seem right. We opted for a plastic laminate with a subdued pattern. This meant we could build the countertop ourselves.
We slapped a wood edge on the counter, and dropped in the farm sink. We’re especially pleased with the reproduction faucet and the classic cross handles.
The water pipes had been shut off and drained for the winter. So we went through the motions of installing the bathroom fixtures, but we couldn’t really test them out. The family will have to turn the water on cautiously in the spring, just to make sure there are no leaks in the new the joints and connections.
We took historically accuracy only so far. Who wants to spend their precious weekends at the lake putting blocks of ice in a historically accurate ice box or splitting wood for a stove? We went with simple, efficient, reliable, MODERN appliances. In keeping with the simple nature of everything else around the home went with white and stayed away from stainless steel and glass.
Maytag Appliances
Smoothtop Electric Range in White (MERH 752BAW)
Freezer On Bottom Refrigerator in White
(MBF 1956 KEW)
With the kitchen restocked, we shut off the heat, turned out the lights, and as we walked away for the last time we reminded ourselves that spring isn’t too far off….
Untitled Document
Show
Schedule
6/7/2008
Basement Goodies: Dean, Miriam and the Hometime crew finish off the project with a gun safe, a wine cellar cooler and an exquisite slop sink.
7/12/2008
Drying Out an Office: Dean, Miriam and the Hometime crew finish off the project with a gun safe, a wine cellar cooler and an exquisite slop sink.
7/19/2008
Pint-Sized Fireplace: Dean, Miriam and the Hometime crew finish off the project with a gun safe, a wine cellar cooler and an exquisite slop sink.
7/26/2008
Fold-Down Bed: Dean, Miriam and the Hometime crew install cork flooring and a fold-down bed in a home office, and build a flagstone patio outside.
8/2/2008
Dividing the Baths:Dean, Miriam and the Hometime crew help former Hometime cohost JoAnne Liebeler demolish her main floor bathroom.
8/9/2008
Glass and Tile: Dean, Miriam and the Hometime crew install an etched window and a diagonal tile floor in a master bathroom.
8/16/2008
Eclectic Oriental Bathroom: Dean, Miriam and the Hometime crew use contrasting colors and clean lines to transform the feel of an ordinary 80’s bathroom and bedroom.
8/23/2008
Seven-Year Plan: Dean, Miriam and the Hometime crew work with a designer to identify and prioritize a house-wide makeover. Then they begin with the first phase: tearing apart the living room and dining room.
