Saturday, August 7, 2010

SOUTHERN LIVING....eat your heart out!

After visiting nearly every flooring showroom in Lee County, hauling home sample after sample, being in love with the travertine castle floor look, wide plank antique hickory, or just the same oak floor as the rest of my home, I finally made a choice. And yes, I am happy to report I DID get one "Our Old House" project underway and completed this summer. I finally settled on a very practical product and Home Fashion Center of Opelika (the town where Hoke missed the turn in Driving Miss Daisy) took care of the rest of the work! Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to introduce our new kitchen floor!
Here's the view from the dining room.

The new one is in the same color family as the older floor we had for over twenty three years, but it is several shades lighter and seems to really draw in the mid-afternoon sun beautifully. The whole room seems to take on that Faulkner "Light in August" quality...a soft and sunny brilliance. Of course, much credit and many thanks go to my good friend, neighbor, and interior painter extraordinaire: Bob of Bob's Bread fame. Not only does he paint trim work and plaster walls to perfection, but the man can bake the most wonderous sour dough bread you have ever tasted. We can't wait until our Christmas loaf arrives!

Here's a certain slant of light.

Gracie wanders in for a major stretch! She loves to lie on the cool floor
and sometimes even the air vent, but she would not be still for a picture!

This is the view from the garage entrance!
Yes, this is going make a nice welcome home for the Graystone gang!
Cup of tea, anyone?

26 comments:

Cait O'Connor said...

I LOVE your kitchen and the floor and the dog too.

FireLight said...

Glad you stopped by, Cait. You are either up rather late, or up rather early? Which is it, my dear?

Betsy Brock said...

I'd love to have a cup of tea with you in that kitchen! :) I think you made an excellent choice!

Janelle Goodwin said...

The floor can really make the room. Your new floor is lovely! (And the rabbits are totally charming!)

FireLight said...

Betsy, my biggest obstacle was that I loved the product that we had, but it was no longer being made: Kentile solid vinyl Colonial Brick pattern. Because my floor is somewhat uneven in an older home, any tile or stone seemed very impractical. I was skeptical on this resilient-part vinyl part, fiber glass-product, but so far so good! It is easy to care for! So, no problem if we spill our tea!

FireLight said...

Janelle, the rabbits have been running around our kitchen for many years! A fellow teacher stenciled them up there! You can click on the photo to enlarge and get a closer look! Good to see you here!

Foxglove said...

The floors look wonderful a job well done. I love the picture of your rabbits they are adorable.

Unknown said...

Lovely floor and kitchen, FireLight. Love the rabbit herald too and the Yorkshire Tea! Never drink it myself but glad to see you do!

FireLight said...

Derrick, remember, I do not drink coffee, so I like strong tea! It is so good! The poster of the white rabbit is an actual ad for a children's play performed by the AU Theatre Department the year before I came to school here.

karen said...

I really like your new floor...did you install that yourself? It's light and bright and beautiful. Well done.
Now for that tea...make mine iced please!
Hope your weekend was the best.

FireLight said...

K, yes, iced definitely on days such as we have had here in Alabama...and many other places as best I can tell. No, I had a local business install the floor. I just had to shop and decide. That was the really hard part, of course. I have been threatening to do this for over two years. Yikes! I had better get busy on the counter tops!!

Virginia said...

That does it. I'm heading to God's country and I'm sittin in that bright sunny kitchen and having me some strong iced tea ( with lemon)! I love this room!!!
V

FireLight said...

Well, get your War Dang Eagle self down here!

Aven said...

That turned out great!

Unknown said...

Just beautiful... and I love the little table in the first photo... fits right in!

FireLight said...

Aven, thanks! Now I need to talk withyour dad about some counter tops! I may go for real oak!

Gaston Studios, thank you for stopping by! The little cupboard and that work table/island came from the Eddy West store in Toccoa, GA. You probably know all about them from your design work, but here is the link:

http://www.eddywest.com/home/

I was looking for something to add a little interest to my colonial cabinets a few years ago. I am thrilled at how the floor really brought out the colors in the table. I do a lot of paper grading and blogging on my laptop from that table during the school year...which begins for me on Wednesday! Lord have mercy!

alaine@éclectique said...

Love that old stone look...and the wabbits!

FireLight said...

Yes, Alaine, it does have a bit of the ye oldy woldy look...and yet it is freash and clean! Oh, I do wuv my wabbits!

Rowan said...

I really like your kitchen floor, it's a lovely warm colour that will be good on cold winter days. I always think that warm background colours in winter make a big difference.

Tom Atkins said...

What a delightful, bright, inviting space - as kitchens SHOULD be!

Tess Kincaid said...

It's GORGEOUS!! I didn't see Graystone kitchen before, but it adds such a delightful warmth to the room. Love the pattern and textures of color. Now, about that cup of tea....

FireLight said...

Foxglove Spires, all I need is a stand of beautiful foxgloves blooming outside the window! The heat here has obliterated the few I have had.
So glad you came by!

Rowan, it is a warm color, but somehow almost seems to change intensity throughout the day! And I too like its warmth.

Tom, "inviting" is a feel I strive for! So good to have you stop by here.

Willow, well our kitchen is the modest little heart of our home. I am in it much of my waking hours, if not at school.....boooo hoooo!

Lyn said...

Everything about this is "move in ready" for me! Nice to walk into such a sunny kitchen...

Becky.Sue.Parsons said...

Impeccable taste!

Country Girl said...

Love the floor! So beautiful. I like the cabinetry, too.

Tess Kincaid said...

Hi there, Lady! Thanks for your sweet comment on my japan trip. Can't wait to see who you bring to the manor ball this year! Hope your school year is off to a wonderful start.

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Recreational scholar, former high school and junior college English teacher. Animal lover (especially horses, dogs, and people), lives in the South, sometimes poet and essayist... "Ireland, Scotland, Britain, and Wales...I can hear those ancient voices calling..." Van Morrison from Celtic Heartbeat