I think I hate our newly restored floorboards obsessively
houseadventure
5 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (22)
houseadventure
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Victorian Renovation in London - Part 2
Comments (201)Thanks guys - we did a lot of experimenting and testing on some old floorboards before deciding on this stuff. The Osmo oil gives a deep and rich finish on old pitch pine that looks very different to varnish - deeper and with more of the grain being brought out. It's more like a beeswax finish from olden times, without the backbreaking labour and maintenance. Interestingly on the new boards (in the top bedroom), it makes far less difference: the new pine just looks yellow and shiny, much as it would if varnished. But the oil should be tougher and lower maintenance. We decided to restore these floors rather than replace as they were actually in remarkably good condition: this house has never had fitted carpets fitted, nor central heating fitted until 2014, and when it was installed it was installed with regard to keeping the floors intact (many systems installed in past decades saw the boards sawn up and hacked about). I wanted look that is obviously original, and can't be mistaken for engineered wood. I did think about a limewashed finish, but bottled it at the last minute and went totally traditional, as I thought less risk of a finish done to a trend that would be hard to reverse....See MoreWhat do do with this fireplace?
Comments (37)Looking at it, I think it's a mishmash of periods. the mantelpiece and overmantle is characteristic of a late victorian/edwardian style. We are more used to seeing these with vertical side panels of decorative ceramic tiles and a cast iron firebasket raised off the floorlevel. the actual ceramic glazed fire you have in there appears possibly to be anywhere between 20s & 50s, probably a replacement because the original burned out (assuming it's in the main living room it will have been a main source of heat for the house). So the question is, what do you love and what do you hate about it? Because it's not working for you right now. Usually edwardian fireplaces with an overmantel (and edwardian/victorian furniture in general) comes apart into sections. the tricky bit is finding which sections! But I'd imagine the entire overmantel with the mirror could be taken off leaving the mantelpiece intact, albeit with peg holes that would need filling on the top of the mantel at the back. Usually there were wooden pegs and holes for placement. If you are on a very tight budget, and assuming you don't want to keep the rather lurid carpet, simply keeping what is there, and adding a fender would work (as someone suggested above). You can get low level ones in brass that are extendable to fit relatively cheaply, or there's vintage ones that range from low level right up to having padded seats. If you intend to actually USE the fire, then it may be possible to pull up the 20th century ceramic tiles (if that's what they are) lay a screed underneath and then relay the tiles a bit higher so they are proud of the floor level. If any are broken it might be possible to relay them at the edges where they are less in the way - but at the end of the day, open fires are messy and what you really need is a slab of clean smooth hearthstone to make it easy to keep clean. Alternatively if you don't like early 20th century mashups, then you could (carefully) take out the fireplace, sell it on (someone would love it - personally I don't like the murkiness of that sort of fireplace ceramic colourwise, but I do recognise it's a nice and unusual example of the genre) and buy a replica more suited to the surround. You can get some rather nice ceramic edwardian style tiles for the sides. Have you tried to light the fire? it may be the hood is necessary if the chimney doesn't draw well. Or it could just be an aesthetic choice a previous owner made without considereing how the fire actually performs. As people have said above, you can paint it. Whatever paint you use, make sure you aren't totally knackering the wood underneath in case you want to have it stripped back to wood in future. The suggestion of hanging a picture over the oval mirror is a good one. Though I suspect with a different less instituttional carpet and the fitted cupboard gone, a judicious choice of plants or ornaments might make the whole thing recede into the room as a whole and be less 'in your face' at the end of the day, it's actually a time and labour intensive decorative heat source, so if you aren't going to have an open fire, and it's not a listed building, consider selling it and getting rid completely. It's a mishmash anyway that doesn't work so well aesthetically, though individually the separate parts of edwardian/ mid 20th century do have charm. but together? ouch you are living with some dearly departed's poor design choices! Which I suspect are not going to be so easy to marry together. Though as people have said above, painting it white is going to help a lot! My final thought is that you've got off lightly with that overmantel with a plain oval glass! When I was a kid we had an edwardian house near manchester, in what was the day nursery, behind a baize door, on teh first floor, had an overmantle with a plaster of paris insert that weighs 25kg with rather terrifying fairies playing in the moonlight as it's subject. The house was due to be demolished so we took the plaster behemoth with us. It's currently hanging in my hall and scaring all small children that pass by!!! 40 years on I still can't decide if it is actually totally hideous or so ugly that it's beautiful. Mostly though I just don't want it to fall off the wall and kill one of the cats! Here it is in all it's fugliness. Framed in the 1980s in somewhat ungracious proportions to just top off the general weirdness of it!...See MoreWhat aspects of our houses will future generations despair of?
Comments (36)E D I have a system that's not working at the moment, the previous owner installed a 3 chamber septic tank, the outlet can run into a cistern of about 20 cubic metres, when it's up and running the output from the tank will be used as irrigation for my almond and olive trees. Once it is running I will also be able to plant some citrus too, something I am looking forward to, I like oranges and a mature tree will produce about 500Kg of fruit a year, that's a lot of marmalade. I have to finish the workshop and re-tank the cistern, at the moment the water soaks into the ground. My normal water supply comes from a local well co-operative that I have shares in, the shares came with the house, good water €12/month. I am 3Km from the nearest power lines so I am fully off grid, my panels give me a maximum draw of 8Kwh, I rarely get anywhere near that, the batteries need to be checked once a week in summer for water level, less in winter. As for the grey craze of the last few years? Not a fan, the world needs a bit more colour in it....See MoreHelp, I hate my new carpet!
Comments (33)When I had my engineered wood floor installed, the skirting did not have to come off, they undercut the skirting boards instead. It means the skirting is very slightly narrower but the job is very neat, professional and doesn’t have to have beading which would cheapen the look. This may be worth looking into if your 1st choice was a wooden floor....See MoreUser
5 years agohouseadventure
5 years agoAnthony (Beano)
5 years agohouseadventure
5 years agoUser
5 years agohouseadventure
5 years agohouseadventure
5 years agoAnthony (Beano)
5 years agohouseadventure
5 years agoSonia
5 years agoItalian Design Ltd
5 years agohouseadventure
5 years agohouseadventure
5 years agoUser
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agohouseadventure
5 years agoBirth Doula Katie Fox
5 years agodianahartaboyne
5 years agoJ C
5 years agorachelmidlands
5 years agocoral77uk
5 years ago
Anthony (Beano)