stained bench top in entryway built-in...bad idea with kids and snow?
5 years ago
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- 5 years ago
- 5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
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Crazy to do hardwood floor with 5 kids and large dog?
Comments (15)I can speak from experience here: I share my house with a DH, toddler and a 100lb dog with paws the size of a Yeti's. In our old house we tore out all of the carpet and vinyl from the first floor and installed red oak strip flooring (I believe it was Shaw brand). It looked great for about a month and then all I could do is notice the huge gouges my dog put into the floor. He doesn't even have sharp nails, but he's 100lbs and there's only so much you can do. In the current house, we tore out all of the 22yr old carpet and put in a much harder wood species, amendoim, and I have to admit it looks fantastic and it's held up a lot better than the oak ever did. The dog put some superficial scratches in the floor but since the wood only has a clear coat and no stain, you can only notice the scratches if you're glancing at the floor at the right angle, under the right light. We had laminate in the basement of our old house and it used to drive me bonkers whenever the dog would claw to get traction on the floor and I also hated the echo the floor created, even with good padding underneath. I vowed never to put laminate flooring anywhere again, even if the dog couldn't do anything to it. Also, no matter how good technology gets, laminate always looks fake to me and I'd rather not go there. It's just never going to look as good as real wood. In the new house I wanted to put ceramic tile in the kitchen this time around but DH wouldn't hear of it. He swears he doesn't hate tile, but he just can't fine a tile in the whole wide world that he likes :) I let him win that war but I got to pretty much make every other decision with the kitchen since then. I figure we can always refinish the floors once they get to be too bad. As a previous poster said, site finished floors don't have anywhere near the same durability as factory prefinished floors so that's something to keep in mind. My DH always says that people like wood floors and never notice the scratches anyway. I guess he was right because the condition of the floors was never brought up once when we were selling the house even though I lived in fear that that was the first and only thing people would notice as they came through the house. I apologize for the stream-of-consciousness reply but I can't say my brain has been firing on all cylinders today so I hope I helped even a little :)...See MoreSmall entry area: ideas? (pics included)
Comments (22)Thanks so much for the feedback! It seems there are two schools of thought: keep it simple b/c there's already a lot going on vs. add extra table etc. I'm still waffling about the shelf, myself! :-) I like the idea of adding a mirror because it will probably help to brighten the space. Also, I could easily check how I look (or whatever) before heading out instead of running down to the bathroom (nearest mirror). Re: the tape--> It's the blue tape from when they textured and painted the wall. I would take it off except we need to re-texture part of it again. teacats--> which wall are you referring to--the wall closest to the door or the wall more recessed from the front door (I think the first wall I see is the recessed wall)? I COMPLETELY agree about the clock. I've never found anything I like so I just keep the old clock. Also, a bigger clock would be easier to read :-) mjlb--> you're right about all the moulding etc; I'm looking for a cheap fix though, so painting out the doors is probably what I'll do for now. We do have to replace the closet door b/c it has a hole in it so that will be the time for the moulding. All our old interior door mouldings match the closet but whoever put in the new front and garage doors changed it. evaperconti--> I like your idea about the console table w/bench underneath and a chair by the door. I've been scanning Craigslist but, so far, nothing. Plant won't work, unfortunately, but I could try for some other vertical element. So many great ideas!!! You guys have given me a lot to think about and helped me to see the entry a little differently. Thanks so much :-)...See MoreWhere do you put the tornado of crap that comes in with the kids?
Comments (43)We have a similar problem and have no real foyer and certainly no mudroom (it's an old Cape Cod that was expanded but somehow managed to lose all its hallways.) The challenge for me is creating storage that is effective and attractive for 3 different types of items: coats, shoes, and backpacks. My oldest just started middle school and we learned the hard way that at this stage, backpacks cannot be hung from hooks on dry wall. Our solution is similar to yours: we have a long console table with a lower shelf. Shoes go in big old galvanized buckets from Smith & Hawken at Target; 2 kids' backpacks fit neatly next to the buckets. Kid hoodies/windbreakers are hung on hooks on a wall adjacent to the front door; there's also a hanging 3-file thingy for papers that need to go to/from school. We also have a small front closet that houses heavy coats and boots in winter and pool towels/goggles/etc in summer. It's not the best system, but it's reasonably functional at this point. I like the Ikea shoe cabinets, and toy with the idea of getting one every so often. But they are mostly too bulky for my space, and I'm not sure my kids would actually use them properly. We tried a bunch of other options for shoes and the basket/bucket thing seems to involve the least amount of effort so actually tends to get utilized more frequently. We also tried shoe benches etc, but found that no one ever sat down on the bench to put on their shoes!...See MoreHOW do you attach a backless built-in to the wall?
Comments (34)There's a small gap between the edges of the built in and the walls because the wall wasn't level front to back. The contractor suggested quarter round or a small flat piece of trim to cover it. It seems like a flat piece would look best but is there a way to do it to be as inconspicuous as possible? DH thinks the trim piece should start halfway across the width of the edge of the built in. That seems more noticable to me than having it go all the way across the edge, but then it might look odd that all the shelves don't have trim. The contractor said he could frame it with trim (the two sides and the top). I'm just not sure what will look best, or if there's an option we haven't considered....See MoreRelated Professionals
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