Progress

We have been working on getting the kitchen ceiling in for the last couple months. Here is a reminder of what we started with.

We started sanding off the swirl pattern which made a huge mess. Wiping the swirls with damp rags and sponges removed the texture so we could add a wooden tongue and groove ceiling to match the vaulted ceiling in the living area. This was less messy but took a lot longer. After the ceiling was nice and smooth, Michael and dad marked the studs with a chalk line.

We started putting up a thin tongue and groove that we purchased. The wood was far too flimsy and broke when we looked at it funny so we pulled it all back down and went back to find a nicer product.

We found a thicker set of boards and began the prep process. Dad and Michael made some inexpensive saw horses. I started to sand and mom vacuumed the boards.

Next we stained the boards. Isn’t my littlest helper so cute? While waiting between coats of stain, dad and Michael built the base for our Woodstove.

Liam helped spackle, and I added a cover for the shut-off valve in the closet.

We came back the next weekend to polyurethane the boards. We had to wait 24 hours between coats and with all the rain this entire process took a few weeks. We don’t have our driveway in yet and when the yard is wet it is too slippery to park on. Today Michael and I were finally able to hang the new ceiling. We had another false start from the left side. We were trying to get some of the prettiest pieces to be in the middle of the kitchen where they wouldn’t be covered by cabinets. We realized we could make it work around the light fixture where the boards would need to be cut anyway so we took the first boards down and started on the right. I plan to have some open shelving to the right of the window. The lack of cabinets means that side needs to look really nice on the edges. I love the finished ceiling! We still need to find a trim piece to wrap the entrance. The one we purchased isn’t deep enough for the thicker wood boards.