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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Before and After Day...



I have been working on the floors today. I got out the red mahogany stain for the bedroom floors. I saw it sitting on the table by Tessie's zebra chairs. My weird little brain started connecting the dots....Or chairs and stain. I have never liked the light brown plastic look of the wood on these chairs.


They are cast resin that I got at Pic 'n' Sav years ago. The casting is great. The color is icky. I decided to do something about it. I went after the "wood" part with stain and a small brush. Minutes later, I had the chair on the right. Now all I have to do is sit and stare at it whilst it dries....a couple of hours or a couple of days?


I decided that the tile part of the floor is the part that is going to be seen most. If you click the photo, you can see what a difference mounting it on illustration board and going over the grout lines with a stylus makes. The left side is unlined and the right side has been gone over with a small stylus. Now the whole thing will be glued in place in the trailer.


Zar and Tessie are pessimistic about the floors. They do look pretty bad in the before photo...


I am using some of the raw bamboo place mats that I bought a couple of months ago.


I find it easier to cut and stain them before I take off the strings that hold them together. I ran them through the micro lux saw at the length that I wanted them. Then I just stained the whole piece that I cut. I wasn't sure how the bamboo was going to take the stain. It did well.


As soon as I got the stain on, I released the slats from the strings to make sure that the wood underneath was stained too. It was.

I am leaving the floor rustic looking. After all, it is mostly going to be under the bed.


If you use the bamboo slats, be sure to note that one side is more rounded than the other. I used them flat side up. Rounded down.


After I got them on the floor, I weighted them with a heavy book, over some wax paper.


It came out pretty good.


Did you notice that Tessie changed aprons? This is to signify that the zebra chairs match her apron and they are still hers. She is fearful that Zar will want to keep them for the trailer.


Zar didn't tell her that he was getting all new furniture for his trailer....He, in turn, is worried about her stealing his, when she finds out....


I have to get back to work now. I still have the living room floor to do.


See you tomorrow.

8 comments:

Lucille said...

Casey,I also prefer the darker stain for that chair. I find it makes the black stripes stand out more. It's very chic! That part of the floor you went over with the stylus looks so much more realistic than the other half. Thanks for the tip about staining the bamboo before cutting it. The floor looks great! I'm looking forward to getting there in the long, long, ongoing construction of my house. LOL!

Merri said...

Well heck, I thought you said you got those chairs at BigLots. LOL, I've been going there hoping to find something equally as cool. Oh well, someday I'll stumble on some good stuff.

Love the floors. Turns me around on the subject of bamboo matting. I'll have to try using them for flooring myself. It sure would beat dealing with skinnystix.

Caseymini said...

Merri, I got them at Big Lots...When they were still Pic'n'Sav. Years ago. Or maybe they were still McFrugel's...I can't remember which phase they were in at the time...

Lucille, if you want smooth floors, you are going to have to sand a lot with the bamboo and it does have splinters...Ask my index finger on my left hand!LOL

Kathi said...

Looking good here! Thanks for the tip about applying the bamboo flat side up. I was about to do it the other way... I like the way your floor looks. Chair is great too.
I think I just might try your tile idea later on too...
Hope you have good night!

Katie said...

Casey! I love those chairs!! I do love what you did with it.... but I think it would be beautiful shabby, too:) ... I think I told you before... but I have a zebra dress that reminds me of Tessie's apron! It's one of my favorites too! ...OK.. I'm off to read all the other posts I've missed:)

Eliana said...

Teu trabalho está ficando muito lindo. Você foi muito esperta em tingir a estera de bambu e usa-la no chão. A poltrona ficou perfeita com a 'madeira' mais escura. :)

Minka said...

O yes, the chairs will be much improved with the darker wood. That other color is enough to make one sick.

Marver said...

Me encantan tus escenas y como las representas, me he echo seguidora de tu blog, y estoy encantada un abrazo