xpost - kitchen bench and table suggestions needed

16 years ago

I've posted in the kitchen forum but no hits so I'm trying here too. Sorry for the long story. While renovating our 1825 house I never let any contractor throw anything out in case we will use it (thank goodness I have a big basement). We added a playroom to the attic and the old floor was removed (in garage). It's from 1825 - appears hand planed old growth wide pine planks with lots of knots (and large holes). Not a "nice" floor but for the servants. When we gutted our kitchen there were a subfloor and painted floor above the 1st floor ceiling (the addition is around 1840-1860 and this floor looks more "machine made" but better quality pine). It was covered by 16" framing and then another floor for over 100 years and very well protected during that time.

In the corner of my kitchen I want a corner built-in bench (on the sides with windows) and a 30" wide trestle table. I was thinking of using the kitchen "ceiling -floor" for the bench and buy an old growth table. Now I think I have enough wood for everything. Maybe buy a trestle bottom from craig's list and make a top out of the wood. A few questions -

1. which wood should I use where - the bench, the table

2. wherever I use the painted floor (it's worn and not uniformily painted grey) do I just seal it as is? I like the idea of using the grey painted floor but worry it won't go with my color scheme.

3. At one point I thought I would paint (or stain) the bench the same color as my red range. What do you think?

4. I have cherry cabinets and an oak floor. Adding a 3rd wood (pine) to the mix might be too much?

Here's the kitchen corner for table and bench and a few in process pics of my kitchen.

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Comments (5)

Shades_of_idaho
16 years ago
Beautiful kitchen. I will have to cross post you back. There is a great post o the Small house board about building a farm table.

Here is a link that might be useful: Farm House Table
loribee
16 years ago
Just have to say....LOVE your house!!
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msrose
16 years ago
sorry I don't have any advice for you, but just had to comment on what a wonderful kitchen you have. All those windows are great. Can you tell me what granite you used?

Laurie
bostonpam
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the great comments. My granite is typhoon bordeaux. That brick wall is another dilemma for me and there's a post on the kitchen forum about it. If your interested I have a blog on our progress. I've been gone most of the summer so not too up to date but my main contractor left last May - now mostly painting left (I have 60+ pints of sample paint). Oh, we did add a pool too - it was finished this Aug (but can't heat it now - waiting for the gas company to rip up the street and give us an unblocked gas pipe - another never ending saga. Sometimes I don't have enough gas to cook with and our heater trips off. The gas company doesn't think this is too important though - waiting weeks and still not here) My blog includes things like finding original wall paper, searching the library of congress for a main staircase to replicate, lots of pictures, etc... Never found gold or jewels in the walls though!

This winter I'm working with a historical landscape architect to come up with a 1850's garden plan for the house. We will use plants available in Boston from 1850 and earlier and also "map" the outside into typical period "rooms". The pool does throw things off a bit - but we have to live here too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pam's home renovation blog
magnaverde
16 years ago
It's nice to see more of your house. What a beauty.

I wouldn't worry about a third wood in your kitchen. Not as furniture. If you were considering adding, say, stripped pince doors, I'd hesitate, but since this is furniture, not structure, that we're talking about, it's OK. Two woods in the stuctural materials is fine and as for furniture, if it looks right, it is right. That's what Dorothy Draper says.

I'd use your very best pieces of wood for your table top, since you'll be looking at it, and the other stuff for your bench, but with as much wood as it takes to floor a room, you'll still have plenty left. I might stain the wood--if you need to warm its tone a bit--but keep it fairly transparent to allow the grain to show. Actually, with wood that old & dense, you'd probably have a hard time doing anything else, anyway. One thing I wouldn't do is paint it the color of your stove: let that stand on its own. If you want to integrate its color into the room a little more, add a piece or two of tole or redware. Mostly, rely on good old paste wax to finish & maintain your table. I know a guy who bought a broken down outbuilding, made a handsome table out of its mellow old wood and then wrecked the whole thing with a dozen coats of shiny polyurethane. His workmanship is excellent but his taste is--well, he doesn't have any. Obviously, you folks don't have that handicap.

The brick wall, by the way, is great. Keep the pictures coming.