footrest/flooring transition problem...need advice

16 years ago

First let me say thanks to all of you who tirelessly respond to those of us who need advice, help or a shoulder to cry on.

It's amazing how much it helps to have a community of folks with similar concerns and interests.

Second...my current problem. The floors in my dining room are well worn hardwood, while my "new" kitchen is getting limestone tile flooring. The two will be mostly separated by a 6-foot peninsula on one side and a 28 inch wall on the other. I've accepted the need for some sort of transition strip to accommodate the difference in height (as the backer board and tile will add nearly 1" to the kitchen floor height) in the roughly 4 foot wide passageway between dining room and kitchen..

The big problem is what to do with the roughly 12 inch strip of floor that doesn't have the dining room hardwood on it but extends under the 15 inch deep breakfast bar on the dining room side of the peninsula. Unfortunately, it can't be easily matched or repaired....it's 100 year old oak 1/4 inch veneer with a border and laid parallel to the joists on top of a pine subfloor. I would LOVE new hardwood floors, but they are nowhere near in the budget this round...and other than this problem, the floors are in remarkably good shape.

The GC has suggested installing a sort of "step" there to serve as a footrest under the breakfast bar. That sounds like a reasonable solution to me , but I'm having a difficult time picturing it...in particular picturing the corner at the end of the peninsula.

Any brilliant minds out there with an idea of how it might look? How to make it look best? Or alternative solutions?

Any pictures of similar footrests?

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Comments (7)

dianalo
16 years ago
Sounds ok. Can he sketch it out for you, even if it is rough?
melissastar
Original Author
16 years ago
Dianalo...unfortunately he has, roughly. And I can understand in principle what it would look like. I just can't get a grip on how to make it aesthetically pleasing. I don't like the idea of a "box" jutting out from the back of the peninsula.
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melissastar
Original Author
16 years ago
bumping in hope of more responses. I really need ideas on this one!
bmorepanic
16 years ago
How high and long is the bar?

If you have a 42" high bar, this actual sounds like a decent solution and would help provide a foot rest for the person at the stool BUT I have some concerns about the stool not being able to snuggle up close enough to the counter edge.

A picture would also help.
eandhl
16 years ago
I know I have seen a step in some bars vs a rail and it can be finished to match/blend with din rm oak so it solves your issue.
melissastar
Original Author
16 years ago
Wish I did have a picture. That would mean the cabinets were actually IN instead of still in my dreams and the cabinet makers workshop. The counter is 36" high...standard counter, not bar height...and it is 6 feet long.

I'm a little worried about stools not snugging far enough in too, but I keep checking where my seat is at various tables/counters and it always seems to leave enough room for the step. But somehow I can't shake this picture of a basement rec-room bar with grungy carpet on the floor and covering a step for a footrest at the bar. I just can't picture how to make it look purposeful and attractive and I can't find any pictures of anything like it.
bmorepanic
16 years ago
It might be worth consulting angie's list for a flooring guy who does repairs. They do make thin oak flooring and you can ask if they have experience matching existing floor colors.

It might be an expensive little repair for its size or it might not.