Jenp4, apologies! My previous post sounds very curt. I didn't mean that! I'm just a bit distracted. I'm glad you posted and look forward to seeing your pics. And I happen to love farmhouses, especially gingerbread ones, but Midwest practical too.

Since you're going for practical, how about looking for some reclaimed lumber for your floor? There's a chi chi store around here that makes fantastic tables out of old barn planks. Your room is small enough that you might be able to find a treasure if you scrounge around a little.

JC

I love farm houses and I think a wood floor would be perfect. I automatically think of plank flooring. We have pine in the house we are building and spruce in our current house. Both are pretty soft and only a good idea if you like the worn, well used look. We have two big dogs and I'll admit the first scratch kind of freaked me out. Unless the kitchen is completely open to the next room I think you can use any type of wood you want and add a threshold/doorjam like the previous poster suggested in a contrasting or matching wood of your choice.

Ignore the dog and boy but here's what our plank floors look like after 12 years. They need to be rewaxed or finished but we're building a new house and have sold this place and the new owners are covering them all with prefinished hardwood so I've ignored them for the last year.

when I think of farmhouse kitchens, my mind goes instantly to the Waltons. That's the kitchen that all other kitchens are compared to in my head. painted cabinets, old warn wood floors, massive table. (someday I'll even have 2 staircases)

not a great picture but you get the feel of it..

We are in the middle of a total renovation of an 1870 place. We used 12 - 20 inch pine planks and we are doing an oil finish as this easily reparied/renewed. Though I know the first several dings, scratches and dents will hurt I am looking forward to a patina. We are also hoping for Soapstone counters/sink and painted cabs. As for matching other floors I think the main thing is the color of the stain compliment each other. Good luck with your project.

I also think of wide-plank pine floors when I picture a farmhouse kitchen. My mom had these and they stood up well to her Great Dane. I don't recall what kind of finish she had, but it was definitely not a polished look.

I agree with all the above and just have to submit this OT comment:

Ajpl -- just how is one to ignore the dog and boy? I'll have you to know that fabulous picture just provided a great boost to the top of my work day. Thanks! (Btw, I'm just slightly sighing over the fact that the new owners will be replacing that gorgeous floor with a prefinished substitute.)

Thanks Martha! I kind of like the dog and boy too ;)

I'm kind of sad about the floor but I have a new house and new floor to worry about now.

We have painted wood cabinets in the home we built in 2005. No regrets. Even the countertops on our hutches are painted wood. Our style is more English cottage inspired, but still farm, rural (we live on 4.5 acres). Of course, we're the only folks I know who still build a home with all wooden doors and windows instead of aluminum or vinyl clad. We have no regrets there either.

Just a thought about an island in a 12 x 12 kitchen. Make sure you draw that out to scale on some graph paper or with a computer. It's going to be tight to fit in an island wider than 2 ft if you have perimeter cabinets on two opposite walls and the island in the middle.

Thank you all for your comments-- this is so exciting to read advice from people who are truly interested in a project like this! Most people around here think I am crazy-- in fact, I bought this house from a couple who was going to tear it down and build new construction in its place (the property is nice-- 7acres). I think that is such a waste-- it is structurally sound, and I believe a beautiful house just hidden under a lot of ugliness, and thanks to the advice from plllog, hopefully I can upload a couple pics so you can see just how bad it is right now :)

I think the floors in ajbl's post are really nice (as well as the boy and dog being adorable!)-- and the look I am going for is very similar to the other pics posted, especially the one posted by wonbyherwits-- I even have a farmhouse sink planned-- and I agree, I am very worried about the island and keeping it functional in the space-- My problem is that I dont have much for an option-- either I place a range on the wall that the sink is on (second pic I will post), or I put it on the short 3 foot wide wall that you can see to the left of the window in the first pic I will post. If I put a range on that short wall, then I won't have any counterspace to either side of it, and that would be bad both aesthetically and functionally.

Also, as you all can hopefully see (if my uploading is a success), the kitchen is open to the DR with a 6 foot entryway-- which I suppose does complicate my flooring choice. Wide planks would be the best.... although the space is small and the planks in the dining room and living room are definitely "standard"... Also, I have read that you should use smaller width planks in smaller rooms. Any thoughts on this? Anyone have thoughts on my space issues?

Thanks again!!

OMGosh! My great grandmother's kitchen/house was exactly the same right down to the funky little pantry beside the door! I was shocked when I saw your photo!

For what it's worth she always had the stove on the short wall with no counter on either side and it's not ideal but it can work. I think an island could work. She always had a kitchen table in there for Grampa to put his things on when he came in and they ate in the dining room. Her dining room entry didn't extend to the wall and I'd guess that was a reno at some time in your house. Notice the trim is different than the rest of the trim? Someone must have wanted to bring the counter into the dining room a bit.

On the topic of large boards, I think it was once accepted that smaller rooms *NEED* narrower boards to maintain a reaosnable scale. I think people are more likely to do whatever they want now and I'm also not convinced the larger boards make a small room look small. On the bathroom forum someone recently posted a diagram of large tiles vs small tiles in a small bathroom and the large tiles actually make the space look bigger!

Hi Jenp 4-
I am relatively new to this sight also- but welcome! I can totally identify with you, my husband and I just moved into a 100yr old house that needed a complete renovation- from top to bottom! We bought it also to preserve it- many builders were interested in the property. We have been living in our "construction zone" since May. My advice to you: do what ever will make you happy- it is your house and only you have to live with it. My before pics of our kitchen our so similar I can't stop laughing! We still have a lot to do, but our kitchen is 85% finished. I too wanted a farmhouse kitchen. I did wide plank handscraped oak- we opened up a wall between the dining room and living room and the dining room has oak parquet with mahogany inlay around the perimeter. Is it a perfect match- probably not- but me and DH like it so I don't care what anyone thinks- And talk about a sin painting wood? We painted over 3/4" knotty pine paneling in 2 whole rooms! I chose maple cabinets with soapstone and farmhouse sink. I love the look- but its not for everyone- and i dont care! If you want painted wood- get it! It is your home- don't let anyone else talk you out of something you want. Everyone thought we were crazy too- but now that it's finally coming together- I think they can finally see what we saw all along. Best of luck to you!

Jenp4, Your kitchen is charming! Even with the layers of ugly :) Re planks, my closet is certainly smaller than your kitchen, and it looks fine with 5" planks. Though I can see why you wouldn't want to use barn planks :)

That said, if you're going to maintain the width of the opening into the DR, your best bet for visual flow is to get a slightly different size plank (.5"), but not a huge contrast, with a slightly different stain, but not a huge contrast. That way you're visually admitting that they're different floors on either side of the jam strip, but it won't slap you in the face if you're not looking at them. Either that, or get a great floor guy who can match them, of course :)

You could also cut down the visual impact of the transition by mimicking the short wall by the rear doorway in your picture. The actual opening won't significantly close off the area, while defining the separation (though you would lose the straight through access to the kitchen counter.

Do you know what you have under the vinyl? Could you pull up a small section to see? For a 100 yo house, you might have fir or pine which could look quite nice refinished.

As far as painted wood, that's exactly what I'm doing (painted oak) for my 1885 farmhouse kitchen, so you can say I'm all for it if you like that look. I chose oak for durability and cost and I'm not against seeing some grain. The floor of my kitchen is oak tongue-n-groove with widths varying 3"-6" and well worn (had to replace some sections). I'm refinishing it this weekend with waterlox. I hope it turns out well.

Hi Jenp4,

I just figured out where the stray code on your photos came from. With Photobucket, either use the right-click/copy image location, or else left-click on the line labeled "direct link".

You could use the "HTML" code they give you instead, but that adds a link to Photobucket's homepage. If you use the HTML code, don't use the "img src" command because that's already embedded in it.

'Course, the important thing is that we got to see your pics!

Ahh, all great advice. Is changing that entryway costly? I have a strict budget that may prevent me from doing anything with the entry way to the DR...although now that I think about it, it might look better if I create a partial wall at the end of the kitchen-- creates a logical place for the countertop to end. And if it was the way the kitchen looked orginally, that is appealing. Btw, I think it is great that some posters are feeling nostalgic when looking at the pics :)

I think I will still shoot for an island with cooktop although I bet it will have to be around 36" by 48" if I want any sort of counter space on either side of the cooktop (30 inch width- 20 inch depth)...hmmm.maybe too big...ugh.

As for the floors and cabinets, thank you all for your encouragement. I am definitely going to go with painted wood on most of the cabinets (maybe a stained alder or something on the island just to mix it up a little). And I think wood is the best option for flooring. I know the wood in the dining room looked really dark when I peeked underneath the carpet the last time I was in there. Not sure what type of wood is likely to be under there. Anyone have any thoughts?

I think the wood under the vinyl is probably just sub floor. I didn't see anything under the two layers that were somewhat exposed because of water damage by a fridge, but I will definitely look. Not looking forward to removing that stuff as I am sure it has asbestoes in it and maybe even the dark-colored glue I saw attached to it.

Thanks again!

If there's asbestos you should have specialists remove it. Maybe that's what you meant, but if they're any good it really shouldn't be a problem for you (well, maybe in the checkbook :) ).

A partial wall there where the kitchen meets the dining room should cost very little money. What could cost is trimming it out to match the rest of the house. But you can always put in the wall and finish it off flat, then sometime down the road when you've settled in and have a few dollars get in a finish carpenter to install moldings. It still shouldn't be a whole lot of money, but it's a place you could save in the short run if you want the wall. It also depends on the kind of workmen who are available to you and the going rates in your area.

Most important, though, is have you tried your plan on graph paper? If you have cupboards on all sides that's 4 feet, plus a bare minimum walkway of 3 feet on either side of an island, and you only have 2 feet square left for the island. If you don't have cupboards on two of the walls it seems to defeat the purpose of the island unless it's to make up for all those doors :)

But regarding the cooktop, how are you going to ventilate it? Is there a second story over the kitchen? Is there already a vent chimney? Were you thinking downdraft? And if so, have you inspected the floor joists to see if it can be put in? What is there now?

Jenp4, I keep apologizing to you! Here's another apology: I overstepped above. You asked about floors and not floor plans. In a very different room I'm also dealing with a square space and a lot of openings, and I'm having trouble figuring out how to fit everything, including an island, so I think it all came out in my reply. For a lot of threads I read here I don't have anything I think is useful to say and I keep quiet. Something about your 100 year old farmhouse just speaks to me and I overdid it. I'm sorry! I don't mean to be throwing out blocks when you're just now getting your house and thinking about floors.

Even if there is only subfloor under the vinyl it may be wirth checking out. Houses weren't builts with plywood or OSB when yourh ouse was built. My parents' house had hardwood in the living room and softwood subfloors everywhere else. It was 3" fir or spruce. We took up old carpet and layers of vinyl and cleaned it up and stained it. Wood floors can also be painted if they are in hard shape but you like the plank look.

I was going to suggest that you peek under your floors as well - you might be pleasantly surprised.

Our farmhouse is from 1889 - my biggest regret is that the PO put an addition on the front of the house - and in order to even our the floors when we renovated our kitchen - I had to cover my old hardwood with a new floor. but it really was best in the long run, as now I have one big kitchen/seating area on one level.

I have linked pics on 'my page' -they are a bit dated - I should through some new ones on there. We did soapstone as well - cream cabs but with the island a different colour.

Have fun!!

How about cork flooring. Durable, comfortable, environmentally great, allergy reducing and beautiful. I wish I had discovered this last year.
{{!gwi}}

plllog-- don't worry about overstepping-- any advice is good advice. I am coming into this only knowing how to rip down wallpaper and paint (which will come in handy), but that is a pretty short list of remodeling skills considering the undertaking at hand! I appreciate the question about the cooktop-- I was considering a down draft (I realize they are not as efficient as a hood, but a hood isn't an option). The floor joists are exposed underneath in the basement, so I am not sure what is technically involved with running the downdraft vent, but I don't think it will be too hard. (I hope.) I also agree with the short wall-- I have been thinking about it, and I agree that it would be a good idea to extend out the wall a couple feet there so that the countertops and cabinets have a logical end point and it is closer to what it originally looked like. I will wait on the trim until I find something that matches.

Thank you ajpl and pickles--I am excited to look at the subfloors. This was something I didn't even think was a possiblity. (p.s. I really liked your kitchen, pickles)

As for the vinyl tile removal-- I read that if it is done with the floor wet and you pop off the tiles with a tool that has a huge scraper attached to a long handle (not sure what this tool is called), that you can minimize and asbestos in the air-- then double bag and find a suitable landfill. Some people have told me to just install a wood floor over the vinyl tiles, but I don't know what that does to the baseboard trim. I read that the companies that do this charge an arm and a leg because of the repeated- exposure insurance they buy for their employees. Anyone have thoughts on this?

Cleo, I have thought a lot about cork, and it one time was going to go with it, but I have read that it is a little fragile (needs to be sealed a lot and often?)and prone to fading. Also, it seemed like every pattern I liked was pretty expensive.

Also, alittle OT, but if soapstone is too expensive, does anyone know anything about stained concrete countertops?

Thank again, everyone :)

jen, we're actually DIYing concrete countertops too! I've been warned against trying it by a few people but my plan is to do some trial pieces first and take it from there. I love, love the look of soapstone but it's not in my budget so I decided on the concrete. It's not exactly traditional but it can develop a beautiful patina and fir right in to a kitchen like yours. Google concrete counter tops and you'll see what's out there. Also email me if you want. I have a ton of photos bokmarked that you might like. Email donnie dot L at ns dot sympatico dot ca

bump

You may very well have a wonderful wood floor under your vinyl, even if it is "just" a subfloor. Take a look at Francy's happy discovery -- she had vertical grain douglas fir subfloors that are AMAZING after being refinished (scroll down through a few photos to get to the refinished floors). Old houses often have superior building materials. I'm hoping for a similar lucky discovery when we pull up our peel and stick tiles and 1970's plywood subfloor in a couple of months.

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: bayareafrancy's subfloor

I do have wood sub floor under there! I peeked at this today when I was sweeping the floor up (ripped linoluem off the walls in the kitchen recently, so I had quite the mess). Unfortunately those vinyl tiles are freaking me out. I am worried about asbestos-- the wood would definitely need to be sanded (it is painted, too-- probably lead). Many people are telling me to leave it all alone and just put a new floating floor over the whole mess. Any thoughts on this?

Woohoo!

After a certain amount of buildup putting new over old gets, um, lumpy? You could float a new self-leveling subsurface, of course, but is there any way you can get some pros in? Get it checked for asbestos and have the tiles removed if there is? There might even be a firm that does multiple toxic removals that would take out the lead paint too.

I would pull more of it up and have a professional refinisher take a look. Old floors are priceless and if you have one under there - I would definitely go for it.

I refinished the old floors in our office, bathroom and master bedroom - I love them!

As the owner of a 150 year old house, I found out a long time ago that covering up problems does not make them go away; it creates additional problems that are more difficult to deal with later on. I know nothing about floating floors, but my advice is to bite the bullet & get rid of the tiles, restore the old floor, & have something to enjoy on a daily basis. Plus you'll have bragging rights that you have the ORIGINAL 100 yr old floor.

I'm watching with interest here.

Our project starts this spring.

In the planning stages now.

Would like a main level master bath and laundry, and possibly a attached garage, but done want to sacrifice the exterior appearance with simply adding on an addition.

Whatever we do, it needs to look like it was integral, back in 1928 when the house was built.

Here is a link that might be useful: New farm pics

Hello jenp4! We have a 1940's house we're renovating, and we refinished the fir floors in our kitchen. It turned out beautifully! It is a pretty popular thing to do in our area, so that gave us the confidence to go for it.

First, we ripped up the top layers of flooring to expose the fir subfloor. (My husband is always amazed at how they used to use such nice wood!) The top layer of floor was vinyl put in probably during the 70's. Underneath that was the original linoleum which was glued to the fir.

After we took the top layers off, it left black patches of flooring that were really stuck to the fir. If we tried scraping it off, it would've hurt the wood. So we sanded it off instead. We rented a sander and used a heavy grit sandpaper (24 or 36), which left the fir rough sanded. After that, we had a hardwood floor installer do the final refinishing.

The installers could've removed the vinyl/linoleum for us, but the ones we talked to didn't want to touch it. It's really hard work and you don't know how it's going to turn out. Plus you have to go through a lot of sanding rolls which are expensive. But we were willing to take the risk.

After it was refinished, it left a nice variegated fir that looks brand new. The rest of the house is done in oak, which we also had refinished. There is no threshold between the kitchen and dining room/hall. It just goes from fir directly to oak. I too thought it might look strange, but it doesn't. It's a definite contrast, but I like it.

If you can't restore your wood floor to your liking, you could just remove the subfloor to the joists and start over. But that may be kind of expensive. As for type of wood, I think wide-plank pine looks really nice, and fir is always pretty. As people have said, they are soft woods and will show the wear, but we like that look.

Good luck with your project!