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I agree with Red. And your carerra backsplash is gorgeous! Would look gorgeous with a better range with front controls, no microwave over stove. I am so sorry you lost your hubby. Hope you don’t get covid from the cruise!!

why would she get covid from the cruise (as opposed to anywhere else?) don't they require everyone to get vaccines for the cruise? and I thought you needed a negative covid test as well.

What bothers me about the kitchen is the floor, the wall paint, the pendants over the island and the empty space over the cabinets, as Beth H has said.

You could change the temperature of the bulbs and that could change how the island's color looks to you in a significant way.

If you are going to replace totally functional kitchen appliances just to get a stainless look, I think it is more important to get a functioning vent hood over the cooktop that vents to the outside and re-jigger your cabinets to find another place for your microwave.

Unless you really don't cook except to warm up the take-out.

And that's ok too.

As for Covid and cruise ships-

https://www.thedailybeast.com/luxury-cruise-ship-msc-splendida-rang-in-the-new-year-with-a-human-covid-bomb-in-brazil

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/passengers-leave-covid-hit-cruise-ship-after-5-days-stuck-lisbon-2022-01-03/

Vaccines don't mean you can't get infected.

Some people get the antigen test (instead of the PCR test) which is less accurate.

Also, rules usually state that you have to get a test 3 days in advance of an event.

Well, you can get a test on day -3.

But then on day -2, or day -1 you can get exposed to the virus, and board ship on day 0 and during the cruise spread the virus to your fellow cruise members, because as the photographs above illustrate, social distancing is not enforced.

The vaccine doesn't prevent you from getting infected, it just greatly reduces it, and greatly reduces your chances of getting very ill or dying from COVID19.

Following…

rustic floor planks? and stainless appliances? if youve got that in the works I think I'd pause. Next up would be a bit more industrial or soft urban pendants . and change the hardware. I think at the floor with the ?rustic look? some runners or a couple mats in a pattern w blues and greens would really be great. I think I'd leave the island color....the strength of the color will be nicely BALANCED w floor and the look of stainless ......the pendants and hardware just finish it off. these are things you can pick off one at a time. I dont think a big paint job is the way I'd go because these other things would be desires to do regardless and likely all thats needed. Have fun searching for those new pendants!!!!

Since painting is the easiest change you are making I would agree with other posters - make all the other changes you are planning and then decide what color to paint you island. Am going to go out on a limb here and ask you not to eliminate red as a color choice - perhaps a darker, earthy red.

Patricia, I'm following your post. So much great advice offered here!. Please do post pictures as you make progress. So very sorry for your loss.

@Beth H. cruises have been in the news lately due to Covid "breakouts". We just returned from a cruise where there were 48 cases found after docking. 48/4500 people. Everyone had to be 100% vaccinated, tested before the cruise, and masked in indoor spaces and people still got covid. We weren't concerned, still aren't. You're not more likely to get Covid on a cruise than anywhere else, but I guess the news media likes to say otherwise. 🤷🏼‍♀️

@Patricia Thorpe I am so sorry for your loss. Your kitchen has a lot of potential and I hope you enjoy it more after the renovation. I also hope you enjoyed your cruise!

Patricia- So sorry about your husband!

Beth H's choices are great as always, except I am not thrilled about pendant lights that look like upside-down baskets.

This may be my personal taste, but to me it looks like an improvised salvaged solution rather than a tasteful choice for an updated kitchen.

You can get a Persian or Oriental carpet runner for the kitchen that will work so nicely with the color of the island.

You can get them for not much money now, and the one you purchase doesn't have to be in perfect condition, no one is going to be looking at it that closely.

@CeeWhy - You have a good point, cruises should not be any worse than anywhere else.

Some of these articles do say that there were insufficient PPE on board and the cruises held events that had people very close to each other.

lol loobab, I actually agree w/you. I just wanted to show her some other options. below that picture are some better looking rattan type of pendants.

:)

I do love well-made rattan furniture, especially vintage.

Cane furniture too.

Because Beth on a cruise you are packed in like sardines! They are not even letting them back in SF or LA ports right now! Again

The delta variant is still around, and the omicron variant spreads so much more easily, and the masks most people wear are really not that protective, and most people do not properly social distance.

One of the problems is, a person with no health risk factors who gets infected with COVID can easily recover with no sequellae but can pass COVID19 to another individual with significant health risk factors who can get seriously ill or even die.

Not even sure how this became a Covid decision. Kindly stop! Beth, I’m going to email you privately. Thanks!!!

Patricia, I am sorry for hijacking!

p.s. On Houzz, just like in everyday conversation, topics do segue.

That is normal. However, if that bothers you, I will keep to the original subject of the thread.

Loobab - not so much a bother as unnecessary. LOL. I’m sure there are other forums for a debate on vaccines/Covid/etc 😂. I’m loving all these ideas and appreciate the input. I’m confused about one comment on rustic floors and stainless appliances. I had the most gorgeous antique brown stained hand scraped hardwoods with stainless on my other home and I loved it. What am I missing here?

I don't think you're missing anything. I think that comment was going off in a diff direction. Maybe they didn't understand your idea of rustic? not sure. SS appliances can be used w/a rustic type of decor! Although, w/the white cabs and the marble bacsplash tile, I don't think you can go too rustic.

you have to choose your new floors before attermpting anything further!

herbflavor said that.

I wasn't fond of the color of your current floor tiles in your current kitchen.

I couldn't have any kind of wood floors in a kitchen, I am the messiest cook ever.

This is what I’m considering: Earthwerks Stadium Plus XL Blitz 9" x 60" Luxury Vinyl Plank
Catch is when you Google it, it looks very dark. It is not at all. It’s medium brown with grey undertones. I love it but not wondering if I’m making a huge mistake. May need to go back and consider something with less movement (lots of knots and “scratches”). Here’s a pic that is similar in look.

does it have to be LVP?

I can't find a real pic of it

May I see the rest of the room where this is going? (i'm assuming you're doing the entire first floor (or floor starting from entryway, living space and into the kitchen and dining?)

I don't see the grey undertones, but if you say it has it, then go for it, because your kitchen has cool colors.

Yes. House is one floor. Doing all of it minus two bathrooms.

Hilarious - just noticing that green wall!! This is the exact floor and I’m getting it from Nebraska furniture mart but this shows much darker in the picture than it really is.

Forgot to add pic

I looked it up on Wayfair and see that it's out of stock? And it's a little over $4 a sq foot. Wondering why you don't spend a bit more, go for the real wood, and have that last you 40 years as opposed to this vinyl that will last 10-20? if that?

And of course the real hardwood will be better if you even sell this home down the road. and it can always be refinished 20 years from now. that vinyl is just going to get torn up and sit in a dump somewhere.

as an example, here is a real engineered hardwood, hickory (since you like the rustic look) that is the same price of the vinyl! (And, this has a Lifetime warranty, not like your year warranty on the LVP)

or, a dollar more, and you can get this natural Oak

Here's another hickory

https://www.wayfair.com/home-improvement/pdp/tuscanwood-the-hills-hickory-05-thick-x-75-wide-x-varying-length-engineered-wood-hardwood-flooring-tswo1011.html

If you like the wider plank, I'd do this 7" , lifetime warranty,

Remember all those great pics I showed you? the flooring was a french oak type of real wood floor. It look fabulous.

Like this one:

Did you ever see mine? I love my wood floors. I'm so glad I spent the money on these. they are a breeze to clean too. I have them throughout my first floor

Shown here w/Zellige tile inset. and my dumbo cat

trying to get an overall shot so you can see them. they don't look busy, but they do have the knots you like.

Beth - sadly my husband was 💩 at finances and I’m needing to keep within a budget.

Beth, what flooring is that? Make, etc?

Patricia, I’m so sorry about your husband. I was widowed 12 years ago, and my kids were 14 and 19 when my husband died in a skiing accident. It’s so hard…but it does get better. Your new home is going to be lovely and warm. It’s got great bones.
I’m going to agree with Beth; go with wood flooring. I’ve had white oak flooring in my kitchen for 35 years and it’s just great; no problems at all. I’ve had it refinished twice over the years; it looks beautiful and is so comfortable. I’ve always been happy we decided to put wood flooring in our kitchen.

Patricia, the pics I've shown you aren't that much more than your LVP. and again, these are a lifetime warranty. If you're going to be in the home for at least 5-10 years, spending another 1-2K on flooring is nothing. (I know. coming up w/the extra 2K seems like a lot, but when you consider flooring is something that will last a lifetime while you live there, it's not a lot of money. Spending less money right now for vinyl, that only has a 10-20 year lifespan, isn't the best choice)

**(I can show you real, engineered wood flooring for the exact same price as your LVP if you like!)

Here, $4.29

https://www.wayfair.com/home-improvement/pdp/shaw-floors-evergreen-hickory-38-thick-x-5-wide-engineered-hardwood-flooring-shd10276.html

Wouldn't you rather have this over the vinyl??

If you have to, wait a year and save up the extra few thousand so that you can afford the real wood. _

As an example, this is a hickory (comes in many colors) that is actually water resistant Engineered Real wood flooring

It's $5.79.

https://www.wayfair.com/home-improvement/pdp/mohawk-flooring-hickory-38-thick-x-65-wide-x-varying-length-water-resistant-engineered-hardwood-flooring-mhk10621.html

But if you aren't concerned about water resistant flooring, then I wouldn't spend the extra money on this feature. If you could up your budget to $6 a sq foot, you could find a slew of beautiful rustic wood floors that you like. If you dont mind a thinner plank, you could drop your budget down to below $5 a sq foot.

You can always shop around at a real flooring place and see what kind of prices they have. Perhaps you can make payments?? Some places have no interest for a year or so. This way, you can purchase something in the 5-6 dollar sq foot range, and make the payments instead of coming up with extra cash in one lump sum?

Is that something you could do?

I can swing that. I may need to cut out the master bedroom and leave it carpeted instead. I am moving the last weekend of January and want this installed whilst the house is empty.

I just edited my comment above. had some typos and I added a few links.

the pics I posted above is from wayfair. I'm sure you can find some other deals and other types of flooring at a real flooring store.

At my tile/flooring place, they must have 1000 types of flooring

This brand/model is actually the same flooring that I have. It's an extra wide plank, so it's not cheap.

I used that flooring in a diff color on my bathroom ceiling. Would you believe I found this on Craigslist for less than $4 a sq foot? The lady had 230Sq feet left over from a job.

It was a hell of a deal since it was half price! I snatched it up in a heartbeat. You may want to check w/flooring places. sometimes people return flooring or are trying to unload smaller amounts.

But if youre ok w/something in the 3-5" wide plank, you can certainly find something in the $4-$5 range.

Is there a large flooring store you can visit? This way (if you want to order something online) you will be familiar w/how it looks in person. Look at the backing, how it's rated, the Janka rating (which is hardness) and the warranty.

I have the hand scraped oak. It's pretty hearty. and spills and stains wipe up very easily. Hands down, beats a vinyl. If you don't have a bunch of kids and a herd of large dogs, there's no reason to get the vinyl over the real wood.

(BTW, also a widow here. 26 years ago)

So I pulled the trigger with this flooring….. once installed I’ll take pics. Thanks for walking me through this!

Ooh, Craigs list, how clever of you!

I love the idea of alternative shopping!

Re-use, recyle, renew.

I am no tree-hugger by any means, but it is great to purchase something for a song you might not have been able to, or even have the means to obtain something else for yourself you might not have otherwise been able.

@Patricia Thorpe what is the color of that flooring? I have Provenza LVP "Finally Mine" and love it!

Nothing wrong with tree huggers!! They are saving the planet

I thought everybody hated Provenza floors

I agree wholeheartedly with Beth. Get engineered floors and out them throughout the house. Your main limitation, based on your timeline, is what they have IN STOCK.
I inherited a ceramic tile kitchen (open concept house) with butterscotch oak floors throughout the rest of the house. I pulled it up the tiles and extended the floor. It’s engineered wood and works well in the kitchen. I find it easier on my back. It cleans well and now the entire area looks cohesive. I think it’s $2.35/sf at Lumber Liquidators and Wayfair had it too. If you’re not committed to wide planks, engineered wood is a wonderful solution. First photo is the kitchen, second is the great room.

I hope you love your LVP. I LOVE mine. My mother went thru four expensive engineered wood floors in 10 years. All were damaged beyond repair from water damage due to builder issues in her condo complex. (A completely different nightmare story) But three of the four, showed every foot print every step anyone took. After having downsized to this condo from her dream home that had beautiful site laid wood floors, she concluded engineered could never match solid wood. So she pivoted to LVP, and loves it. It isn’t just like real wood and that’s just a fact, but when solid isn’t an option like on a slab, and you want continuous flooring throughout, LVP can be beautiful and durable. I have kids and pets, and my floor looks just like the day it was Installed

So I pulled the trigger with this flooring…..@CeeWhy I got the Coco Classic

Ok friends so here it is. I love this flooring!! Two pics. One up against fireplace and other against the dreaded aqua island (which I now don’t hate as much). 🤣🤣

It looks great! I hope you keep the aqua island!

The flooring is beautiful and looks great with your island!

I've just been corrected - LOL - the color is teal not aqua

Floor choice is great; not too dark/or light and is versatile style wise.

It’s important to consider working with what you have and given the green vein, I’d keep island green but select a much warmer shade. I’d bring your floor sample to paint store and narrow down/test 2-3.

With the black counters, suggest bringing in more black for a more coordinated look with lighting, stools and hardware.

love how you can do a more casual beachy vibe with this floor and the teal. Even the stone around fireplace has bit of California/ at the seaside vibe w the floor now. I would look at pendant light options when you feel like it. The space is going to evolve and this color [teal] along w pops of more of it..... or other colors will be great. think wicker and baskets too...I think they make ?rattan? for pendant light shades now. I'd check it out.

The floors will change the whole space immediately. Great choice. After they are installed, post a new photo of the island. The current color may work after all, or you will get more suggestions.

Patricia what is the brand and color of the flooring you chose? I am putting new flooring through our entire open concept home and love the pictures of yours!

That’s a nice floor! French oak of some sort? Big upgrade from that other flooring that looks like rubber. My sister has that too