Restoration – Part 2 – In Progress
The restoration process takes time, organization, and patience. Planning is essential to the success of the project. These things are also essential to succeeding in life. Success requires the organization of thoughts, plans to take action and patience because failures are inevitable.
Patience is not passive, on the contrary, it is concentrated strength. Bruce Lee
Growth is accomplished when you put yourself into a continual restorative pattern. There are bad days where you feel broken down and worn out. But there are good days when the sun shines, energy is restored and your spirits are renewed. This pattern is normal, but what is uncommon is taking note of what happened and taking corrective actions to prevent it or to lessen the impact in the future. Taking note and action is the restorative pattern. We are all “in-progress” in life, and we can either be stagnant or growing.
Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
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Staining the woodwork
Our second story renovation hit a few stagnant lulls, but mostly, we could move forward and learn from our mistakes. The biggest challenge was having patience. I hate watching paint dry! Waiting for the stain to dry is even worse!!
Staining the woodwork was terrifying for me. There’s always the option of painting, but I like the look of stained wood, so I really wanted it to work out. I started with the cabinet behind my bathroom door, just in case. It took a while to dry which was a bit of torture because we had to shower in the second bathroom for the duration and vice versa when I moved to that bathroom for staining.
The magic potion I used to restore my cabinets is Varathane Gel Stain (affiliate link). I applied 3 coats, brushing on and wiping off. Then I waited 24 hours between each coat AND I waited 3 days before applying Varathane Triple Thick Polyurethane (affiliate link). I waited 3 full days before applying the Polyurethane because the gel stain is oil-based and the poly is water-based. It is essential that the stain is dry; otherwise, it will mess up the finish!! There are other oil-based sealant options available, but I like the one coat smooth coverage this product offers and it dries quickly!
Did I say how much I love it yet! If not, I LOVE IT!! We don’t have fancy cabinetry or trim, but it has a lot of life left in it and now it has a shiny new coat to wear! Stay tuned for the reveal in part three of this series.
Painting the trim
Yes, you read that caption right. There are some things that are just better off with a coat of paint. For example, builders grade baseboards and bifold doors. In comes the Home Right Finish Max Paint Sprayer (affiliate link) that I got for Christmas several years ago. It so much fun to use! The only drawback is the paint dust. Dust oh my!! Oh, and getting the right consistency was a little tricky at first. You have to thin the paint for the sprayer. Once I figured out the best ratio of water to paint it went on smoothly!
Painting the walls
We went back to basics with white. Well, actually it’s technically called Focus, and it is very calming. When we first moved in every room had a different color. Red, green, yellow, beige, blue and so on. No more. There’s nothing wrong with color, but it was time for a fresh change of pace and nothing says fresh more than crisp clean white walls. I could regret this, but so far I love it!!
New flooring and baseboards
The ground we tread upon takes so much abuse and our poor flooring was ABUSED! I wanted something easy to clean, strong, and beautiful and well… not completely beige. We installed three different types of flooring, and I am thrilled with each one in its own special way.
I can’t wait to show you the finished projects! The guys at Lifestyle Flooring (unsponsored plug) in Ankeny are great to work with. We bought from them 3 years ago when we redid our first-level flooring.
Furniture
We went furniture shopping and here comes the old lady in me. Sorry, not sorry!! The furniture they sell is either particle board junk or way overpriced and in many cases BOTH. Needless to say, there would be no new dresser, no new nightstand, no new desk or printer stand. That’s okay though, none of it turned out to be necessary.
I think the creations we made are perfect for us and I can’t wait to show you in part three!!
