We’ve been living in our new house a little over a year now, and there are some things that I still love and some things I hate. Let me tell you about them.
Love
I still love my butcher block countertops. After a year of use, they’re still beautiful and amazingly easy to care for. I found out the hard way that Waterlox does not like baking soda. I let some silver jewelry soak in baking soda and water while we went out for breakfast one day, and came back to find black water spots on the countertop that had eaten all the way through the finish. Unluckily, it turns out the two do not mix. Luckily, Waterlox is easy to repair without having to refinish the entire countertop.
- The butcher block countertops are still my favorite.
You can’t even tell that the countertop had ever been damaged, and you can’t tell which part was repaired. So in my book, that makes these countertops the winner as far as beauty and maintenance go. LOVE!
Hate
I hate our laminate floors. Seriously, I would never ever, ever install laminate floors again. They are a pain in the ass. (Yes, I hate them so much that I said “ass” on my blog.) I am always worried about water getting between the planks. It’s happened once, and now there is some damaged planks that will have to be replaced–not repaired, because they can’t be repaired–REPLACED! There have also be some spots that have gotten scratched. I have no idea how, but they did, and those will need to be replaced also. Seriously, you cannot repair any damage whatsoever!
- Laminate floors – never again. I literally hate them.
Also, they are impossible to keep clean. They show every single footstep left behind by bare feet, kitten feet, dog feet, human feet… It’s awful! There is nothing you can use on them that doesn’t leave some kind of film behind, because “news flash” you can’t use a wet mop on them to clean them!!!
I loved the way they looked when we chose them, but hate how they’ve worked out. Needless to say, I’m just waiting for them to get so bad that Jim will let me replace them with real hardwood floors.
Love
I still love my custom kitchen cabinets and the color I painted them. The yellow still makes me happy, and it’s such a joy to have well made cabinets.
- Love my custom Amish cabinets that I painted yellow.
The only thing I want to change is the drawer glides. We opted not to have the soft-close glides, and I’ve always regretted that. So if I could do that over again, I’d pay a little extra for the better glides. Yes, they can be changed, but the question is when will we actually change them?
So there you have it. Those are the things I love and hate about our house. And seriously, if Jim came home tonight and said we’d won the lottery, I’d be having that laminate ripped out tomorrow.
Got any questions about butcher block or laminate floors. Ask away! Or, if you have any opinions about them, share those too!
If I remember correctly, your laminate doesn't have those stupid v-groves that mine has. I don't think the people who designed ours were thinking… The grooves just pull the water right down into the seams.
And, no… butcher block is out for your house because of all the gorgeous wood you already have!!
I am fine with laminate but it's not in my kitchen, and I think the dark looks great but shows marks and dirt more easily. I am still in love with your countertops though could not put them in my house since I already have wood overload…