After all of the chaos of the renovation and being kitchenless for over 2 months it felt good to have everything back together.

We now had a working sink, a functioning dishwasher, a connected gas range, a fully stocked refrigerator (finally with things that weren’t just microwave ready), countertops, and organized cabinets. So it stung a bit when I decided to tackle the floors because it meant moving everything and being semi-kitchenless all over again.

Remember this past winter when we scored an awesome deal on high-durability hand scraped hickory laminate flooring?

We were fed up just “thinking” about the best time to put them in and just got down to business Monday night.

After reading tons of reviews on the best underlayment for our project, we settled on Robert’s Premium Felt.

After finishing the basement floors I decided that I wanted to use something a bit sturdier/stronger than the traditional foam and this stuff had amazing reviews. So we went for it. Most Home Depots don’t carry this in store so we ordered it ahead of time.

One thing to note is that this stuff is strong and I mean STRONG. While the foam stuff slices like butter with a utility knife this stuff either doesn’t even tear or shreds to bits. So I went out and bought a (more than I wanted to spend) $10 utility scissors which gave us more control and did the job. Only issue, I’m a lefty and scissors never work right for me so Katie handled ALL the cutting and installing.

With both of us working in the kitchen things went pretty quickly. After only a few hours Monday/Tuesday night we were in business. And by “in business” I mean making headway but still have a lot to do.

Have I mentioned that the felt cushion is soft but firm? Clearly Chestnut loves it.

The floor looks gorgeous up close:

We kept walking around looking at the kitchen from different angles trying to envision what it would look like once it was done. So we did the same thing for you guys.

Here’s a cropped down photo that gives the illusion of a completed kitchen. Pretty slick looking, right? We love it. The dark floor with the light cabinets and countertop (and eventual back splash) seems like the perfect balance. What do you think?

Our floors have gone from this…

To this!

More to come!