The Perfect New Years or... Linoleum, be gone!!!

Ah, the kitchen. If only we had the budget to do an Extreme Makeover, as opposed to What Not To Wear. Things being what they were, we focused on the high-impact, low-cost changes we could make. One design element that could easily be changed was the I-don't-know-the-sex-of-my-baby, pastel yellow wall color. For one thing, we weren't too fond of it even in isolation. But the apartment's kitchen essentially occupies a shared space with the living room, and the abrupt change from blue to yellow just made this living space feel even smaller than it already was. Not to mention, it wasn't aesthetically pleasing. We went through many a paint chip until we found the Benjamin Moore color that best matched the pale blue already in the living room, funnily enough called Marilyn's Dress. On New Year's Eve, we had our paint mixed, bought an expensive bottle of Champagne (because we're classy like that), ordered in pizza, and hunkered down in the apartment for a night of kitchen rejuvenation. 

We had thought we would paint first, but on a whim, we decided to see, once and for all, what was under the 70s era lineleum. I had a blind faith that the lovely, pumpkin-tinged hardwood would continue into the kitchen, but Molly warned me not to get my hopes up. It could be sub-flooring only, or the wood could be completely ruined. We began by peeling off the linoleum to reveal a custom-cut swath of sub-flooring. It was affixed to whatever was beneath by a massive amount of rusty screws. The last three were especially hard to remove, but once that was done, we were excited for the big reveal. We began to lift up the heavy sheet of wood and.... it wouldn't budge an inch! Yet all the screws had been removed, or had they? Scouring the floor once more, we found one last ancient screw firmly planted in the ground. The cross on its face was so old and worn that the screwdriver didn't make it turn. Over the next hour, we tried futily to make the screw turn. Or loosen it in some way. We gouged the wood away that surrounded it and filled the space with wood polish, vinegar, and Coke. We applied differently sized screwdrivers from different angles. But still, nothing! Finally, we went to see the fireworks in Prospect Park to clear our heads, and when we came back, Molly was able to break off the head with a hammer.  The screw itself stayed in the ground, but we were finally able to lift up the sub-flooring to reveal... a continuation of the beautiful wood flooring, in great shape!! I couldn't have asked for a better New Year's present!