feedin’ and waxin’

Before we left on vacation, we had finished up the the majority of the painting in the bathroom – everything except the white trim paint around the door and the window. The chifferobe’s been hanging out in the hallway for a couple of weeks, so we are really ready to get it back in place. But there were still a few items to wrap up before it goes back in there. It’s not in the way of the trim painting or the fixture replacement that we still have to do, but getting the pegs in place was high on the list. We’re sort of tired of draping towels and robes on every doorknob we can find.

My first thought for finishing the pegs was just applying enough of a protective coat to prevent the wood from drying and splitting over time. I love the color of the beech pegs, and didn’t want any treatment to them to change the color too drastically. I thought that Howard Feed-N-Wax was probably the way to go, but I wanted to do a little research to make sure that the finish wouldn’t stain any damp white towels that were hanging on the pegs. I didn’t find any warnings about this, but I conducted a little mini-experiment with one of them, just to make sure, and it was fine. This isn’t like a coat of poly that dries with a clear finish – it’s a wax that conditions the wood and offers some protection from drying out. We can reapply as we wish over time – it’s easy to rub on and buff with a soft cloth. I did this to the other twenty-nine pegs, waited twenty minutes, and then buffed them again.

And then installed them – screwing each one into the pilot holes already drilled. That was a task that took awhile!

The next task while the room was empty was to deep clean the floor and reseal it. It was pretty dirty from all the work we’d done in there. We don’t typically wear shoes in the house at all, but we do when we’re working on projects for obvious reasons. This seemed like a good time for a through cleaning, so I made a paste of baking soda and water, scrubbed that whole (gigantic) floor with an old toothbrush, and then poured a 50/50 vinegar/water solution onto it before wiping it clean. The fizzing action made the hours-long chore a little more fun. So did the obvious results.

(Kind of hard to see in the photos, but that rear corner was done in the shot below – you can barely see the grout, everything is so white again.)

M’s off to buy sealer now, and we’ll get this floor to a point where we can move the furniture back in. I’m on the lookout for a few finishing touches, contemplating a shower curtain refresh, a new bathrobe, a toilet paper holder, the mirror, etc. I did buy fresh flowers for the room this morning, so my priorities are straight, at least.

Almost there!!