we've been sprucing up the kitchen (new cabinets, paint color, sink) and we were hemming and hawing over eco-friendly countertop options. well, ryan was pretty certain from the get-go what he wanted - bowling alley lanes!
what? i asked. sounded crazy!
well, ryan does all sorts of crazy things and they turn out beautifully. he was invested in using reclaimed bowling alley lanes because
- maple countertops are beautiful and are often used in kitchens
- a great way to get a high quality, thick maple countertop with good history and character
- they are an existing material, nothing new needs to be manufactured
- sourced in the good ol' USA (Cougar Lanes in Omaha, Nebraska to be exact)
that convinced me, so we did it.
this morning at 7:30 the semi carrying an entire bowling alley worth of flooring pulled up in front of our house. what a way to start the day!
ryan needed to pick out which lanes would eventually become our countertops. here he is - king of the bowling lanes!
we definitely wanted pieces with the distinctive bowling alley marking.
these are 16 feet long and HEAVY! luckily, we are having a new roof installed, and the roofers graciously agreed to help ryan and andy (the trucker from knoxville, tennessee) move our two lanes.
ryan searched all over craig's list and found these lanes in omaha. he is so clever! we obviously don't need a whole bowling alley for ourselves (though we are planning to make an outdoor tabletop out of our lanes, too). ryan worked with Resource Conservation Group, they specialize in reclaimed lumber, wood flooring and custom-milled products. they figured out the shipping, and the rest of the load is on its way to them right now. if you're in LA and you are aching for bowling alley lanes for yourself - contact them!
we still have to strip, sand, and seal the lanes before they are cut and installed. but - they are here!
here's a pic of some beautiful countertops made out of reclaimed bowling lanes. i hope ours look as good.
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| from www.retrorenovation.com |
brilliant, clever, amazing idea!
ReplyDeletejanet, you are sweet! and i do believe ryan is all of those things. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a COOL idea. I love unique stuff like that!
ReplyDeletesteve, it is a cool idea - i'm looking at a day of scraping off old finish, though. hopefully i can get into a zen state of mind about it. :)
ReplyDeleteSo very, very, very awesome.
ReplyDelete