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Preservation Projects

Playroom & Guest Room Flooring

November 18, 2024 | Preservation Projects

Playroom & Guest Room Flooring Project

As with many materials in the house, the floor coverings in the downstairs Playroom and guest room have gone through several iterations over the past 72 years. The current sisal flooring in the Playroom was selected by Ossipoff and installed in the early 1990s. The guest room carpet was installed at approximately the same time.

Ossipoff ordered the sisal from India but en route to Hawaii via ship it sustained quite a bit of water damage. However, Ossipoff and the Liljestrands made do, by cutting pieces out, fitting them together and adhering them to the concrete slab floor. The sisal replaced classic mid-century seagrass mats which had also been replaced several times over the years.                                                  

The sisal is dry rotting and unravelling along the edges of the room, particularly along the sliding glass door sides of the house and at the thresholds to other rooms. The concrete slabs underneath have shifted, causing some slabs to rise up a quarter to a half inch. After research and consultation with design and installation experts, we have identified commercial grade sisal tiles similar to the look and feel of the current sisal. After pulling up the old sisal, the concrete will be leveled and new tiles installed. The project will also require moving heavy furniture, including built-ins and the 1,000 lb. pool table.

The guest room carpet is residential grade berber that worked well when the home was used as a residence. In the present day however, the guest room serves as passageway to the guest bathroom and the storage room, where program supplies such as tables and chairs are kept. We plan to replace the carpet with a low-pile commercial grade product that will better stand up to foot traffic.     

Our goal is to raise $30,000 to complete both of these projects in 2025!          

The views, the house, the architecture, the clients…all add up to a transcendent monument.

— Joan Chan

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The Liljestrand House is listed on the Hawai‘i State and the United States National Register of Historic Places.
   

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