Kitchen splashback

The state of the wall around the kitchen sink after living in the house for over 2 years is not acceptable.  Yes, mess happens, especially round the sink area.  I decided that it was definitely time to remedy the situation.

The kitchen sink area - a stunning view out of
 the window, but inside left much to be desired
   - it lacked a certain "je ne sais quoi"

Some of my new followers haven't seen some pictures that inspired me and about which I posted back in December 2011.

I just loved the "historical" look of the concept - the idea of leaving a permanent historical memento in the farmhouse.

This is what I am talking about...

A copper coin wall feature...

...and a copper coin floor.

Thankfully, RMan shared my attraction for the concept.

Well, I have been collecting copper coins since then.  To cover the area I estimated that we needed a couple of thousand of them.

But, coins don't come clean.  They come in all different shades of copper and various stages of cleanliness...

Some of the copper coins before they were cleaned

... so they needed cleaning :)  (As you can tell from the date on the photo's this process was started last year.)

Naturally, Google to the rescue again - "how to clean copper coins" was the search phrase.

Copper coins in vinegar

The toxic chemical abrasive agents were at the top of the lists.  Nope - not for me thanks.  The most eco-friendly ways I could find were to clean them in 1) vinegar, 2) tomato sauce and 3) coke.

So, first I tried vinegar...

... but it turned the coins a dull pink.

I didn't have commercial tomato sauce, and I'm not sacrificing my homemade sauce for this.

So, next up was...

Copper coins in flat coke

 ... placing some coins in coke.  We always have some coke on hand for instances of upset tummies (flat coke).  This method of cleaning the coins took much longer (3 - 5 hours of soaking) than the vinegar method, but did clean the coins more sparkly and to a more natural copper colour.

From left to right:
copper coins cleaned by the coke and
copper coins cleaned by the vinegar.
 The coke coins have a visible glow, whilst
the vinegar coins are dull

Three days of soaking a number of batches later...

...clean(er) coins :)

The copper coins, for the most part,
 cleaned up very nicely

Then RMan and I took the measurements.

Measurements of the
two areas next to the
kitchen sink

Then, we (well actually RMan) got to work on the plywood that we had purchased.

The measurements were
transferred to the plywood

Thank goodness RMan had
the angle grinder to complete
the task

The measurements were transferred to the plywood.  Not being too keen on woodwork, RMan doesn't have a jigsaw, and his circular saw gave up half way through the task (talk about planned obsolescence), so he resorted to using his angle grinder for the last small section(s).

Then, a retaining edge was tacked to the edge of the plywood, firstly to secure the coins, and secondly to retain the resin compound once it was poured onto the coins.

A retaining lip was added
to the plywood to prevent the
resin from seeping out

Some of the clean coins in a bag -
waiting to be placed on the plywood

So, when all of that was finished, I got busy with the bag full that I had collected - and started placing the coins on the plywood.

We decided, for history's sake, to leave the coins with the date facing upwards.

The result?

The way the light is reflected off the copper coin
splashback is gorgeous.  Isn't is funny how one
always "collects" containers near a sink - water jug,
bicarb in sprinkle bottle, vinegar pray, dishwash,
handwash, handcream.

 Stunning!  We love it :)

View of the splashback from the upstairs
mezzanine passage

The long section took 1390 coins, and the shorter section used just over 500 coins.

It was a lovely project to handle - RMan and I doing our creative thing together.  And getting down to it when it is getting chilly outside - the timing was perfect :)

Call all this work an investment LOL  Not only have we created a more pleasing feature of a utility area, but, with the value of the coins used, we have just increased the value of this house by roughly ZAR94.50  ($7.93 / £5.13 / €7.06)  Wow - how extravagant of us! Bwahahahaha...

The final question is : do we need coke in the house - even for upset tummies - if this is what happens to copper coins.  What is it doing to our stomachs overnight...?