Friday, June 3, 2016

A Story about Floors


Our approach to finish the floors has had many twists and turns since we purchased our home. From what they were (almost entirely painted throughout the house), to what we thought we wanted (stained), to what we have decided to do in the end (seal with a clear water-based matte sealer), the floors have involved quite the journey of discovery. 

The room shown above had not been painted but for some reason, but did have different flooring (probably Douglas fir) from the rest of the house. We had some extra boards left over from the kitchen so we ended up replacing those narrow boards (we are perhaps cursed with thoroughness) to match the wide white pine boards in the rest of the house. 


These are the new white pine floors with the stain we thought we'd use to 'age' the newly sanded wood. Thankfully, we only did this room and the hallway before we realized that it wasn't what we were quite looking for after all. 

Mike just sanded off that stain over the weekend, getting ready to seal them with a clear matte sealer.

The bathroom, as it was when we purchased our home, had several layers of flooring covering the old boards. All of those boards had to be removed to update the plumbing and electrical, some needed to be replaced entirely due to rot. 


Here are the floors today, nearly ready to be sealed. And I have to say 'hello' to our mystery window, for those who remember that post (and here).  



From that same bathroom, looking down the hallway, you can see the old brown painted floors. 


And here's the hallway today - closet doors have been removed. 


Here is that same hallway, looking now towards the bathroom, with the stain sample we tried (and did not like). 


Here it is with the stain removed, ready to be sealed by the clear matte sealer. 

Our move-in date is soon. There will still be much to do, but we can at least say that all the dirty work is behind us. 

19 comments :

  1. Love your thoroughness! Can't wait to see everything as it unfolds. What a beautiful journey.

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  2. I've been following your journey for many years...before you had your babies...my granddaughter was born right around the same time as your children :) This has been a much longer restoration than you originally thought it would be, can't wait to see the rest of the story once you start living there!

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    1. Yes, we often laugh (cry) at our original thought of being in the house by Christmas, which was about four months post purchase. But we are getting there, slowly but surely!

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  3. Where are you living currently while this work gets accomplished? Also, how do you have the patience? I've also been following for years and love what you and your husband do, but I'd tear my hair out!

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    1. Yes, it is a painstakingly slowly process. One in which we are ready to be over and done with for sure!

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  4. My house is not as old as yours and our floors are oak but I did the same. It looks more natural than a stain and surprisingly the floors look the same as the stairs (which we did not refinish) and the INSIDES of the closets (which we also did not refinish -- you can't tell where new and original are. I'm not sure why people stain floors dark . . . doesn't look natural to me -- I LIKE to see the wood and the grain! (And anything like doesn't show dust like something dark!) Can't wait to see the house when you move in.

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  5. Everything looks beautiful. Can't wait to see the finished house!!

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  6. Gosh, I love it! And, so thankful you're sharing!! Much, much better than any magazine.

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  7. It looks beautiful. I'm getting excited for you!

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  8. Congratulations on your upcoming move. My compliments to you and Mike on your patience and diligence with giving this house back its grace. Cheers, Ardith

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  9. Amazing, I love seeing all the "dirty work" progress. We had that new/old stain on our floors when we moved in and the first thing I did was sand it off, love the colour of natural pine, simply hated the orange.... I refer to it as the fake tan look!

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  10. It looks so lovely, I love the floors looking more natural without the stain, they will look stunning. Isn't it funny how people layer one floor over another. When we bought our old farmhouse here in France, we redid one bathroom floor entirely. We took up three layers of flooring, a layer of ghastly linoleum covered some equally ghastly green tiles. We chipped away at these and after days got them all up to reveal another layer of tiles, small green tiles this time underneath. These too came out before we could get down to the original concrete floor and start all over again! The trials and tribulations of renovations!!!

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  11. Hi Catherine, I've been reading your blog since before you had your twins ... I always looked forward to a new A Country Farmhouse post, and now for In the Fields. We love old homes, and soon will find ourselves in a Colonial dating back to 1838. I am having so much fun watching your discoveries with your pine floors, as we will have original pine floors throughout the house. Right now they are stained and glossy, looking quite yellow-orange. I can't wait to sand them down and ... well, I'm not sure what we will do from there. Anyway, I can't wait to see your finished floors!! Love everything about your projects, and am getting excited for you for move in day!!

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  12. I am anxiously awaiting your move into this home! It will be so beautiful when it's finished.
    I'm wondering about your floor stain. Why not stain a small section of floor to see if it suits or not? That's a lot of work!

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  13. I just love the look! Can't wait to see it complete!

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  14. I love how the floors look natural without the stain. We sealed our floors in a previous home but they did turn yellowish over time. In our present house (circa 1827) we are going to try WOCA oil - its a swedish type wood soap finish, to keep them from yellowing. Of course originally all of our wide plank floors wood have been painted or covered with Venetian striped or list carpets - but I so love the bare floors, I can't bring myself to cover them.

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  15. The small bedroom is one of my favorites in the home. It's perfect for a bed by the window, reading a favorite book. Your thoroughness will definitely pay off in the long run. Better to do something right the first time than to spend money making it right. I can't wait to see it come alive.
    Deni in NC

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  16. Good decision Catherine. I think the lightness of the wood is wonderful, although I do expect it to change over the years, it's the way it should be now.

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  17. I really admire you and your husband, you pour such hard work and love in to your homes. I'm sure it hasn't been easy but it looks like the hard work is nearly over and I know that it will be truly special and gorgeous when you've finished. Can't wait to see it all come together. Sharon

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Thank you for leaving your thoughts. Kind regards, Catherine

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