Thursday 3 May 2012

Sanding Our Wooden Floorbaords

That yucky pink carpet needed to go (and you can't even see the unmentionable stains on it - lucky you!). Given that two gorgeous girlies will be sharing one of the split-bedrooms, I foresee many {many} future beauty product-related spillages. I remember tipping over a bottle of nail varnish on my parent's brand new carpet in my teeneage boudoir....and the less said about burns from hair straighteners the better....


Sooooo, we went with the wood option. Underneath this carpet and underlay was a layer of hardboard...and then, I was thrilled to find, gorgeous wooden boards in excellent condition.

We called in outside help for sanding the floors. It's a job that can be horribly messy in the wrong hands {mine!}so I was glad not to have to do it ourselves. Getting everything ready was a complete upheaval. We decided to have the whole of the middle floor sanded, which meant storing furniture and toys and books and games and beds and bedding and mattresses from three very full children's bedrooms.

When old wooden floors are first sanded, they look all shiny and clean and new, so I knew I wanted to stain them to ensure the colour looked aged and mellow. The company we used recommended Colron's Wood Dyes, which come in a variety of colours. 


We picked Medium Oak, which left our floors looking EXACTLY how I'd hoped colour-wise. Huzzah!!


And then they were sealed with matt varnish. I know some people go mad for high gloss but I love the gentle sheen that this look gives.


On the down side, it has left a large gap between the skirting board and floor in one of the bedrooms that will needs adjusting...


....but overall I am v. v. pleased!


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24 comments :

Jo said...

Oh, your floors are gorgeous! That's the kind of floor that will be in my dream house one day ;-)

Unknown said...

We had the same thing when we ripped up the carpet at our place and it was easily fixed by adding 1/4 round to the bottom of the baseboards (paint them aheady of time to save some aggro).

Looks fab!

Don't get me started on the time I left the hair dye bottle in the trash can....(stain still there).

Courtenay@Creek Line House said...

OK, now you've got me thinking..... I wonder if I just go down far enough, I might find something similar upstairs in our house? I'll have to remember the stain you chose. I looooove it!

Anna at the Doll House said...

What a beautiful result Sarah.

I am not a fan of fitted carpets, so, I have done this with all my floors and when they are clean - they are squeaky clean.

Anna

Susan T said...

....and so you should be (pleased that is) fab floors and a great colour. I once kicked over a bottle of turquoise ink while I was doing my homework, plain pale carpet and ink do not mix, ma and pa were thrilled to little mint balls, as you can imagine.

Deborah@Green Willow Pond said...

Your floors are beautiful! How lucky a find that was...worth all the upheaval for awhile. Have a lovely weekend!

Deborah

miss b said...

Those floors are too lovely to cover up and such a good idea for children and teenagers - I remember mishaps with nail varnish etc too!
http://missbbobochic.blogspot.co.uk/

chris said...

Oh, they are lovely! All it would take is some additional molding to cover the gap...so excited that you had a treasure to find under that carpet. :)

Stephanie said...

They look amazing! Such beautiful floors!

Seaweed and Raine said...

Looks absolutely fab Sarah! I love timber floors with rugs! :) (I'm guessing from the rug that you got for your son's room, you will likely put one in the girls room too.)
Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Happy moving all the kids stuff back into their rooms! :D

Shawna said...

The floors are gorgeous. I love the colour and the satin finish. Serious floor envy here!

Heaven's Walk said...

Ohh.....there's nothing better than wood floors beneath bare feet, Sarah! How lucky you are to find that gorgeous wood beneath that carpet!!! :)

xoxo laurie

diana said...

I don't comment often, Sarah - but I love this blog. I read every post and smile at your sweet, funny self. LOVE these floors. In our last remodel, we put wood flooring throughout our CA ranch house and we.love.it. However, in the 2 X 2 foot sample we chose, there was no indication that there would be 'stress' marks added to make it look older. We're used to it now, but it was a total shock! I also remember in another CA home, we lived for years with shag carpet we hated, to 'save a little money' because it was relatively new when we bought the house. When we ripped it out several years later, we discovered GORGEOUS hardwood, pegged and grooved to boot. Some economies are not! Happy last days of this pregnancy, lovely one. Enjoy every minute, even the zoned out fatigued ones.

Bluebells and Lavender said...

Love the flooring Sarah, I also prefer the soft sheen of matt to high gloss it looks very natural. Have a lovely weekend. Sharon

Privet and Holly said...

How lucky to have
those beautiful floors
lurking underneath,
like buried treasure!
They came out so, so
pretty, too!

Happy Weekend,
xo Suzanne

PS: Happy belated
b-day to another
April baby : ) I hope
it was very special!

Magali@TheLittleWhiteHouse said...

I really can't understand while you didn't keep that beautiful carpet... I mean it was pink, so it was perfect for girls!
I can only wish my very covered-under-several-layers floors will be as beautiful as yours one day. I love how cozy they look...
I tried to see what colour you choose for the walls but couldn't really see because they look so different in the two pictures you can see them...
I guess I'll have to wait for a future post!!!

Cindy said...

Those boards under the carpet are such a wonderful find. You've had them refinished in such a beautiful way.
Hugs, Cindy

Unknown said...

I couldn't imagine how much upheaval it must have been (and the mess, dear god the mess) but the result has been totally worth it! Looks stunning!

I love love love old floor boards - I can't wait to do ours in our dining room and hallway but it's the upheaval I'm dreading... your makeover may be just what I need to get my arse in gear ;) xxx

GLENDA CHILDERS said...

What a beautiful find.

How are you getting all this work done, when you are soon to have a baby. You rock.

auntjone said...

I want this flooring in our new home but my husband wrinkled his nose at it. Maybe if I show him a picture in real home he'll fall in love with it too. If not, I'll stomp my feet and pout until I get my way. Ha!

Bianca said...

We're about to stain our floors and we're testing out the colron wood dyes. We've tested out 1 coat of the georgian medium oak but it doesn't look anywhere near as dark as in your photos. Did you do several coats of this? And how did you apply it? Any advice/tips would be really appreciated! :) Cheers, Bianca

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MOMOTOM said...

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MOMOTOM said...

Strong Laminate prefinished boards are provided with a multi-layer, baked-on production line wrap-up, so they have a uniform appearance and a versatile finish. Laminate Flooring Nashville

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