The dining room floors are sanded, sealed and finished. They're also perfect.
On the morning of August 26th I sank into my couch with a cup of coffee in my hand. It was the Sunday after my street's annual block party, which means the rest of my neighbours were still sound asleep or creeping quietly into their bathrooms in search of aspirin. The neighbourhood was quiet and it was a moment I should have savoured. I should have sat quietly like everyone else reflecting on the night before; the baskets filled with charred, herbed street corn, the plates of salad and lawn chairs dotting the road.
I didn't sit quietly.
I began ripping up my wood floors. On a whim. The way a normal person would buy Honey Nut instead of regular Cheerios on a whim.
It started by lifting one piece of flooring to see what was underneath out of curiosity and ended with me ripping out all of the wood floors on the lower level of my house to reveal the original pine below.
It was 3 months ago that I lifted the first floor board and just a couple of weeks ago I managed to get the last coat of finish on my final floor, the dining room.
The finished dining room floor turned out to be very different than the foyer or living room floors because it didn't need to be professionally sanded. There was no finish on it and it it was fairly smooth.
It was hidden beneath a layer of perfectly respectable, relatively old, oak strip flooring.
I wanted to retain as much of the original patina and discolouration as possible and the only way to do that would be to hand sand it as opposed to having a professional come in with a big sanding machine. It's the the imperfections that make this floor perfect.
The square patch right under the dining room table that looks like an escape hatch for instance is my favourite thing. I have no idea what it's doing there, but I like it.
That's one of the areas I had to repair actually. One of the boards was completely cracked and none of them were particularly stable, so I fixed that. In the process I had to lift all of the boards of the square up which was about as terrifying as removing my own intestines.
You see, underneath my dining room floor is a dirt crawlspace. Which we all know is where mice, rats, centipedes, spiders and poltergeists live.
Turns out there was nothing crawling around under there so I'm considering turning the "square" into a trap door and building a box underneath it for storing things like heads.
I mean potatoes.
This is what my dining room floors looked like before, with the oak strip flooring.
As I said they were perfectly respectable.
A bit shiny. A bit orange.
Now they're a lot more stained, a lot less uniform and a lot less shiny and orange.
Later, probably in January I'll do a post on how exactly I finished the floors and what products I used and why.
But for now I'm just going to sit quietly and savour the moment.
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feral turtle
WOW!! Two thumbs up!
Marcia
Very nice! We had oak floors when I was a kid, and my Mom used to have me sit on a suitcase that was on top of a towel and pull me around the floor to polish them after she's waxed them.
Sigrid Olsen
OK. I didn't mind the floors before, at all. These old new floors are maybe a bit to rough for my taste. Orange floors don't bother me. I'm usually looking at the decoration of the room, and whether they have good taste or not. If they don't have taste, I don't care about the floor. I have beautiful old oak floors in my 1948 cottage which are covered with rugs. The crappy fir in the bedrooms is covered with carpet. Maybe if I lived in an old home like yours I might appreciate this more. However, I don't think it is a great idea for people to rip out their orange floors when what they have is serviceable.
CJ
Funny how we can all have differing opinions. I happen to think it's not a great idea for people to install orange floors when what's underneath is gorgeous! :)
Karen
:) What's funny is the amount of people who said "Don't uncover the floor! They covered it for a reason!" I knewwww this wasn't necessarily true based on the 20" wide unfinished original floor boards I found under the carpeting in my upstairs when I first bought my house. ~ karen!
Robyn
They are gorgeous !!! I hope you have a relaxing weekend admiring their beauty!
Karen
Have a what now??? ;) ~ karen!
Paula
Karen, that look fantastic! I live in an Ontario century home too and we have a spot that looks exactly like your trap door. An 88 year old lady stopped by and told me this was her Aunt and Uncle's house and his parents had built the place. She came inside and as we toured the house, she showed me the spot where the wood stove was and it was on top of the 'trap door'. Perhaps there was something else under the wood stove other than wood, like stone and they filled it in after the stove was removed? I really have no idea.
Jane
Now I can see the dining room table.
Karen
Maybe not for long. I'm um ... thinking of refinishing it. More on that later. Insert eye roll here. ~ karen!
Stephanie
I think that the floors are stunning and they tell the story of your house!
Bravo! I knew you'd end up here (I bet you did too!) but it's a process getting there!
I thought I liked the Oak Floors prior to this restoration but now, the Original Floors make the Oak look, well they look like a renovation and dated.
I had the same situation with my bathroom tile. A young couple bought the 100 year old house and ripped up the original hex white tiles and changed them to cheap ceramic white with a gold vein running through. The finish on the tile had worn off and it was nasty. They did have the foresight to use the original tiles as drainage for the raised herb beds they installed (that's how I knew what was there). Luckily you can still get the same size hex's and now that is what is on the bathroom floor. It just "feels" right and looks great! Just like your floors now feel right!
Congratulations!
Mary W
I just adore how you finished them. They are gentle, warm, and beautifully full of history. Just like me - except they probably are not swollen (fat), also. I was never a fan of your chairs BUT they look perfect now - just the touch to make the room a GREAT room. You really are something else at decorating. When I see that something looks good, I will never change it but you keep on 'fixing' the looks and that must be fun as well as providing excellent experience in getting the right look. Just keep on doing Karen - you do it so well.
Jill
These are truly amazing. The before photo looks lovely, but the after brings it to a whole other level. No longer just a pretty room, now it is unique and simply stunning. Those floors are a conversation starter. I can't imagine having a conversation about the non-original oak floors you started with (lovely as they were) :) Well done and thank you for the inspiration!
Karen
LOL. That's a good point. The other floors really never would have started a conversation. Other than maybe ... hey ... look at those adequate floors. ~ karen!
NikiDee
To. Die. For! So much prettier than the original. Thank goodness for type A personalities. You make me feel normal.
Jackie
I have always loved wood floors. When I was growing up, carpet was move expensive & few houses had it. Now the big money is in hardwood. I really - really love your floors. Every time I think there is nothing more you could do to improve your house, you come up with another great idea/project. Love It.
Oriah
These look fantastic and being the technical nerdy sort, i have a question. Did you remove and reinstall the bookcases to removed the underlying flooring or did you just rip out around them? If you ripped out around them, how did you keep a clean edge? It looks like you added new quarter round at the bottom of the bookcases and my curiosity is piqued.
Cheers!....and time for potato chips.
Karen
Hi Oriah! I cut around the bookcases with a dremel multi tool. There would really be no way to remove the bookcases, they're completely built in. I haven't added any quarter round anywhere, I still have to do all the finish work. Maybe in january, lol. I'll probably use some piece of flat trim for along the bottom. :) ~ karen!
Kim C
Absolutely fab decision to redo the orange floors. They look spectacular. Sometimes when I am reading your posts I imagine you as the Tasmanian Devil from Looney Tunes. You know...the crazy, whirling dervish with a big, soft heart!!
I don't know where you squeeze in enough time to read all those great books you recommend!
Karen
I imagine me as that as well, lol. Seriously. ~ karen!
Debbie
It is FABULOUS! I love your floors! Just beautiful! Enjoy and rest (ha! do you ever rest?). Congrats on a job very well done!
Karen
No I do not. But thanks Debbie!! ~ karen
linda in illinois
I love the floor.. the trap door... sooo coolllll... definitely do something exciting with it.
Karen
I know, eh??! I'm going to just have to. I'm not sure when ... but one day. ~ karen!
judy
I vote for an observation glass so Karen can be fully aware just how many wiggly squiggly creatures are slithering just inches beneath her chic always chic boots!
Megan Geiger
Lol I don't know why it bugs me so much but the oak is running opposite of the pine so it looks like your flooring changed directions!
Katie C.
Those oak floors are definitely respectable, but the pine floors are more you, Karen. I love it.
Karen
Thanks Katie. I think they're more me too. :) ~ karen!
Tracy Martinez
I love them and the perfect imperfection!
Maryann
I have serious envy for your dining room. Perfectly respectable before (as you pointed out) but you had the vision to take it to fabulous. Wow!
Karen
Thanks Maryann! I love it too. Now if I only sat in there more, lol. ~ karen!
Joe
Being an x floor layer, the floors look pretty good to me Karen. If i may i deserve a little credit due to the fact that i gave you the "get off your butt" comment hee hee, that possibly motivated you. Just kidding Markus the Trump genealogist.
Congrats, way to go Karen and everyone have a lovely weekend!
Joe
Karen
Thanks Joe! Heh. Yeah, I never lack motivation. I lack 48 hour days. ;) ~ karen!