You know when I planned out this room I knew that I was going to refinish the floor even though I said I wouldn’t do another floor after installing the bedroom floor ourselves. But I guess it has become a memory like the birth of our child. You just see the beauty you created and forget the pain that your body goes through during it (I haven’t forgotten but some do). So lets get into this floor reveal for this One Room Challenge Week 3&4.
A part of what I loved about this house when we bought it was that it had the original hardwood floors in it. By the looks of them now they have been lived on over the years so I want to refinish them and show them off like they should be but I will have to do them one room at a time. Starting with the office and I’m adding in the hallway since it is such a small strip off of the room. Will that work? IDK. Is it the right way to do it? No probably not. But like I’ve said before we are learning all this as we go. I will say that we have read things about how to do this on the internet and everything on there is true…right?
What I’m hoping for is that when I sand the stain off of the floors that it will be very close to the master bedroom floors finished look that we installed and finished a few months ago. I know their not going to match exactly but hopefully they will be very close. To get an idea of what they may look like I decided to sand the floor in the closet that way if it didn’t come out like we wanted I could figure something else out….well not really cause I’m rather stubborn so this better work.
I will say it’s not hard to sand floors its just hard on the body and very tedious. You will feel like you have aged 20 years. But after some advil and a couple nights sleep I was able to stand halfway upright again…..
Sanding
Renting a floor sander (and you can also get your sandpaper, dust bag, and pad) from Home Depot for two days for about $150.00 I was ready to start. Another great thing to know is whatever you don’t use you can return them. Starting with a 36 grit then making my way through 60 grit, 80 grit, 180 grit I went through about two pads per grit. Now when you are sanding a floor you always want to make sure you are going with the grain of the floor that way you get a even finish and you also don’t take the chance of getting dips in the floor. You want dips while dancing not in your floors.
Sealant
For our floors we have really fallen in love with the Bona flooring sealants and finishes. When it comes to their sealants they give you few choices for different looks. We really love their Natural Seal one because it has a little bit of white in it that really brings a brightness to the wood. It’s just a hint to where when you first put it on you can see a milky look to it and it did make me nervous but when it dries you can barely see it. They recommend that you apply two coats with a 2-3 hour drying time between each coat and as you roll it on if you apply it even you wont have any streaks. It’s very easy I promise; if we can do it you can do it.
Finish
When it comes to their finishes I automatically go with their Traffic HD finish in semi-gloss. In our house when your husband has a very dirty day job and add in our dog and cats. These floors get a workout so I need a finish that will hold up to the day to day wear and tear. Now with this they have a hardener that you have to mix in with the main component. Otherwise its not going to set up correctly. Make sure when you order this that it comes with the additive cause I’ve seen where some will “forget” to send it. The end result is a soft shine which also gives it that aged look I think.
So do they match the bedroom floors…No but I think they are just as beautiful. When you have an original part of a home I’m all for keeping it and bringing it back to life. I’m always crushed when I see things torn out so that “newer looks” can be put in its place. It will never make sense to me. The coolest thing to me is when you know how to mix the old with the new and making it blend beautifully. It’s what makes it your home and that’s what will always make it unique.
Speaking of unique styles definitely go and check out some of the other extremely talented participants in the One Room Challenge by Better Homes and Gardens.
