We made some HUGE progress on our floors in our dining room this weekend. Or should I say Jose? One of his main goals over the weekend was to really get our floors down to their bare state to see what we were working with. We discovered that the floors were for the most part gorgeous, but we also discovered that there were parts of the flooring that needed major repairs or replacing…
Here is where we started in this room…
& here is where we are now…
I am loving the raw, matte, muted look of the floors they are now. I don’t want to seal them if at all possible because this look to me is everything. The main parts that need replacing and repairs are around the edges of the room & this brings up an issue that we hope to be able to match the current flooring. Jose rented a floor sander from a rental place [Sunbelt rentals for those interested] We had already ripped the carpet & subfloor up which you can see more of [here] & then Jose went at it with the floor sander with a rough grit first over the whole room & then a more fine grit to really give it an evenly smooth finish. I love how the floors look bare & raw & that is our first option, but we do have other options if the repairs don’t allow option one to happen. Our second option for the flooring is to “pickle” or lightly paint over the floors with diluted paint & sand them down to give a rustic look that will tie in the old floor boards with the newer ones.There is actually eight other options, but we won’t know what we are up against until we start repairing around the edges of the room. Honestly for being flooring from the 1800’s I think we got pretty lucky.
So what do you think of our flooring progress? Since we are not rushing our decisions on what to do with the flooring we actually moved some furniture into the dining room this weekend & it feels so great! We have no dining room chairs & I didn’t decorate it at all, but it is starting to feel like a real dining room & that makes my heart so happy! I can’t wait to start decorating!! I will be back later this week on some other addtions to this room like the furniture & that barn door. Hopefully by then we may have some dining room chairs & possibly a new light fixture too! I hope you guys like the dining room progress so far… we are one step closer to having a finished room guys! Be sure to follow me on Facebook & Instagram for behind the scenes & as always, thank you so much for stopping by my little blog! xx
So beautiful! I have been thinking about pickling/whitewashing our hardwood floors at some point and have been trying to find some inspiration pics. I love the look so far and have asked that my hubby follow your blog, etc. for inspiration…thanks so much for sharing with all of us!
The raw floors have character and beauty. If you can preserve them like that it would be awesome. Good luck. I love that barn door.
Your floors are amazing. Maybe good, old fashioned, floor wax would allow you to keep the natural look but still offer them a little protection? What ever you do will be beautiful.
The floors look amazing!! I love them as is. (Having said that, we did a butcher wax finish on the floors in our previous home, which I loved though it required buffing on a new coat every few years.) But the raw look totally works and it’s amazing that the floors are in such great condition!
It all looks so wonderful and exciting! Hard wood floors bring so much to a room. I love that kitchen table also!
Yep…the raw floors are awesone looking! But the wash would be another great one, too! I love an old floor look…reminds me of the five and dime store I grew up with that I still recall to this day. ?
I agree! That raw, unfinished look is perfect! All the stories it could tell! ❤️ I’m so loving following along on your journey sweet girl!
Wow so beautiful! I dream of floors like these!! Have you looked into Rubio Monocoat? It’s a hard wax sealer type coating that actually reacts to the wood and has a very soft natural wood look. Protects but looks natural and not like polyurethane. Comes in zillions of color options. Or clear. It’s also only one coat and no fumes! I’m hoping to use it on my floors whenever I have them refinished. Just wanted to share! 🙂
LOVE it! Leave as is!
Hello! Love the floors. We recently sanded down our kitchen floors (pulled out nasty linoleum) and love the muted color as well. I’m worried about stains if I don’t seal it, so my husband wanted to have someone give us a quote for staining/poly coating it, just because he “wants it done right” (even though I tell him I can do it). When I told the gentleman that I wanted a bleached white/whitewashed look, he looked at me like I was nuts. I guess it’s not for everyone but you could tell he was totally against it. SO GLAD TO KNOW I’M NOT CRAZY!!! Your followers comments have helped me to consider other finishing options as well but one thing is for sure, I LOVE the muted, soft tones! You’re doing a beautiful job on your home. (I follow on Instagram as well) 🙂
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1800s?! Your floors are beautiful! I like the raw look too but I’m sure regardless of what option you guys pick they will look lovely