Before my husband and I moved into our house two years ago, we took on our first home improvement project: refinishing the hardwood floors. It was a doozie. Of course, being new to the romantic idea of renovating, we did not yet understand that there was truth in the old adage: "It will always take more time and more money than you plan for." In three days, we (along with our gung-ho friend Matt) accomplished amazing results. We learned about how involved the process of refinishing floors is, and came to understand the value of having someone else do it for you.
Here is a before and after of our cozy bedroom floors:
During those three days we sanded and refinished four rooms on our house: three small bedrooms and the living room. As the kitchen's hardwood floor is hidden under at least three layers of linoleum and vinyl tile (some containing asbestos),we figured we would just have to save that project for another time.
The dining room however, presented a question. The previous owners had seemingly done a good job in refinishing the oak flooring and staining it a dark brown. It looked okay. At the time, we didn't think we could or necessarily should have spent the extra time to strip the floor and start over. Well, everything seems crystal clear in retrospect... It was not too long after we had everything in the house, that we realized the dining room floor had never been sealed with polyurethane. Over the last two years the finish has begun to flake off, wear down, and as it is not sealed, stains stick to it and don't wash off. I guess we should have taken the sander to it and restored the floor just as we did the other rooms.
Its too late now. Bringing in an industrial sander would be a huge project, as we would need to remove all of the furnishings at the back end of the house. I remember all to well how long it took to rid the entire house of sawdust. So here is my thought... paint it.
My mom always had painted wood floors in the upstairs of our house. My sister's bedroom floor was even pink at one point. If we decide to paint the dining room floor, I think it could be accomplished in one weekend. At this point, I am not sure if we will actually do it, as Chris still needs some convincing. Here are a few photos I found inspiring on myhomeideas.com:
What do you think about painting hardwood floors? Should I do it to my dining room? Tell me your ideas!
5 comments:
I absolutely think that you should paint the hardwood floors in your dining room! That would give you such a cool cottage chic look! I love the idea of the checkerboard or even a giant paisley/floral pattern - similar to the stencil that you did on the cat stool! If you are going to paint it I think that you should go all the way to making it a cool contemporary cottage feel!
I like your suggestion about an oversized floral or paisley pattern, or maybe perhaps really wide stipes?
What kind of prep do you need to do to the floor before painting it? Our wood floor is obviously really cheap wood and I can't stand it. I never thought of painting it.
I know that if you decide to paint your dining room floor that it will turn out classy. I love the painted floors in your parent's house as well. :)
My SIL and I painted my kitchen floor 18inch black/white diamonds. I just wish I had made them bigger! My dh sealed with water-based poly to keep the floor from yellowing.
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