This weekend, we finally took the plunge and sanded down our floors. I’ve been wanting to for a long time…well, and not wanting to at the same time. It’s a total pain. It’s messy and it’s really hard work, but I got it in my mind that I really wanted it done before decorating for Christmas and then closing out 2014 and Jeff went along with it.
In case you haven’t seen them before, this is what the floors looked like before sanding them. They are the original oak floors from the 1940’s. When we moved in, we removed the berber carpet that covered them and a year later refinished them in a dark walnut stain with three coats of poly.
They looked great for a few years, despite the fact that I really didn’t know what I was doing when I finished them. That finally started showing when the thickly applied stain (that never soaked into the wood) started peeling up, taking the poly finish with it.
I have realized since then that we didn’t fully strip off the old finish, either. We were pretty passive with the sanding and just roughed them up.
This weekend, we worked room-by-room and sanded them down to the raw wood. I’m not exactly sure how I want to finish them, yet, so we’re just leaving them raw for now.
And here’s how they look…
(We’re going to put some trim under the baseboard heaters, so there isn’t a big, black stripe underneath them from the shadow and the stain we couldn’t reach.)
I actually love how rustic and European the raw wood floors look, but I’m so used to having slick & smooth poly underfoot that it feels a little strange. It’s smooth, but you can feel it’s a porous surface, if that makes sense. Maybe sort of like the difference between polished and honed marble.
It really brightens up the space, though, which I really love.
After two days of sanding, plus a full day of cleaning and putting the house back together, I just can’t find it in me to write about how we sanded down the floor, so that will have to wait for another post…
I love the way they look. In order to keep them this color you could lightly whitewash them before applying poly to protect the wood. General Finishes has a line of water based floor stains and top coats that are not as prone to yellowing over time.
Gorgeous!
Ooooooooh, I love them! So is it possible to use hemp oil (or some such) to protect the wood and still have it look like that? Does hemp oil work for floors? It’s so gorgeous. Can’t wait to see what you do.
We had our floors sanded and refinished and decided not to stain them…. although darker floors are most popular here I never regretted leaving them natural. They were protected with a couple of coats of poly, though…. and the greatest thing is the lighter finish is less likely to show dirt and dust, so much less maintenance required… your floors would be gorgeous with a flat coat or two of protection…. and just as gorgeous with whatever stain color you choose!
Your floors are gorgeous. I think they are perfect just the way they are. Of course I realize that they need some type of protection. I know what ever you decide will be perfect for your space.
Your Floors look great.. I love the new lighter natural tone!
looks really really good!
They are so pretty. I love this light color. I know y’all worked so hard sanding and cleaning. Good job.
Dear MMS, Oh how beautiful your rooms look with the sanded floors! You are so wise to take your time and figure out how you want to finish them. Happy Thanksgiving! Hugs, Anne Boykin
I love the way the floors turned out-so sorry you had to put in so much hard work! But it was so worth it! I have a light stained wood floor in my house-wider planked and I love it. We live in Florida, near the beach, so lighter tones are welcome here. I had thought I wanted darker floors but I have resisted-glad I have. When we sell eventually, the new owner can make that choice. I am happy with my floors. I cannot wait to see what you do with your floors!
Oh they look wonderful. I love how bright and cheery the rooms look, not weighed down with dark floors. I love dark floors, but a new change is always refreshing. When looking at the pictures of the living room, I noticed a new banner of sorts above the rocking horse, looks like pom pom’s. Is that new? Can you enlighten us on that cute addition?
They look beautiful without stain or poly! I dislike the look poly gives floors – I know 99% of houses with wood floors have poly, but if you like a flat sheen, take a look at Rubio Monocoat. One coat finish and they have many colors you could select from – but I love the look of the natural wood. That said, I would act quickly to finish them because anything that drops on them will stain.
Yes, yes! to Rubio Monocoat. It is the best. Looks gorgeous and is extremely easy to care for. My cleaning lady raves about it–she vacuums every week and occasionally wipes down the floor with a damp cloth, but when she does that, no dirt comes up on the cloth. Everything lies on top of the oil finish and is vacuumed up. I do wipe up any water drips because hard water can leave a mark–soft water doesn’t. Rubio Monocoat is a hard oil finish, unlike other oils, and that is what makes it so wonderful.
LOVE LOVE LOVE The rustic natural look.Keep them like this.So pretty.
They look so fresh and clean and lovely. I know how it is with large projects myself. The hurry up and get it done initial push is over and it’s so nice to sit back to rest and enjoy it for a while. But I encourage you to finish soon – the oil from feet and the everyday dirt from traffic can soak into and discolor the newly opened grain of the wood. And, if a high-traffic area gets too oily or dirty you may have to sand all over again. Such a messy job, I know! Can’t wait to see the finished product! I’m sure it will look fabulous!
wow, that is a terrific change. get something on to protect it so it stays so beautiful. Your home is really lovely. What a wonderful place to live.
Total transformation in a great way!! I personally love them lighter with perhaps using a clear type of protective over them. They make your rooms look so much brighter and bigger but you shouldn’t leave them without a protective for too long for the reasons Julie stated above.
.
I have been on several new home tours in our area this past year and it seems “darker” floors are the “trend” right now. its a personal preference but I think many homeowners who have pets and children might regret the dark floors because they show every speck of dust, pet hair and dirt.
I love how your floors turned out Marian, I wouldn’t add stain at all, they are gorgeous as is! Instead of adding a strip of trim to hide the areas that you couldn’t reach, get a low odor, safe stripper to get the stain off, it will come right off , especially since the stain is lifting up already. Just a suggestion:) Love your home with the lighter floors.
They look great Marian. I live in a 75 year old house and my floors looked just like yours. They have a little bit of finish left on them and we have tried to coat over them but they desperately need sanded down to raw wood and redone. I have not tackled that job yet because truthfully it intimidates me. I know it’s will take a ton of time and elbow grease and I’m just not sure I have it in me at this point. Also I know they will take a long time to dry and cure once they are sealed and we live in every square inch of our house everyday. I’m not sure we could stay off of them long enough to accomplish the job. Anyway, I can’t wait to see how yours turn out.
I love how the raw wood looks. Wow!
They look great as is–very French farmhouse! I wonder if you just poly’ed them it would ruin that rustic look…can’t wait to see what you decide to do! Happy Thanksgiving!
I love them this way! We are actually going to be doing the same thing to our oak floors and I don’t plan on staining them, just going to give them a clear coat finish.
We re-did our 1875 wood floors and just sealed them when we were done. Darker floors don’t hide dirt as well. And we all know the purpose of my existence is to do as little cleaning as I can. Maybe you could white wash them and seal them?
Love the natural look! We did black, hand-scraped flooring in our kitchen, and despite the coziness, blonde dog-hair and crumbs drive me crazy! Someday, maybe we’ll have the gumption to re-do them and our original 1940’s oak floor, & go natural… I would’ve loved to see your big pile-up of furniture in the rest of the house;)
Everything looks beautiful. I’m shocked though that you are putting your furniture back on the unprotected wood where it will definitely scratch and you’ll be using the open grained wood for day to day life where it can so easily be stained. Knowing your confidence and ability you will love the result but for your blog audiance this post might need a “do not try this at home” type of disclaimer LOL!
just a bit of advice…be sure to put a clear coat on…they do look lovely but the will be very porous and have a tendency to give you some slivers now and again…from the voice of experience 🙂
OH Marian, your floors are spectacular!! I’ve had raw floors before and absolutely love them even though some staining did occur however it allowed the floors to age naturally and take on a gorgeous patina. That being said I have also grown up with the European influence so…. Good job! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!
Love the floors this way – either just a clear finish or a light whitewash or pickled would be beautiful but then you would have to be committed to that look! Still, it is beautiful, a slice of heaven – I had an apartment once with the pickled, and it was a gorgeous, peaceful haven just ’cause of the floors! They really are lovely this way too!
i love the raw natural look of them!
I absolutely love them … AS IS… but when you post again… maybe you could tell us how you would keep them like that without them being ruined… I would sooooo love to refinish mine ( which are the exact replica as yours… )
I agree with Patti. My friend left her floors bare for a month while she thought about it and when she refinished them all sorts of oil and water spots and scratches that she didn’t notice were there showed up horribly. Even water will soak in and leave a spot.
Love, love the lighter color of the floors…….they really set off your painted pieces!
They look lovely. I would suggest a coat or two of Osmo, it is a beautiful brush on wax/oil finish that is more natural than varnish but very durable. I re do my floors every couple of years but you can get away with more. It brings out the grain and they glow gently rather than shine. Think it may be a german product but widely available over here in the United Kingdom.
I adore blonde floors! However, my husband & I are “refurbishing” aka ripping down plaster, rewiring, etc… in a 1929 midwestern 4 square home. 😉 I ripped up all of the carpet in this home we purchased to find red oak floors in a totally sorry state. The previous owners had screwed wavy carpet down through the floors, installed “stick-um” vinyl in the foyer (left black gains when I pulled it up…etc, etc, etc….. I do not care for red oak as I prefer a more neutral pallet. However, considering the damage already done, and I AM a “do it yourself’er” I suppose I should be ready with the wood bleach &/or compromise with a neutral light brown.
BTW, as you like blonde floors, have you checked into any of the Danish floor finishes???? Just curious. 😉
what about your own white wax?
Just beautiful!!!!!!
Hi
We did the same in our 175 years old house but we finished the floors with cold pressed linseed oil and oil of turpentine . That give them a great and soft patina. You just have to put a coat over each year. Just amazing!
good luck
sylvie from Québec.
I love the lighter colour. In New Zealand it has been the trend to stain them really dark, almost black but they show up dust terribly when so dark. I really love the light look or even whitewashed and sealed. Hope to do mine next year. I am wondering how much dust was around or does the machine suck it back up?
I love the raw floors!!!! I can only imagine how much work it was to get to this point! They look beautiful!
Love the light wood…..what about a clear paste wax. My sister does her once a year. She applies it by hand , she has a floor buffer that make maintaince easy. I think she uses a Minwax product.
OK, so I take it all back, you’ve done it and they look fabulous! I think your house looks like something you’d fine in Sweden, light floors and painted furniture.
I recently bought a very dark house, dark walls, dark paint and old brown carpet. So far I’ve painted the walls white, ripped out the carpet and had light 7 1/2″ light laminate installed. What a difference! My next mission is to paint the cabinets in either white or a light gray, they’re MDF with a surface which only looks like wood, it’s not wood however.
I love your Swedish country house, now it’s all pulled together and looks complete. You may not have been going for that but that’s the way it’s turned out.
Hey, would you like an old post office glasswindows/ boxes? Someone has that here on Craigslist.
Alice Crawford/Atlanta
our floor guy introduced us to a product called Magic Oil, which leave the floors looking very close to their original look, showing off every beautiful board’s woodgrain. it has no chemical smell and is easy to apply. look into it and see what you think, karen
I really like the light floors that are reflecting warmth and light. With your blues and whites in the room it looks very much like Scandinavian country house. Love it, love it!
Gorgeous. I love the lighter colour. I would apply a product that would enhance all the tiger marks. I see it in a matte finish. I look forward to seeing how you will finish them.
Mary @ Orphans With Makeup
Your energy and drive amaze me! Just to echo what others have said, please consider lightly sanding, or screening, before final finish. Any footprints, with or without socks, can show up if anyone walks on the floor before protection is applied. When we had ours done, our floor guy calls me and says “who walked on the floors? I can see the toe prints when I put on the finish.” He had to lightly sand again. That may not bother you guys, but just a thought. I know that whatever you decide will be so Marian!
I agree with Kim and Debbie K. up there that you should put something on them before they get stained. Anything oily will leave a spot which you’ll have to sand up. When I had mine done, I had to leave them for awhile and actually put down tan painter’s paper drop cloth which looked kinda neat too!
The light color is lovely….
Well it’s not my house….BUT I LOVE THE SANDED FLOORS!!!!! What a difference! So light and bright…
The raw looks great and the light color! Just need to take care that nothing spills on them that will “stain” them before the real finishing. Could be tough to remove. Ask how I know….
Gorgeous, especially with all the whites, tans and blues of your home!
I have a 1910 bungalow and have been lifting off the old carpet in exchange for the pine floors beneath. I love the look of natural and finish them with minwax water base finish. It dries so fast you can get 3 coats on in one day. I just completed the guest room last week. Might you consider your hemp oil as a finish? Then you can always add a fresh coat when it starts feeling dry?
love, love the lighter color. it picks up the warm color of eulie’s frame. i’d go with a matte finish to keep it soft & warm.
Pretty pretty. I would seal them as is. They’ll deepen a bit but still look gorgeous. Plus it cuts out the staining step. WIN! I’m sure whatever you decide will look amazing.
Whitewash would be beautiful!
Totally lovely. You are a courageous woman! You know, when I was a kid we lived in really, REALLY old houses. One was in New Castle, Delaware on a street called The Strand. It’s among some of the oldest streets in the country. The floors in our houses were always wood but it used to be that wood floors were waxed instead of polyurethaned and I’ve never gotten used to poly. To me it feels like plastic compared to the deep, mellowed, gorgeousness of waxed floors. You are the Wax Queen! You may have already considered waxed floors but if not you might want to check out that option. The wax gets buffed with a buffer and it’s just about the yummiest thing you’ve ever seen. It’s hard and durable, too. You rebuff them on occasion (can’t remember how often but it’s not a lot). Oh, if you brought back wax floors I would kiss the ground you walk on–or in this case, the floors, ha ha!
Hope your Thanksgiving was the best ever,
Alexis
Marian, your beautiful floors are adding to my floor confusion. We just bought a townhouse that has honey oak floors in the kitchen and foyer, and we want to replace all the first floor carpet with hardwood. Because I didn’t like the honey oak, I thought I would have to continue with oak but stain it dark. Yours look lots prettier than theirs, so I am assuming it is whatever finish coat they have might have turned it a color I don’t like. Do you see yellow in your floor? or orange?
Marian, are your floors white oak or red oak? I should have asked you that in my last comment.
We’re not 100% sure, but we think red oak.
Teri -The yellow/orange you see is from an oil based poly from what I understand. We had our red oak floors stripped of an oil based poly and refinished with no stain but with a water based poly and there is no yellow tint.
Marion, what type of sealant did you use on your wood floors this time around? I read that you used a product called Osmo. My husband and I went to their site and there are several different types listed within that product line. Thanks!