Wood Floors

We spent a lot of time on the floors in my house; carpet removal, staple pulling, washing, paint scratching and sanding, more mopping, staining and finally shellacking, but it was worth it!! I love love love wood floors. I love the timeless look of them. The ease of cleaning and the peace of mind, knowing that whatever dirt we track in is not going to be with us for years to come. (Sorry the floors aren't too clean, a little construction dust still.)

This is the living room and dining room floors. I didn't get a chance to take pictures before the furniture was moved in as they were done just in the nick of time. I worried for days while the stain dried and then worried again while the shellac dried. But everything came out beautifully in the end!

 The floors upstairs are pine.

Oak in the living and dinning room.....

And maple in the downstairs bedrooms. 

It is very typical in old houses for the living room and dinning rooms to be oak or pine, the bedrooms to be pine and the kitchen to be maple. We aren't sure why there is maple in the bedrooms, very unusual. It certainly was fun to work on all the different woods!

We are hoping this week to get the quarter round (the small round piece of trim next to the floor) back on in the living/dining rooms and the bedrooms. When we refinished the floors it all had to come up, as the sander can't get that close. And of course 90 year old trim does not come up very well! Not to mention there was holes drilled in it and cracks and gouges. So all new has to be put back in.

What you think of wood floors? Do you love the look but not the housework? Or are you all for it?

House Update- Painting and Floors



Painting.........painting and more painting! I think we are finally on the last leg, my bedroom upstairs. We have gone through so much paint it is unbelievable! Four gallons of primer, three gallons ceiling paint, eight gallons wall paint and two gallons trim paint. The poor walls hadn't been painted in so long, it just soaked right in and disappeared.

The huge monster sander to sand the floors down. My ever so nice, up for anything brother-in-law manned the sander. What a long job, but so worth it! Can't wait to see how they turn out!

Doesn't it look huge without all the construction clutter?! Amazingly, we didn't get rid of all that stuff, it is just stashed in different locations. And take note of the walls, fresh paint!

Today we are waiting for the stain to dry on the floors............ Which is the hardest part! We have been working non-stop for three weeks, it feels a little strange to come to a halt.

 

Tile Floors

 Aren't they pretty? I absolutely love how they turned out!!

 I wanted the floor to have a warm-old-fashioned-sort-of-flagstone-English-cottage-look.

 I think it certainly give the room a bit of that feel. (Don't look at those walls around the floor. We haven't had a chance to prime in here yet!)

The view of  the "construction zone"!



House Update: Floors and Patching Walls

 Finally, I have a few pictures to share! I know it looks a bit scary still! 

Last week we got the cement board down in the kitchen and started patching the walls. This past weekend we got the cement board down in the bathroom and started in on the electrical! I am so excited things are moving along now and so tired out......

 I am rather proud of our  patching (sister Mandy was my partner in crime)! Came out nice didn't it? I figured it was a good place to practice as the cabinets go in front of it.

So here is the process. First we cleaned off all the loose plaster still clinging to the lath (the wood slats), then we put two layers of a scratch coat on. Scratch coat meaning it is a rough plaster/cement that is not sanded. We put that directly on the lath "keying" it in. (Using enough pressure to get the plaster between the lath, this is what holds the plaster on.) Then we will apply a thin layer of smooth plaster that is soft enough to sand. And the wall be as good as new!

This is a back view of a plaster and lath wall. Pretty cool, huh? The really white plaster is the new stuff, the gray is old.

Mandy and I were a little nervous we weren't getting a good "keying" so we also patched this hole in one of the bedrooms that had the backside open to the bathroom. That way we could check to see how we were doing!

Construction Zone!

A sneak peak at the dining/living room from the kitchen doorway. Over on the left are the kitchen cupboards that had to be moved so we could work on the kitchen floor.

House Update-Tile Floor

Traditional Kitchen design by Seattle Kitchen And Bath Sadro Design Studio Inc

 

This past weekend we finally got the sagging joist fixed! I am so excited and still in shock. It seemed like the project wasn't going anywhere, it had stalled out. Then all of the sudden the joiste was fixed and concrete board down in the kitchen. And now I need to decide what tile I want! That is the hard part.....

I originally wanted to paint my wood floors. But it just wasn't going to work out. The floor boards were in terrible shape and once I really really thought about it, I decided we do too many projects in our kitchen. I have visions of having to re-paint the floor every year! So I am contenting myself with painting the porch floor, the basement steps and the kick plates of the main staircase.

The picture above is what I am envisioning the kitchen to look like. Envisioning is the key word here. I know it really isn't going to turn out to close to it. But this is the look and feel I want.
I am going to go with a lighter color counter top, the cabinets are going to be white and the walls will probably be a light blue.
 

Contemporary Kitchen design by Dc Metro Interior Designer Sroka Design, Inc.

Should I go darker tiles, like these? To give the kitchen a bit of warmth.

 

Traditional Kitchen design by Boston Interior Designer studio M | design

I like the almost flagstone look here.

Or........

 

Contemporary Kitchen design by Montreal Kitchen And Bath Gepetto

White or light colored tile?

 

Traditional Kitchen design by Seattle Kitchen And Bath Sadro Design Studio Inc.

Even though this picture isn't tile, it does have a light colored floor. Come to think of it. The layout is very much like my kitchen! I am even thinking of putting in rounded shelves on the end of the cabinets.

What would go with? Light and bright and clean? Or more of a cozy farmhouse look?

 

P.S. All the fabulous pictures are from Houzz. A wonderful site filled with pictures of houses!