The Drama of Hardwood Floors
When I first bought my house it came with some interesting cosmetic finishes. Granted, the house was built in the early 1900's, so it’s pretty old. But to me, early 1900's reads as historic charm and a classic colonial vibe. But nope. The previous owners made a ton of questionable updates, from yellow and black bathroom tile, to a faux stone surround on the otherwise beautiful, working fireplace, to an awkward tile patterned linoleum kitchen floor. I was appalled. But of course, my inner home stylist saw the home’s potential.
One of the most overwhelming elements of the home was the original wood flooring throughout the majority of the first level. I was amazed that the original floors were in such good condition- but in my opinion, their honey blonde color was unlivable. So of course, I made a pretty unreasonable demand of the boyfriend. “We can’t live here until these floors are redone!” I could work with the abrasive bathroom tile, but those floors were a no go. This begged the question- do we get the floors refinished, or install brand new wood planks? The breakdown of the decision went something like this:
Me: Well on HGTV, they always install brand new hardwood. And it always looks better.
Boyfriend: That’s going to cost too much. We still need a refrigerator.
Me: Can’t we just get new floors?!
Boyfriend: I thought you wanted character. New floors won’t have character!
Me: Pouts in the corner.
So refinish we did. I found a guy through a guy to restain the floors. He gave me a cheap price and showed me a few camera phone pictures of his work. Needless to say, the outcome was terrible. The espresso color I had so confidently picked was splotchy, uneven, and nearly impossible to keep clean. Nothing like my glamorous vision. Isn't the dark wood against the light walls very fresh and glam and "single girl in a condo downtown"?
Fast forward ten embarrassing months, and here we are. I found a new guy. A new floor stain. And a new outlook on life. Somehow the lighter floors just seem more livable. He used the same brand of stain as the first guy, just in a lighter, more livable color. Not the honey blonde we began with, but certainly not the sad, splotchy espresso.
See? This color just makes more sense for a family with a baby and two slobbery dogs. It's not quite as glamorous, but I guess I needed to come to terms with the fact that I'm not actually that downtown single girl in the glam condo. All in all, I'm glad we stuck with the original floors, even though we needed two tries to get it right. What are your thoughts on wood floors? Shiny and new or refinished and used?