Refinishing the Guest Bedroom Floors
THE FARMHOUSE
After 5 years of shaking my head at the carpets in the guest bedroom we finally pulled them up this week! And what we found underneath surprised us…
The fir floors underneath the carpets were stained, splotched, and generally in rough shape! And Garrett and I were both surprised because underneath all of the other carpets we’ve pulled up on the main floor have been gleaming wood floors that were ready to go. Of course we knew there would be fir floors underneath the guest bedroom carpets, but we expected them to be in much better shape.
So what to do with these floors? We debated for a bit if we should just paint them but ultimately decided on a refinish. If you’ve been following us for long, you know this is not our first time refinishing wood floors ourselves and you can find our process here. Refinishing floors is a dusty job and one that added days to our quick, get-the-guest-bedroom-ready-for-the-new-Peloton project. But we’re so glad we took the time to do these floors right. Here’s what the process looked like this go-around…
Here’s how the floors turned out! BTW We left the floors unstained (just finished with a water-based poly). Check out this post for our step-by-step DIY floor refinishing process.
Right away you can tell that the floors are a little splotchy and imperfect. But as many people mentioned on Instagram, they’re old floors and that’s just part of the charm and character of an old house. I totally agree!
Another note, fir is on the orange end of the wood spectrum. I used to hate it, but I’ve grown to embrace the warmth of them. These photos were taken in the morning on an overcast day so they’re extra orange, but in general the floors read anywhere from a warm blonde to full-on orange. Here are some close ups so you can see the range…
The patches and repairs in the floors are just part of the charm :)
We used this water-based poly in low-lustre this time around, in part because we had it on hand and also because there’s less fumes and less-yellowing with a water-based product. It’s not as common as the Bona finishes or polyurethane but this low-traffic area felt like a good spot to try it out.
The one awkward thing about refinishing the floors in just one room is the transition. This will likely even out a bit as the floors naturally age and darken, but it is what it is.
And for anyone wondering about how we’ll utilize this room when the floors cure, we’re still working that out. But one thing’s for sure, this hard working guy right here is definitely getting his new Peloton setup right by the windows!
