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Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Sweat Equity

When we moved to the farm last June we slept for 3 months in our camper as we renovated the living room, dining room, and all 3 bedrooms. The kitchen and laundry room/back porch and bathroom were going to have to wait until later. The walls in the living room were splattered with thick plaster stuff ...so thick you could easily have cut yourself on them! We had to sand them down but we left a texture which I love. Every surface was painted....then came the real dirty work...re-finishing the floors. They were in such terrible shape that there wasn't much finish left on the dining room floor and the living room had tile on plywood so it had to be torn up and then all the holes filled before we could move ahead. The sanding took the longest but it was worth the hard work. We used a product called Waterlox with no stain and we discovered that the floors are pecan! They turned out beautiful and we didn't take all the imperfections out so that they kept their character.
I kick myself for not taking pictures of the tile floor but these pictures above show the shape the floors were in and the sanding that was done on the walls. Romeo and Miss Betty Hen took advantage of the front door being open to see what we were up to. For 3 months that cooler was my seat at the computer and the computer was on the scafolding.

Sanding (cough cough)

The darker color is what the floors looked like before sanding.

Living room floor after 3 coats of Waterlox. I did one more after this.


This wood has such a beautiful grain to it

Finally moved in! The floors loose about 25% of their shine in a few months which is what I wanted.

That wall behind the love seat is the same wall you see when the rooster is peaking into the office.


I love the flowered love seat ..it reminds me of my mum who was from Surrey England.

It may not be perfect but the old farm house is now my idea of a cozy country cottage. Soon we'll tackle the rest of the rooms but that will have to wait as we now have to start on the dirty work outside. I'm not looking forward to it! 

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, i just love your house!! The floors turned out so beautiful!! I would love to live in a old farmhouse....Kathy

Catherine said...

Like Kathy, i love the wooden floors, i had one in my bedroom when living at my parents.It's so warm and cosy! you had hard work!!! Hugs Catherine

Rhondi said...

Hi Maura
You sure have done a lot of work and your home is looking beautiful. We have redone a couple of very old homes and I know how much work it is. Seeing your floors brought back some "not so fond" memories of sanding and sealing floors. I see from the photo on your sidebar that you like blue and white china too!
Hugs, Rhondi

Maura @ Kisiwa Creek Photography said...

Hi Rhondi, thank you for stopping by! I love your blog and yes I love blue and white also! You mentioned sanding and sealing wood floors...this is the second home we did this to (not the Victorian) and my husband says it's the last LOL! I look forward to exploring your blog again soon. Hugs Maura

Celestial Charms said...

The floors look so lovely, and that sure was some process to get them that way. Well worth the effort. We have a two story house, with the downstairs being all tile, but upstairs is completely rugged. I can't wait until we save up enough money to install wood foors upstairs. Seeing your floors, motivates me even more.
Maureen

Maura @ Kisiwa Creek Photography said...

Hello Maureen..you'll love the wood floors ...good luck and I hope it doesn't take too long until you get them put in. I'm flattered that seeing our floors is keeping your dream in focus! Take care, Maura

Unknown said...

Hi Maura,

Wow, those floors are amazing! What a lovely you job you did and I love the rest of your home too! Very comfortable, and classy!

I have to say I find Romeo very handsome, is he an amiable rooster? I hope to have one as handsome as him someday! : )

It's nice to meet you, and I'm glad you found me, you have a lovely blog!

Be well ~Andrea~

Girl Tornado said...

There is nothing better than wood floors, I love the country look. I had them in my bungalow in Ohio and had someone refinish them for me, I loved them and I miss them! You've done such a fantastic job on your lil house and I love your decorating. It's so bright and cheerful. :)

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