We loved that this 1950’s cape had wood floors on the main floor, they were very charming. I didn’t really think much about the color of the wood floor because there were bigger things to tackle when we moved in! The bathrooms, kitchen, carpet upstairs, the exterior….a lot needed updating. I was just thankful there was wood! With our addition I thought it would be the perfect time to refinish the oak floors to match the color of the wood we did upstairs, more white-washed. And I do want to mention that I don’t think the color of the floors were ugly or wrong. They were just a little too dark and orange toned to go with the rest of our style.
Another reason we wanted to refinish the oak floors was so we could add wood floors to our kitchen addition and the color would flow through the entire house. We did a herringbone pattern in the kitchen with red oak as well.
Plus it is typically less expensive to refinish your real wood floors rather than getting all new real wood floors. And, you can feel good about recycling your old flooring! It is hard to say exactly how much it cost us to refinish our floors because they did the new floors too. But my contractor said an average price is $2 a square foot to refinish, it can get up to $5 a square foot, depending on your space.
We did hire professionals to do the floors. I kept telling Kevin, I feel like you could just do this real quick?! And he just laughed at me, now I see why. It was a big job. But one that could be done if you have the right equipment (or rented it) and lots of time.
Process of refinishing wood floors-
They first sanded down our floors with a big sander. It did get REALLY dusty so we made sure to put everything away and cover the drawers with tape and plastic. You can see below how well they tapped off the cabinets and even the basket light where dust could easily sit in all the cracks.
Above is a photo of what it looked like right after they sanded our red oak- the raw wood. It was pretty uneven in some spots, because it was so old and could have had something stain the floor (like an animal from previous home owners).
Next they applied a coat of bleach, to even out the darker areas and stains (they only bleached the OLD red oak- not the new herringbone floors in the kitchen).
Above is the oak floors after they received an application of the white wash stain (called Country White Wash from Dura Seal) after the bleach had dried about 12 hours.
Lastly you can see how the polyurethane just adds a little bit more definition and protection. They did two coats of water based polyurethane.
We LOVE how the floors turned out!!! (They do look slightly pink in this photo- but they are pretty much a nice white wash). We were able to walk on the floor the next morning after they applied the polyurethane! (Also, keep in mind that humidity can impact the rate that your stain and finish dry).
Above is another shot of the red oak floors right before they started the refinishing process.
Before of Finns room! And below is the after! I like his transformation, now the ceiling doesn’t compete with the floors.
I do want to mention the old floors don’t look perfect. They had some areas that had some gaps and some uneven color. But it doesn’t bother us at all. Plus we do rugs on the floors anyways!
Here are our new kitchen floors after they got sanded and the white wash stain (no bleach). The herringbone looks gorgeous! Can’t wait to get it all cleaned up and put everything in!
They did end up putting in new floor down the hall- it was too damaged and looked really pieced together. Looks great and flows nice with the old floor.
The blue tape up above basically shows were the new and old start.
Can’t wait to move back in!!! I will be showing the kitchen and our master bedroom soon!
Looks great. Looking forward to seeing it all decorated. Just curious why you wanted wood ceilings.
thanks! Just did the wood because we like it!
Thanks. I guess I was thinking that since your ceilings aren’t that high, that adding wood would make them seem even lower. All that matters is that you love them. 💗
Love it. This gives me hope that possibly I can have my Old red oak floors bleached to match the white oak floor in my kitchen. I can’t believe how it took the pink and red out. Love it! I would’ve thought your kitchen floors were white oak for sure. I think you’re a Instagram mentioned that you would discuss the cost on your blog. Maybe I missed it. Would love to know just interested how it compares to refinishing in my state
Love. Every. Bit. Of. It!!! I bet you’re so excited to get yours hands back on. It…and I’m so excited to see! Thanks for bringing us along for the ride! ❤️
Looks absolutely fabulous! Great great job!!
Brooke! This is amazing!! I love how you style is always shifting but there is the Brooke* part. Sooo flipping cute!
Thank you!!!
The floors look amazing, I love that color!! The reno is looking fabulous, can’t wait for the final reveal. Thanks for bringing us all along!
Also absolutely love what you are doing outside as well. It was one of our best investments in putting a pool in the yard, you certainly can’t put a price tag on wonderful memories!!
Love love love it!!!!! We are so going to do this to our floors this year.
In my eyes, the imperfections of old wood floors make them perfect. I ♥️LOVE ❤️ how yours turned out. The old and new blend beautifully and are gorgeous
thank you!!
Looks beautiful! Did they use water or oil based poly?
water based!
I’m commenting on several posts of yours.:) I’ve been reading your blog for years and love your style and love and appreciation of smaller homes! We live in a 1700 sf home.:) thank you for all of your small space posts… I loved your kitchen organization posts and referred to it several times as I recently went through my kitchen. I’ve also always loved your healthy meal ideas too!
The big note I want to share is that you guys have inspired me to pay off our house early! We’ve always wanted to but now have a payoff game plan.:) thank you for sharing your story on that front! I’m dreaming of paying our house off! Thank you also for the posts on cleaning with yl! I’m making the switch on several products in our home and love your cleaner recipes.:) I’ve been a yl member for a few years already but haven’t had the time to look up recipes and convert everything to a new system….I am working on that.;) I’m suuuuuper excited for your beautiful addition and pool! Thanks so much for sharing!
oh wow!!! This is awesome! I am so happy for you, congrats!!! Thank you for your comment and sharing!
I’ve attempted to read the labels on the various cans in your photo to obtain the brand name of Country White Wash stain. I’d appreciate it if you would share the manufacture name. The transformation of your floors are gorgeous and definitely look unified. Thanks for giving those of us with red oak floors a great idea.
Hi! I found out the brand- called Country White Wash from Dura Seal
The parquet looks so good – and the old floors tie in so well with the new!
Could you find out more about the stain? I’ve googled country white wash stain, and that seems to be more of a color than a brand. I could totally be missing something too. We have our new white oak floors acclimating in the house now, and I’d like to show the contractor exactly what you guys used.
Thank you!
yes let me look into it.
Thank you Brooke, I’d be very grateful.
Hi! I found out the brand- called Country White Wash from Dura Seal
How timely this post is. We are redoing our floors and I didn’t know exactly what color I wanted until I saw yours! If you could share the stain brand I would be so grateful. We are doing them ourselves and I can say with certainty we will NEVER again ( :
Hi! I found out the brand- called Country White Wash from Dura Seal
I love how your floors turned out! I have older wood floors that need refinishing and that white wash stain looks great! What product did you use for the wood ceiling? I’m thinking of doing that to a few rooms in my home and seeing yours really helps in that decision.
It is shiplap pieces. I will have to ask my contractor where he got- it is bigger than what you can get at Home Depot
Wow!!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The living room transformation is so beautiful! It was great before but the wood on the ceiling, I just am in love. It makes the space look so bright and large. Very pretty.
Love your floors, makes everything so light! Can I ask what paint colors you chose for your walls and trim?
Thanks! walls are- Cloud White from Benjamin Moore and Trim is Pure White from Sherwin Williams