I could never live in a house while it's being flipped. I know some people do it and it's a great way to save money, but Hubby and I are too much creatures of habit. With our entire 500sf second floor displaced to get the floors refinished, our routines are severely outta whack. But OMG the floors kind of look amazing now. Once I pulled up the carpet, pad, and plywood, the floors were looking a bit worse for wear and I wasn't sure if they were salvageable. Big gaps, nails everywhere....
But that's why I called in the pros for this part and didn't attempt a DIY.
It would be creepy if I hugged the floors, right?
Hubby's office, my office, and the majority of the hallway are sanded, patched, and shiny and newly refinished. We were lucky enough to be able to patch with old salvaged pine pieces from our realtor's own antique floor (thanks Amy!!) and you can barely tell!
Hubba hubba, am I right? Perfect color and patina. We had him darken the floor just a bit with a Golden Oak stain and it was totally the right move.
Starting today we'll be able to start emptying out the bedroom onto these floors so I can pull up the carpet and plywood and do the same in there. Sadly, though, that means we'll be a little off kilter for the next week or so too, but at least once the floor is done, it'll be done!
Did I mention the stair treads are getting refinished and the railing is getting an update too? Hubby's still not sure why I'm insisting on this part, but the railing has bugged the bejeezus out of me for 4 years. That orange, bowed wood, 90s railing feels so out of place to me in a house from 1900.
I'm still contemplating reusing the spindles, but certainly not the newel post. Those are getting an update... or a regression, I guess would be more appropriate.
I found this pretty pair of antique newel posts at an architectural salvage warehouse in New Hampshire and I already feel like they belong in my house. Right era, right level of detail, right scale. Now I just need to patch them up and build up the bottoms a bit so they are the right height for a modern railing. I never make projects easy on myself.
I can't wait for the stairs and floors to be set! 4 years of daydreaming about no more wall-to-wall carpet and a 'new' vintage-styled railing. Hubby's understandably eager for me to start on the next flip, so I'll stop making new project for our own house. I'm apparently an addict. I can stop whenever I want..... I swear!