Our 1970'S Menage Makeover Business Office 5: My Biggest Flooring Fault

you lot may receive got realized that I but barbarous off the human face upwardly of the footing mid Our 1970's House Makeover Part 5: My Biggest Flooring Mistake

Aaaaaand we're back.
So, if you've been paying attention, you lot may receive got realized that I but barbarous off the human face upwardly of the footing mid-renovation.

Obviously, something went awry.
Let's non trounce but about the bush.

I temporarily messed upwardly my floors.
And, rather than disclose my mishaps every bit they were happening (Get. Real.) I instead spent a few weeks crying into Cheese's fur, planning my escape to Paraguay, in addition to wiping pizza grease on my sweatpants uniform.

Okay, I'm beingness dramatic. Kinda. There are far worse things inwards the populace than messing upwardly your floors. I've lived through a few of them. However, I'm nevertheless a human, I occasionally lose perspective, in addition to I definitely spent a few days drenching piteous petty Cheese's fur alongside my tears.

Here's what happened.
I was determined to receive got nighttime floors inwards our house. I wanted them thence bad. I looked at motion painting after motion painting of houses alongside nighttime floors, in addition to I but knew that our solid was meant to receive got nighttime floors.
I imagined something similar this:

via Style Me Pretty

Or this.

via Houzz

And thence our flooring was installed.

And since nosotros used solid hardwood vs engineered hardwood, it was fully installed every bit unfinished woods (without the stain applied yet), in addition to I had a adventure to consider what our solid would await similar alongside natural floors.

And I loved it.

It genuinely made our 1970's solid await low-cal in addition to brilliant in addition to beautiful.

But, thence self-doubt in addition to insecurity raced inwards in addition to ate me alive. I felt similar I should practice what everyone else does, rather than practice what plant best for me, in addition to it felt scary to decease against the norm. Plus, my master vision was nighttime floors, in addition to it was thence hard to alter course of report mid-race.

In short, I could consider alongside my ain eyes that the light flooring looked genuinely bully inwards our house, in addition to yet I ignored myself.

I am woman. Hear me roar.

So, anyways, I pushed frontward alongside my irrationally nighttime flooring plan.

I eventually settled on a nighttime chocolate-brown stain called 'Kona'.

In hindsight, I tin totally consider the doom that was headed my way. But, at the time, I was totally lost inwards the moment, muddied dancing on Kona's leg.

It looked thence bully when nosotros tested the stain on a small-scale slice of our flooring. I moved it but about into each of the rooms in addition to stared at it for several days piece the flooring was finished beingness installed.

Again, inwards hindsight, this was a terrible means to brand a decision. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 tiny poptart of nighttime woods does non hand you lot an accurate indication of what your ENTIRE solid volition await similar alongside wall to wall nighttime floors.

But, ultimately, I gave the decease ahead for the stain, in addition to when I came abode that day, here's what our floors looked like.

It wasn't the worst thing ever. But it definitely wasn't good.

And it was but so gloomy.

I knew I had made a mistake.

I had inadvertently created a 1970's dungeon.

The stain turned out kinda orangish (which nevertheless baffles me), in addition to it didn't receive got good to the solid hardwood at all. It ended upwardly beingness blotchy in addition to uneven, in addition to basically, I hated it.

When this all started, I had no sentiment nearly the differences betwixt solid in addition to engineered flooring, but I definitely practice now.

In a nutshell, solid hardwood flooring is higher quality, but it's genuinely hard to acquire that uniform color that you lot would acquire alongside genuinely nighttime engineered flooring, because you lot receive got to stain most solid hardwood flooring on site. You tin purchase already stained solid hardwood floors, but that was non inwards my petty budget.

There's nearly a i G 1000 to a greater extent than things you lot should know nearly solid vs. engineering hardwoods (and nearly a i G 1000 to a greater extent than options) but my conception is to percentage that information inwards some other post. Otherwise this post volition receive got you lot 42 years to read.

So, fifty-fifty though the stain looked terrible, at that spot was a fleck of a silvery lining inwards the stain debacle...I was able to consider i time in addition to for all that our solid looked bad alongside nighttime floors.

Because fifty-fifty if they had been a lighter brown, or fifty-fifty but a uniform color, it wouldn't receive got mattered.

I beloved nighttime hardwood floors, but non inwards our house.

So don't acquire mad at me if you lot receive got nighttime floors. Clearly, I wanted a laid of my own.

It but wasn't meant to be.

It was but about this fourth dimension that Cheese's fur got soaked alongside eyeball secretions.

Could I receive got phrased that whatever worse?

I had no sentiment what on footing I was going to do. Do I apply for Paraguayan citizenship? Do I purchase 800 rugs, acknowledge defeat, in addition to but pretend similar none of this always happened?

None of those options seemed viable, thence instead I but moped but about for a few days in addition to eventually mustered the courage to say our contractor that nosotros weren't happy.

Okay, fine, Jesse did it.

But, anyways, our contractor was wonderful nearly the entire thing, in addition to he agreed to sand the floors dorsum downward to the natural wood. He didn't know I receive got a spider web log (not that that necessarily would've mattered...I'm non Beyonce). He's but a prissy guy who wants to brand certain his customers are happy.

Of course, nosotros were already at calendar week five inwards the renovation, in addition to this novel stage of sanding/sealing tacked on ii to a greater extent than weeks.

Oh, joyous day.

So, the sanding began. Again.

I was feeling pretty panicked at this point, in addition to searching for yacht-sized rugs online, but I did my best to rest patient in addition to promise for the best.

After nearly a week, most of the stain was sanded off, I began to consider the natural woods again, in addition to I remembered how to breathe.

There was nevertheless stain all over the walls (which volition all move repainted in addition to covered downward at the bottom alongside cut down anyways), in addition to but a tiny petty fleck nevertheless inwards the woods grain, but I could definitely consider a low-cal at the destination of the tunnel.

Still though, nosotros were going into calendar week 7, in addition to I began to experience a petty meltdown-ey.

My refrigerator in addition to oven were exterior on the front end deck alongside a tarp over them. The washer in addition to dryer were adjacent to my bed. And I was nevertheless basically living at this place.

At i point, I replaced my flooring vents in addition to but left the one-time disgusting ones on my kitchen counters for a week.

Full of bugs in addition to dust circa 1975.

It is what it is.

Luckily, correct but about the same fourth dimension every bit my meltdown, nosotros had plans to exit of town for a week.

We drove to Charleston to sentinel my petty brother, Mathias, graduate from the Navy Nuclear Power School, where he's studying to decease a Nuclear Engineer.

I'm thence proud of him, he's my favorite animal on the earth, 10 years younger than me, in addition to it basically healed my someone to pass a petty fourth dimension alongside him.

I know he's but some random dude inwards a dapper crewman accommodate to you, but trust me, to know Mathias is to beloved Mathias.

I receive got yet to honour the exception.

Jesse almost loves him fifty-fifty to a greater extent than than me, which is demonstrated past times the higher upwardly picture.

They intentionally posed that way, in addition to fifty-fifty barked at me to exit of the motion painting thence that they could capture this celebratory 24-hour interval alongside a prom photo.

This is my life.

When that was over, Jesse in addition to I headed to Myrtle Beach thence that he could attend a operate convention. He worked, I slothed on the beach. Then on the in conclusion day, Mathias in addition to Meredith (his girl that I also love) drove downward from Charleston in addition to Myrtled it upwardly alongside us for the evening.

They all ate oysters. I did not.

It was glorious.

Just thence you lot know, I volition consume anything. Unless it resembles a loogie.

I but got genuinely sidetracked on a brother/beach tangent. So sorry.

Anyways, I came dorsum alongside a novel zest for life, which is good, because I was genuinely fading fast.

By the fourth dimension nosotros came home, our floors had been sealed alongside several layers of satin topcoat, in addition to were finally finished (at to the lowest degree on the chief level).

I jumped upwardly in addition to downward for a total 42 minutes.

Just to genuinely hammer abode what an improvement this genuinely is, here's our solid when nosotros showtime moved in:

And hither nosotros are today.

It's a flooring mini-miracle.

And, luckily I captured the miracle when nosotros showtime got home. Because the rattling adjacent day, it was filled dorsum upwardly alongside materials for the entryway.

And it kinda nevertheless looks similar this.

But the adept intelligence is that I finally receive got floors that I love, in addition to nosotros finally receive got elevator off inwards the entryway pit.

It only took 8 petty weeks to acquire to this point.

We're going to express joy nearly that i day.

I laughed a petty fleck piece writing that sentence.

Too soon.

I receive got a lot to a greater extent than to percentage nearly the entryway, in addition to the step rail is beingness built today, but we'll utter nearly all of that soon.

Today, nosotros receive got floors.

FLOORS, ya'll.

And I mightiness genuinely receive got my solid dorsum this weekend.

Can I hug you?

Before nosotros go, I don't receive got whatever slightly nauseating life lessons to percentage alongside you. But, I volition throw inwards a picture of Cheese, who refuses to await me inwards the eyes lately. Who tin blame her.

Just a few to a greater extent than days, girl.

And thence you lot tin Risky Business yourself all over the house.

I'll fifty-fifty acquire you lot iv petty white socks.