Last week the hardwood floors in our old farmhouse were a wild card. They looked pretty rough from years of use, but I hoped something gorgeous was lying beneath. We had them professionally sanded, and I am happy to report we struck gold.
Last week the hardwood floors in our old farmhouse were a wild card. They looked pretty rough from years of use, but I hoped something gorgeous was lying beneath. We had them professionally sanded, and I am happy to report we struck gold.
Our turn of the century folk victorian farmhouse
If you are brand new to the blog, let me fill you on the goings on of the Farmhouse on Boone fam!
My husband and I recently bought a turn of the century victorian farmhouse on 7 acres. There is also a silo, a gorgeous white barn and two small cottages. You can get up to speed with the full tour HERE.
We have huge plans and dreams for the place.
The biggest goal in buying the place was more space for the kids to roam, and a little homestead/hobby farm.
Farmhouse Restoration Update The Hardwood Floors Video
Bringing a tired interior to life
The first order of business is waking up the tired interior, full of dull floors and drab paint colors.
The upstairs level of our farmhouse floors, and hardwood curved staircase, were all encased under a worn layer of chocolate brown paint.
The good news is no one, over the course of the last 100 years, ever covered them with carpet, linoleum and tile. The bad news is we really had no idea what condition the wood was underneath the paint.
I met with a professional hardwood floor refinisher, and he pretty confidently told me the floors on the main level would shine up and look brand new. The real mystery was in the painted brown floors on level two. He said he always sees it go one of two ways.
See the brown painted hardwood floors
The mystery of the painted hardwood floors in our old farmhouse
Either they were in such bad condition that the previous owners saw no choice but to paint them, OR, they were painted from the very beginning to preserve them.
The former exposes something never meant to be revealed, after sanding. The latter brings forth something that should have never been covered.
We bit the bullet and went for it, hoping we would be the lucky ones with gorgeous floors lurking just beneath the chocolatey brown surface.
Guess what?!
Our gorgeous refinished hardwood floors
Bingo! We had something under that ugly paint that I can’t believe anyone in their right mind would cover.
I’m sure glad because plan B was to paint them, but have you ever dealt with light colored painted floors?! We had them on the steps in our last house. You could wipe those things 10 times a day and they still look bad. 5 kids and light colored floors just don’t mix.
We opted not to sand the tiny office room, master bedroom and bathroom. That little section of the house had a lot of wonky things going on. There were different kinds of wood and different board widths. Our hardwood floor guy told us they probably wouldn’t look very pretty.
Since that area of the house is for me and the hubs, I went with the painted floors. I’m excited to try them in small doses, and hopefully mostly keep the kids out. We went with a slightly beige color, and I plan to warm up the area with rugs. More on that later.
Ok, so I am super sorry, but at the moment I have no pictures of the beautiful new floors. You will have to watch the video above to see them. I didn’t do this to make you watch the video. I just forgot to snap photos when we were there today. It’s just so freezing out and we have 5 kids…excuses excuses, I know. I will get some photos up of them soon.
All the good stuff is on the video above!
Painting is next
The next big update in this old farmhouse restoration is going to be the painting. I keep telling my husband and kids that they aren’t going to believe how much this place shines up with the floors and paint. It will be a whole new house. I can just see it in my mind, and it’s beautiful.
After that, I plan to tackled the kitchen. Then, for the summer, we will probably focus on outside stuff. Can’t wait to bring you all along.
Stay tuned for every update!
Follow along with the rest of our farmhouse Restoration Progress
Come See our New Farmhouse | Farmhouse Restoration Before Tour
Reveal After all the Paint and Refinished Floors
Farmhouse Master Bedroom Tour in the new Farmhouse
Farmhouse Kitchen Design Plans
My email list is always the first to know about every new update on the progress of this restoration. Be sure to sign up below to never miss a post, and join our simple living community!
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Donna says
I think it’s so cool that your mind’s eye can see the future pictures. I do not have that ability but think it’s amazing when people do!
Kelly Olbers says
So happy your sharing this journey with us! I’m so excited to see what you will do next. Can’t wait!
Michelle says
Oh Lisa, those floors r just beautiful. I’m excited for u as u r about them. U n ur husband have been truly blessed to see ur dreams coming to life. It’s a life I wish we could of done but then again in our early yrs we didn’t have all the technology as today. For us it’s a little late. I’m 68 n my hubby is 72 . I believe the yrs ahead r not that super long sooo I live my dream watching n ur family flourish into much happiness, joy, laughter in fulfillment of life. I hope everything falls into place for u n family. I’m looking forward to seeing more videos on ur homestead. My best to u ♥️
Sherri says
Sooo glad you’re making progress. Those aren’t excuses, they are reasons. We all understand (all 96,000+ of us). The place is gorgeous! Love every little tidbit you send!
Alison says
Hi Lisa, Love your blog and am loving the new homestead! Congrats on the gorgeous floors. When I bought our farmhouse…the old farmer recommended that I wait an entire year to make changes to the landscape…saying it was important to see what came up…what was already there. I was chomping at the bit to make changes to the yard but, as the spring came around and I saw how the landscape transformed. I decided ton take his sage advice. My plans changed significantly as I saw how each season effected the land and view. Very Best Wishes to your family in this new chapter. Most Sincerely, Alison
Lisa Bohannon says
I very much enjoy reading, watching & getting to know you & your family. Good luck with your new farmhouse & I pray you & your family are very happy & blessed living there.
Lisa says
Your floors are gorgeous! I can’t wait to see your progress and am always checking my email for updates so I can follow you on your journey. I’m so glad that I discovered your blog!
Keating says
I hate that the snow has delayed your plans, but I’m happy you chose to hire out the floor refinishing. I hope you can do that with painters also. I know it’s stressful, but oh-so exciting too! Love every little picture and post you send! So excited for y’all!
Suzanne says
For your sake, I hope there will be no more snow and the floors will be finished quickly so you can move in. You’re an amazing woman to handle all of this chaos as well as you do.
I think I saw (or heard?) you say something about colors for your walls. I loved the shiplap and white you put in your previous home. It looked so fresh and welcoming. I like white also but perhaps you’d think about adding a slight tint to each of your various rooms. A touch of yellow for the kitchen maybe, a soothing green for bedrooms, pink in the dining room, etc. And I mean only a tint – literally. Just enough that when you paint the woodwork white (you are going to do that aren’t you?) it’s noticeable (spelling?) that the walls have a little color. It still would be fresh and inviting and might set off all your white slipcovers beautifully. I really love those slipcovers. I’ve done things like that with a soft lightweight white canvas. It’s wonderful to use – durable and you can throw it in the washer! Easy-peasy. Plus it seems to get softer every time it’s washed.
My prayers for you and your gorgeous family as you manage the challenges of the next few weeks. And God’s blessings to you as well. GIGATT (God Is Great All The Time!) and I know He loves all of you.
Laurie says
Your new place is incredible and what I always wanted but never got; I will enjoy watching you all make it a home. You look so happy you could cry, and I am so happy for all God has blessed you and your family with. :’-)