Flooring Tweaks & Updates
Decision time was limited when moving into our house 7 years ago, living in throughout the works and having a with 1.5 year old in tow, I felt that I rushed a few decisions especially when it came to flooring. So we have recently given a few tired areas a much needed update, which I am really pleased with and plan to do the same in further spaces within the house.
Pretty quickly the engineered Oak flooring we had put down, to replace dark laminate and grey carpets put in by the previous owners, turned very yellow/orange. Despite being good quality product from The Original Timber Company, who knew wood could get some serious sun damage! But that was very much the case, I have since found out that UV protection is key to keep the original colouring. However lots of wooden floors don't come with it when purchased, so it is a case of adding it.
Starting on the second floor we decided to sand back the floorboards and treat them to create a nice soft natural looking tone with a hint of grey to cool down the orange.
Before & Afters:
The process started with a good sand down to get rid of the existing stained varnish using a Lagler sander, the most satisfying effect was revealed instantly and it was good to see that there was still a beautiful natural wood finish under the tarnished varnish. Whats more this sander sucks up the dust! Once all sanded down including the edges with a smaller sander, it was time for finishing. We went for a Blanchon Wood Stain in Linen Grey to counteract/prevent the warmth/yellow tones coming through again. Im not going to lie once this product had dried on the floors it looked very white, not the tone I was going for, however I was assured that this would look completely different once lightly sanded and buffed. Sure enough sanding started the next day and a gorgeous colour was revealed.
The final process was 3 coats of clear matt non visible UV varnish by Ciranova to protect and avoid any future sun damage. After a day of drying we could walk on our new beautiful floor!
As you cant walk across the floor for a few days while it dries and you also have to move all furnishing, we have done the house in stages, firstly the master bedroom and landing followed by a further two bedrooms a few months later. Next up will be downstairs where again we will do it in stages to avoid too much disruption.
Another area that needed a good refresh was the top floor, back when we moved in I had initially partly painted the floorboards in white and the rest still had the grey carpet. It was all a bit broken up and crying out for more consistency. Both floors where getting very tired. Going back to the original floorboards wasn't an option here, as old musky smells were coming from the cracks.
Before:
Keen on a warmer vibe in this space, but still a natural rustic feel, I looked at quite a few sisal options to bring in that textured look. A lot were quite course underfoot and didn't have that warm feel I was after. However on coming across Fibre Flooring's beautiful enviromentally friendly carpets I instantly fell in love with their elegant Sisal Havanna in Argent which has a gorgeous herringbone pattern going through the design, it also has a lovely smooth feel underfoot, is naturally moth resistant (amazing for the top floor) and is suitable for heavy domestic use (ideal for a family space) It wasn't hard to decide on this one.
Despite having to find a specialist fitter for Sisal (not many normal carpet fitters specialise in it) this was a much simpler less dusty process than the sanding above and only took the Nina Burgess team two days. It was fascinating watching the process, going back to the original floorboards, underlay followed by the Havanna being meticulously fitted. I absolutely love the unity it has given the upstairs space, it now feels so warm and cosy up there.
We are very nearly there with our flooring journey. I am so pleased with the recent updates and how they have bought the house together. I just need to muster up the courage for some further sanding downstairs at some point, there's a lot of large furniture to move in that area.
Before & After:
Disclaimer: Part of this post is part of a press discount collaboration with Fibre Flooring
(Used on the top floor)
