Hardwood Flooring Makeover

Earlier this spring, we finally got the chance to replace our old carpet throughout our living room and main hallway with hardwood. Not laminate, not engineered--the real thing. This was due to Jeff's insistence long ago that we would not put in wood floors until we put in real wood floors. It's got everything to do with his love for real wood, and nothing else. 

And I have to say, I'm okay with that, because they turned out pretty great!

 It's quite a job putting in wood floors....well, for Jeff it was. ;) My main job was helping to look at boards to select which one came next, where the seams went, etc. And then I helped hold them in place while Jeff nailed them down. {And cleaning up dust!! Yep, quite a job I tell you!}

He sanded the floors with an orbital sander, just enough to smooth them nicely without removing the circular saw marks that we love about them. Jeff then applied three coats of Minwax Ultimate Floor Finish, a water-based polyurethane, in satin. It's not too glossy and it's not slippery. I LOVE the feel of the finished floors under my feet. 

Even all three closets in the main hallway have wood floors...worth doing but probably the trickiest part of installing the floors.  This pic was taken pre-polyurethane. 

We appreciate the rustic look of the boards, which we hope will disguise the inevitable scratches and wear that will occur over time. So far, they are holding up great. But the beauty of using the real thing is that they can be refinished multiple times over their lifespan if needed, and if we desire. 

The wood for these floors is Douglas Fir. We bought it in the form of tongue & groove, circular-sawn 5 1/4" planks from Rustic Lumber Co. 

 Rustic Lumber Co has a project photo contest every month, and I decided Jeff's handiwork should be entered. Much to my non-surprise, he was a finalist and came in 2nd in the June contest! 

And just for fun, here's a reminder of how the main hallway has evolved:

The walls used to be all white. A couple years back we had it painted a warm gray, which was a definite improvement, but we still had the old greenish carpet. Happy to finally be rid of it!