STAINING FLOORS




I think many people struggle with choosing a stain color for hardwood floors.  The most common material is red or white oak.  If you go with a natural stain over time it seems to turn an undesirable yellow/orange color.

Since cleaning out the bedroom was halted by a 3 hour delay while I looked over a few old Cottage Living magazines.....I went into my office to file a few things and found this page from Domino magazine.



And that delayed the "great purge" of the bedroom until I can motivate myself again....possibly sometimes in 2014.


Now I realize you would have to have the eyesight of a buzzard to read this....



So I took a picture of it with my trusty iPhone. 


I was looking at the white ones and realized I did not follow these rules at all when I did my floors in white.  #rebel

For my bedroom I used 50% white latex paint [BM China White] and 50% water painted on and then wiped off.

Here is what I started with....white oak and I think they are 4 1/2 inch width.


Here is the outcome after a few coats of matte poly applied.

I love them and they still look good 5 years later.

For the rest of my house I used 50% water and 50% paint [same color] but no wiping off.
This is a picture of the floors BEFORE sanding and painting.  They are the original floors installed in 1946 when the house was built.  They were pretty darn orange.  You can see the new floors ready to be installed in the area where we had a leak.  

Here they are after a few coats of poly. 

To say I love them is an understatement. 

And after 3 years they have held up really well!

Why am I telling you this....well there are a few new Minwax stains out that I also love.

Classic gray and Weathered Oak are 2 of them.  Instead of that red/orange undertone they have a more "ash" look to it which I love.  My "go to" stain color used to be 1/2 dark walnut and 1/2 jacobean.




Here is [left to right] Red Mahogany  Pecan, Classic gray on bead board.

Now I could research a million images on pinterest but "ain't nobody got time for that"....so get to searching.  I did pin a bunch of stain colors on my DIY board....

Have a smoking good weekend.....

Do you like the new look of my blog?  If you do you can thank Shari from Little Blue Deer.  She is the bomb and so dang easy to work with.  Does it all website....wordpress...blogger.

You might need a little fresh up?

Shafiredupforholidayweekend








34 comments

Lisa @ Shine Your Light said...

Sherry I LOVE your new blog design!! It looks fabulous!!! My wood floors, on the other hand, do not look fabulous. We are in our newest house 3 years and have yet to get to the floors…..they are in tough shape. Thanks for posting about this topic!

René said...

Your blog looks beautiful! So glad you shared this stain info! Our floors are ORANGE and I'm dying to at least tackle the kitchen.

XO,
Buzzard

Emily A. Clark said...

Ooooh, love the new blog :)

Kelly said...

I do love the new look of your blog! She did a great job. I hate the orangey color of wood floors too. Your white floors are very pretty!

Khammany said...

Wowie zowie! Your floors look awesome! I'm a new follower so don't know what your blog looked like before but I love the current look! Have a great weekend!
-Khammany

My Notting Hill said...

Hey, can you show us more of that last room?!!!

The floors look great and the tips are so helpful, thanks.

Have a great weekend.

Elizabeth @ The Little Black Door said...

Love the new look girl! :)

Kathysue said...

Love the new look, very YOU!! I have white oak floors and they just have a poly over them,but in time they have become a golden color. I don't hate it, but I like the original color much better. Your floors are so perfect for your home and I can not imagine you will ever change them out! Great post with wonderful information!!
All my new lighting went in this week, not without labor pains, but it is up and running, Kathysue is happy!!
Enjoy your weekend,
Kathysue

FROM THE RIGHT BANK said...

So you went with my pick! I was waiting to hear what you decided..... Looks great!

An Urban Cottage said...

I ADORE the way the floors look in your bedroom. Having the more visible pattern and variation of the wood, would be little more forgiving in terms of dust, cat hair and other general floor pookies. How would feel about my English chestnut stained floor transitioning to white in the kitchen? That's the decision that has me frozen.

Love the new header too.

Abby M. Interiors said...

Sherry! I am obsessed with Classic Gray by Minwax. In the huge client kitchen renovation I just did I stained the open shelves in Classic Gray and they look beautiful. Can't recommend it enough!

And your new blog design? DANG GIRL! smokin' stylish! So you and so fabulous. xo

Melanie B. said...

I do like the new look. I agree...can't take the red/orange undertones anymore. I will have to try one of those stains. I have some outdoor wooden folding chairs that have that teak color to them. I need to find a way to tone down the orange.

mapleleavessycamoretrees said...

Lovin' the new look! I'm so overdue for a change...gotta get crackin' on that:/ Lovin' the floors too. I'm trying to figure out a way to do a white-washed floor right on top of concrete walls...is that possible?? It's in the stairwell of our basement. Gotta cover up that hideous cinderblock:/ If you know of a miracle product, let me know...I saw the "wood" wallpaper you posted on Instagram but don't think that'll stick to block. Ugh. It's never easy...

Karen at Home Sweet Hollywood said...

Love the new look of the blog Sherry...it's so you. (that's a good thing)

CanNOT believe it's been three years since your floors were painted white...man time flies. I still love them too...would love to have my dark floors painted white. Some day...

Have a fantastic weekend!! xo

Yvonne @ StoneGable said...

Amazing! I love your floors. Boy you are industrious AND brave!!!!

Linda {Calling it Home} said...

My two Sherry and Shair's together. I am so happy floors are going lighter. I love them and the new header. Happy long weekend.

michele said...

love the blog makeover. (the tab width needs a tweak cuz 'subscribe' is broken up)

i would love to whiten our white oak floors. thanks so much for sharing your formulas. :)

michele

The enchanted home said...

Loving the new blog look you rock Sharika....and the only floor color I really don't like is anything with an orange cast...yuck!! Not for me love the ashey/weathered look for a more coastal home/casual home and dark rich walnuts for a traditional home. Have a great Labor Day weekend.

A Perfect Gray said...

your new header is the best. of course, I love the black and white tones! donna

Patty Day @Pattys Epiphanies said...

GREAT NEW LOOK!

gina said...

Love the new look!

Chatfield Court said...

I've not posted here before but have read for a while. Just wanted to say that I love the new blog design.

Kristi

Unknown said...

Brilliant new blog design! Love the contrast of your header images. Also loving the brindle skin in your last image. How perfect is that?!!

Have a fun weekend!
Judy G.

Victoria said...

love the new blog design and I see you got home from Charlotte safely.
When my dishwasher flooded our kitchen last year the whole downstairs had to be redone. I went for walnut and ebony love it. On the other end of the spectrum I love
yours too! I have hardwoods in my bathrooms I am thinking of painting
those so maybe I can paint those.
And I have walls like the office?
your showing as well.

Woodside Park said...

Love your floors and the new look!! xo, Loi

Emily @ Town And Country Shuffle said...

Thanks for sharing - your floors are beautiful. I decided to have our stained dark (I have messy kids) but if I had a choice I would go for the light stain you did.

regards
Emily @ Town And Country Shuffle

Just Spiff It said...

Those wood floors are awesome. Love the color!! And I love the new look of your blog.

designchic said...

Loving your new look and your floors. We are definitely on the same wavelength these days!!

toga costume said...

thanks for sharings such a nice post

Cindy said...

I'm so glad i saw this post. I am getting ready to have plywood installed in my bedroom... cutting it into 8 inch planks etc... and i want to white wash it and wasn't sure what to use... thanks!

Cindy

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Stunning! Question. What poly did you use water or oil? I am refinishing my white oak floors and mixing 50/50 weathered oak and classic gray but can't figure out which I need to use. TIA!! Andrea

Unknown said...

You own a wood business NY .No question you must use water base,if you dont the floor will turn yellow and tacky

Unknown said...

Can you please help me how did you get that perfectly uniform white floor.I have a customer that wants your floor but I cant do it .Please share with me how you did it.Which brand stain?which?poly ?ty robert

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