Finished on-site Jacobean hardwood floors

October 18, 2011

Finished on-site white oak hardwood floors in the stain color Jacobean.

Well, they are DONE! The floors are down, sanded and stained. It took the guys yesterday and today to get the quarter round down and painted, and then the furniture back in – so I’ve been smiling and fluffing and giddy all evening. ;)

The house is still (mostly) a mess – but I’ve been trying to get the layer of dust out of a couple rooms to show you the results!

I mentioned before that we went with hardwoods finished on site instead of prefinished. Remember the dark prefinished sample I fell in love with?:

Well, here’s how ours turned out (same spot):

Yes. I went dark. Not crazy dark. Just dark. er. ish.

;)

The stain color is from Minwax and it’s called Jacobean:

minwax jacobean stain

Originally we were going with a walnut, but then the flooring guy said the Jacobean was just a tad deeper and more brown. Because our laminate had a reddish tone that I wasn’t crazy about anymore, I wanted to go as brown as possible.

I know many of you warned about the dark floors showing everything, and believe me I get you. Our laminate floors weren’t super dark, but dark enough. Every single crumb and waft of cat hair showed, so I’m used to it.

What always bugged me more about our laminate was how shiny they were – it looked GREAT when they were clean, but as soon as someone walked across them with bare feet, they were toast.

The crumbs I can deal with –  it was the footprints and smudges that drove me batty! I wanted dark floors, so I knew just what to do to keep the floors from showing everything. I talked to Floor Guy, and we went with a satin polyurethane instead of a gloss:

satin finish on floors

And it worked like a CHARM!! It’s crazy awesome – you can’t see anything on these floors!

I’M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!

Really. I can’t tell you how happy this makes me after trying to keep that blasted laminate clean. ;)

It was pouring rain today, so the guys were in and out over and over to bring in the furniture – with wet boots. (They took great care to cover their shoes up till then – there was no way around it when they brought in furniture.) Two guys with wet shoes walked through that spot up there in the pic at least five times, and that’s how it looks. I didn’t even wipe it down.

A few of you asked about the baseboards during installation, and we did not remove them. The flooring was placed right up against them and then the quarter round covered any gaps:

dark floors white trim

I know some don’t use quarter round, but in order to do that you’d have to take up all of the baseboards, then reinstall them afterwards.

Um...I had enough of a mess on my hands. ;) I like both looks, with or without the quarter round. But I have to say -- when they installed and painted ours, they made the already awesome floors look stunning. It’s the whole contrast thing for me I’m sure. :)

And many of you were passionate about the quarter round matching the baseboards – I SO agree! I didn’t think of that when our laminate was installed and it matched the floors. It made our already wimpy baseboards look even smaller. I’m SO thrilled to have all white!

I love how the boards each have their own natural characteristics. It looks SO LOVELY. I love this board with the little worm holes:

worm holes in flooring

Each piece stained so differently and it gives our house so much character. Some boards are light, some are dark. Some are super smooth, some have some texture. I am SO thrilled with how it turned out. Beyond thrilled. Ecstatic. :)

So how about some before and afters?!

Here’s the living room before:

And now, with the floors down:

jacobean minwax floors

Of course it was raining and cloudy and perfectly awful picture-taking weather today, so my pictures aren’t great. It was hard to get a decent shot of everything.

The transformation in the family room and kitchen isn’t as dramatic, because the laminate was down before:

image

But you can see all the character in the floors now:

The laminate used to stop by our basement steps, and now that everything is hardwood, it makes our main level feet HUGE:

It’s so funny – we feel like we have a brand new house, but it also feels like it’s been like this forever. I don’t even remember the carpet and laminate, already. Well, I do…but the cherry and animal and Christmas tree stains on the carpet and the dirty laminate are oh so easy to put out of my mind. :)

The change has so many new projects running through my head now too – it’s like my mojo was given a jolt! I’ve already completed a few (small) projects and have a few (HUGE) projects in mind.

Now I hope to get some Halloween decor up (the Bub has been SO patient) and then get our house fallified as well. I’ve been holding out on any decor because of this process. I’ll show you more of the floors and my latest projects soon – hopefully with better light!

Thanks for coming along with us during this project!! Everyone told me and I will say it – (now) I don’t mind at all that the old fridge pooped out on us and leaked everywhere. :) NOW I can say that. Seven weeks later. ;)

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Comments

  1. Love it!!! It is positively gorgeous!!! Great job girlfriend!

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  2. I love it!! The color is gorgeous!

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  3. It looks gorgeous, Sarah! I love the worm holes and the stain and the satin finish (brills!)Maybe when WE are 100% out of debt I can gently nudge my hubby in the direction of refinishing our 1960 original wood floors into something dark and pretty like that. I bet you're just over the moon :)

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  4. I looks amazing. Better yet, YOU are happy with it, and nothing beats that feeling =) Like the new coffee table too ;) Congrats on your pretty new floors!!

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  5. We tore up carpeting and refinished floors. Definitely makes the space feel bigger and like new. I just love them! Glad it all turned out good in the end. They look gorgeous and will only get more gorgeous with use (character).

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  6. We tore up carpeting and refinished floors. Definitely makes the space feel bigger and like new. I just love them! Glad it all turned out good in the end. They look gorgeous and will only get more gorgeous with use (character).

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  7. Just wanted to let you know how amazing your floors look! I love the dark, varied in darkness, it give great character! I am very jealous! I need new floors desperately. Enjoy your floors. thanks for sharing

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  8. Congrats on your new floor- it look great! Cant wait to see your new inspired projects! :)

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  9. Congratulations!!! Your floors look wonderful. I love the darkish brown color. I know how you feel about being ecstatic over your new wood floors. I LOVE the rooms of my home that have the wood floors done! It seems like a whole new house and you can change your decor color anytime your want!!! Wood floors go with EVERYTHING! ~ Barbara

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  10. Oh my gosh! Your floors are GORGEOUS!!!!! I'm having such a tough time keeping my wood floors clean and shiny.....I can't wait for ur "update" on ur floors advice post! Lol

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  11. Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful!! :) Looks great and I just know you are in LOVE! I'm so happy for y'all! xo

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  12. They are simply beautiful. Hate to admit that I am jealous.

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  13. I LOVE IT! And I love how proud you are! We should all be so proud of our homes. Thank you for the inspiration!

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  14. Wow, what a difference! I bet it does feel like a new house! Your floors are gorgeous! We are going through a similar situation at our house. The dishwasher went crazy and leaked water everywhere! You can read about it here if you like!
    http://bet1975.blogspot.com/2011/09/my-dishwasher-is-evil.html

    reading about your experience has really helped keep me calm! Knowing that in the end there will be a beautiful rainbow!

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  15. I love the color! Ours has too much red, and my dog drips water from her chin ~ everywhere. We have huge windows, so the floor always looks dirty. I wish I would have known I could have had them stained on site I would have went with low gloss. Enjoy!

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  16. Looks fabulous! I now have floor envy.

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  17. Love it, it looks awesome! I especially love the difference it made in the living room. It makes that room look so much cozier. Happy for you!

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  18. Looks FAN-TAST-IC! I would be that excited as well. Can't wait to see what projects pop up now!

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  19. It looks beautiful! The picture of your living room seriously made me say "Whoa!" Looks like something out of a magazine!

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  20. Gorgeous! I'm writing down everything about it because I want that exact color in my next house! Perfect!

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  21. GAH!!!!!! I love it!!!!! SO SO SO SO gorgeous!!!!

    xoxo, Mallory @ Classy Clutter

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  22. Your floors look wonderful!! It's crazy how hardwoods can make a room look fresh and spacious. We installed hardwoods ourselves when we purchased our home and have loved them!!

    Enjoy your new look!

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  23. oh my goodness...your floors are beautiful!

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  24. I am so happy for you! Looks beautiful. Now you just need to buy a new area rug for the living room :) I love wooden floors, and would do this in a minute if I owned a house with wall to wall carpets.

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  25. I've put off refinishing and staining due to the dog. I am hoping to stain dark(er) as well as I hate hate hate my blondish 60's looking oak. And the satin finish is just wonderful. Love the look!!!

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  26. Wow it looks so amazing! We have really light colored laminate floors in our rental house & believe me, they are IMPOSSIBLE to keep clean as well... especially with a dog. So I think either way, light or dark, they show dirt. I like the dark much better, and your floors look so pretty! Someday that's what I want :) :)

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  27. They are gorgeous! They look so much better than the laminate! We have laminate and I just wanna go ahead and rip mine up and start over again after looking at yours:)

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  28. Those are beautiful... and I am jealous! Wood floors and both a living room and a family room??!! Lucky girl...

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  29. Oh so gorgeous!!! The floors make your house look huge and so bright and airy. I love them!

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  30. The floors look wonderful!


    ~Mrs. Delightful

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  31. The floor looks amazing-you must be so happy-just wanted you to know I featured you today as one of my favorite bloggers!

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  32. Your new floors are gorgeous!! I love the look hardwood gives a room! Martina

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  33. It is SO lovely! Thanks for sharing all those photos; that was fun.

    You seem to have held up amazingly well through it all. Good job. It was a big deal, and a lot of work, and you handled it like a pro!
    Chrissy

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  34. TEN DIFFERENT SHADES OF AWESOME LADY! Those floors look AMAZING! And I love that you went with a flatter finish to keep the grubby footprints from showing. I feel you there! I HATED the laminate in my dad's house because I would clean clean clean and the moment I put the mop away there my footprints were. Used to drive me BATTY. Congrats Sarah! It looks awesome!

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  35. Gorgeous! Laminate is fine, but nothing beats the richness and beauty of hardwood.

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  36. Fabulous!!!! I love the stain, Sarah. The rooms look so much larger. :)

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  37. Looks awesome! Our floor guy advised us to wait a week or so before putting down our area rugs so the poly could cure....

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  38. Oh, Sarah~it is just beautiful!! The stain color is just right. Thanks for all the input about things like the grooves in the floors that collect dust/crumbs, etc. I thought I loved that look but that would drive me crazy too. You'll have to keep us updated on how you like them, the durability, etc.

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  39. Gorgeous floors!! I think yours are wider width than mine and I love that look.

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  40. LOVE IT. I hope you're doing cartwheels around your house!

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  41. Congrats on a big job DONE! Looks gorgeous. Gives me a whole new appreciation for the original 1928 dark oak floors that came with my house.

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  42. Your floors look AMAZING! So happy for you ( and a little bit envious). Enjoy your "new" home!

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  43. SWEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They look amazing, love the brown tone without the red. I'm giddy for you girl! ENJOY!
    Jules

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  44. WOW!! The floors are beautiful!!! I was so excited to see this post. I think I may have been just as excited to see the reveal as you are getting them! I would be more excited if I was getting new floors...oh well....
    Congratulations. Your little boy is a sweetie to be so patient for the Halloween decor!

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  45. YAY! I'm so happy for you! The house looks fabulous & fresh! I can't believe how different the living room looks now, congrats & enjoy every minute of the new floors :-)

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  46. They look amazing!! We have the dark floors just like yours and I said that even though I have to clean them more often than other lighter stains, I love them to pieces. Enjoy them!

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  47. Yay, Sarah, your house is truly new, hahaha... It just looks so gorgeous!!!! And I love jacobean, I did jacobean walnut on my stairs (yes, the stairs you inspired me to transform, haha) and I do love love love the colour!
    Oh, you floor is so fab, that if I were you, I would probably sleep on the floor directly on the first night, hahaha:)
    Hugs!!!

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  48. They look just yummy! I love the dark color and the contrast with the white woodwork.

    I'm so envious! LOL

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  49. Your floors look GREAT! I officially have floor-envy (if that's even an actual thing :) )

    Love it!

    Emily

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  50. It looks gorgeous Sarah! You are going to be so happy!

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  51. Wow - what a transformation. I have to say, we just recently replaced our hardwood (ugly parquet to ebony pre-finished hardwood)... and I'm SO jealous I didn't know about this finish afterwards option. Because the bevel and the shiny-ness and the dark dark dark that shows EVERYTHING - yeah, I'm not loving. Great choice on the finish and the stain - it looks amazing and you're exactly right - brings some character to the house. Lovely - congrats on having it finished!

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  52. The floors make the room feel huge and so much more open. I definitely think wood floors add drama. I love them.

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  53. I am so glad I have stumbled upon your blog! You have such great ideas and I look forward to implementing them in our next house!

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  54. I LOVE the color! and I LOVE LOVE the satin finish vs. the glossy. One day, I hope to have a home with all hardwoods, not a stitch of carpet:)

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  55. I'm giddy right there with you! They look fantastic :)

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  56. Gorgeous, Sarah! Everything looks amazing! :-D

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  57. Oh so pretty!!! The darker color is beautiful, and your whole house is just simply gorgeous. I'm sure you are glad that is over with and now you can enjoy! :)

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  58. Looks absolutely beautiful. I have a dream of refinishing my hardwood some day!

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  59. Hardwood flooring makes so much of a difference! Your home is so beautiful! Great job!

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  60. Absolutely GORGEOUS! I SO want to do the same thing but I think all we can afford is manufactured. Gosh what a difference the floors make! It DOES look like a new house. So happy for you!!!

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  61. Beautiful. I love the dark wood tones like that. Looks great.

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  62. why did we ever think that wall to wall carpet was a great idea? I so remember looking for rentals with my Mom, when I was young, and we'd immediately cross the ones that said hardwood off the list. W/W (wall to wall) was where it was at, circa 84. Lets hope and pray we never revert. I adore my hardwood floors, and yours look amazing. What a difference in the living room!!!

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  63. What a fantastic end result! I absolutely LOVE your floors. We are renovating our house, and one of the last things we'll end up doing is patching, sanding and staining our original hardwood floors. I wanted to go dark, and stay away from any sort of red tones...I too don't like the super shiny finish either...so you literally showed me exactly what I want to do! I was wavering between the walnut and jacobean...decision made. You rock! :)

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  64. Could you come to my house and tell my family that real hard wood floors are the only way to live? I love it and am a little green with envy.

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  65. Your floors look amazing!! That before & after shot of your living room is fantastic!! What a huge transformation!! I can see why you are so giddy! Enjoy them!

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  66. Those floors are amazing!! The hardwood really opens up the space and makes everything feel warm and inviting. Great color choice!!

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  67. LOVE them! You won't regret that satin finish. We love ours!

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  68. Wow, I was so wood floor ignorant before. I was thinking of getting pre-finished put in the kitchen and eating area, but now I'll have to consider all the options. Thanks for all the information and photos!

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  69. Oh! It looks fantastic! Love the color, love the contrast, love it all! I love coming here because I feel so inspired in my own home. Then again, coming here is dangerous... because I feel too inspired in my own home!

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  70. Oh, one more thing... I notice the stain on your stairs is darker. What color was that, and does it bother you that it is different, or do you like that it is different? Thanks, Sarah!

    Love, Michiganhome

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  71. Sheesh, last question, for today anyway ;)...I notice that you have board and batten wainscoting on the stairs and picture frame wainscoting in the living room. Which do you like better? And how do the two look together? And for the picture frame, is the molding applied directly to the wall, or do you have something else applied to the wall first? Thank you so much!

    Love,
    Michiganhome

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  72. They came out great! They definitely look darker in some pictures than others, which is nice when you want a different look at different times.

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  73. It looks SO GOOD! I absolutely love it!!

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  74. What a bloody brill idea use a satin finish on the floor! Such a pretty floor :)

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  75. It looks beautiful! I unwittingly fell victim to laminate 3 years ago :) and I hate it for all the reasons you do! Oh well, live and learn! I had to laugh at your Sunday post. It initially appeared you had snuck in and photographed MY stairs! I too, suffer from "Perpetual Piling Syndrome" and I don't think there's a cure-I'm 50 now and can't kick the habit, so just eat plenty of chocolate & learn to live with it :)

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  76. BEAUTIFUL!!!!! I especially love the before & after shot of the living room. Gorgeous! When we did our floors about 8 years ago, I chose a honey type of color. I can't wait for the day to refinish & go darker!

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  77. WOW...what a diff. Looks so much bigger. I love it.

    cute pic of the Bub too:)

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  78. Looks amazing!! I'm from the Indy area too, who did your floors? I couldn't find the name in your previous posts.
    Thanks!

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  79. The floors look BEAUTIFUL! I love the dark stain too. We have dark walnut floors and I absolutely love them!

    Your room looks so pretty! Congratulations on getting this job done!

    Have a great day.
    Pam

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  80. It looks fantastic!!! I LOVE the dark brown.

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  81. Seriously beautiful! I love the stain color you picked for your floors. You house went from beautiful to breathtaking with the change of the floors!

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  82. Yay, Sarah, I know you are totally loving these floors!! Just went thru the same thing with my sis. She ended up with Provencial stain, but really wanted a bit darker. Her's a so gorgeous too though. She just got hers all back together earlier this week. So happy for YOU!! They look super. I totally agree about the white quarterround, that is what I always do too.

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  83. WOW. The wood floors look absolutely fantastic!!

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  84. Yo, Thrifty Decor Chick. Thanks alot. Now all I'ma see when I look 'round is my stinkin' stained quarter round... Never even noticed before today... Lawdy, my list is longer than a Woozle's tail...

    Seriously, the hardwood looks insanely beautiful...

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  85. Beautiful! My last house had all hardwood floors that we had put in are self. We will be put in wood floor in our new house this Spring. I can't wait. I hate carpet, how is it ever clean? Enjoy your new floors.

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  86. Your floor looks gorgeous, as does everything in your home. My husband and I installed wood floors OURSELVES last year (even in the bedrooms) and it made a huge difference. I love them even more everyday and it is so hard to even remember that nasty carpet we had! Love your blog!!!!!

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  87. Absolutely stunning! Thanks for sharing and all the pictures. You need to go w-a-y back for your LR before-and-after. . .go back to when it was darker :) I love the new "style" you're morphing your place into.

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  88. Your floors look amazing! I always seem to choose the cloudy days to take pictures too! But even with the clouds, the floor looks wonderful! You must be loving it!
    -Shelley

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  89. gorgeous! i want to change my flooring oh so bad! we just cant afford it right now

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  90. The floors look absolutely beautiful. So happy for you!

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  91. Amazingly gorgeous and worth all of the time and trouble! Just think how much fun Christmas decorating will be!

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  92. Oohhhhh.....they look so good! We have sand on site Walnut floors (for over a year now and still love them so much) and yours looks a lot like mine do. What kind of wood did you go with? I don't recall if you mentioned it.

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  93. Beautimous! I love the dark color & our quarter round does not match the baseboards & I HATE it! By the way, I think your 'S' is upside down.




    Ha! Made you look! :)

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  94. Your floors look stunning! They add a lot of character to your home. I am now wondering which rooms in our house need some new wood flooring.

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  95. They look amazing!!! What a difference.

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  96. Wow, what a transformation. I love the color!

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  97. looks amazing! your re-dos are so inspiring. i can definately tell the lack of 'orangy-ness' is gone from your after pic comparing where the laminate was. i am a "satin girl" all the way...perfect choice! enjoy (not that i needed to tell you that)! :)

    Amy

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  98. I love your new floors! I wish I had them. ;) We did engineered, and while I do love them, I hate all of the scratches and the constant footprints all over. I have floor envy looking at yours. LOL

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  99. Your floors are gorgeous! I agree, it makes your house look totally different - and new! Enjoy. :-)

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  100. I love, love, love it. I want to do this in my kitchen and living room. Maybe next year! Thanks for sharing.

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  101. Hi, your floors are gorgeous & the room looks great!

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  102. They turned out BEAUTIFUL! I am so GLAD you went with hardwood instead of the prefinished...I'm sorry but you can tell the difference! We've always had regular hardwood floors (meaning not prefinished) and I love them...they are ready for some new poly and to tell you the truth I wish I would have gone even more rustic when we built this house...like beat up barn planks! Your home looks beautiful...thanks for sharing!

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  103. They look lovely! And very similar to our our floors. :)Which we love.

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  104. So beautiful!
    On the family room ceiling fan - did you add the shade to it?

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  105. Sarah, your floors look great! Sooo pretty! Love the painted quarter round. It really does extend the molding a bit. Yay, so glad the refrig thing turned into a positive. :)

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  106. It looks amazing!! I bet you feel so much better having everything done and finished. :) And what a difference a finish makes! Can't believe you can't see the wet footprints!

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  107. Your floors look beautiful! I love the dark stain that you chose. I have hardwood in my kitchen/dinning room and love it. They are so easy to maintain and keep clean compared to the white vinyl I had before.

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  108. I love how your new floors turned out! I read your post a while back during the "decision making phase", so it's really fun to jump back in now that the floors are finished. (It seems like the blink of an eye to me... not so much to you, I'm sure. :) )

    Anyhow, I love dark wood floors with reds and whites and chocolates. They must be particularly lovely for fall decorating!

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  109. When my engineered flooring dies, which it will (why or why did builders move away from solid wood flooring!!) these are the floors I'd love to see in my home! Just perfect, the color and love the grain of the wood. Running them throughout just completely transforms you home, no kidding, the post title "Our New Home"! Janell

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  110. When my engineered flooring dies, which it will (why or why did builders move away from solid wood flooring!!) these are the floors I'd love to see in my home! Just perfect, the color and love the grain of the wood. Running them throughout just completely transforms you home, no kidding, the post title "Our New Home"! Janell

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  111. Can I just say...WOW!!! Amazing Job! And your tips are good to know. I've been dying to get hardwood floors...and we live in Lafayette, so that good ol' Indiana weather is quite the pain in the arse! Awesomeness!!!!

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  112. Hi there! Your floors look amazing. I found your blog from a google search for jacobean floors. I am wondering how you still feel about the satin finish on your floors. We are having our red oak floors redone in Jacobean and I was originally thinking a matte finish, but your satin looks great. I really don't want any shine to it - we're going for a very rustic look. AND I don't want to have to clean them every day. Would you post an update on your floors and let us know if they do end up showing dust/dirt. Thanks so much! I'm loving your blog!

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THANKS so much for reading!