Hardwoods are a large (but worthy) investment in your home. You want them to stand the test of time.
Here are two links to some fantastic advice to read if you are in the process of choosing what style and color of hardwoods you want to install in your house.
Click to access TimelessHardwoodFloorMay.pdf
Here are some photos of a job we did earlier in the winter in and old craftsman home in the Maple Leaf neighborhood of Seattle.
We ripped up the old carpet in the living room, the tiles in the entryway and some flooring that had been glued down in the kitchen and dining room. We then installed and finished new Red Oak Select hardwoods in the living room, dining room, kitchen and entryway. The results are beautiful. Having one type of flooring through the entire first floor made the house look so much bigger and feel more cohesive. Check it out!
Kitchen/Dining Room Before
Kitchen After
Kitchen Corner Before
Kitchen After
Dining Room After
Living Room and Entryway Before
Living Room Before
Living Room and Dining Room After
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Entryway Before
Living Room and Entryway After
I’ve been having a lot of fun on Pinterest lately exploring some of the amazing wood floors in various spaces across the world. I finally created my own board dedicated just to wood floors that I find interesting or inspiring. There is some stunning craftsmanship out there. I especially love some of the herringbone or chevron patterns I’ve come across and of course anything with inlay work is always exciting.
Here are some photos of some beautiful inlay work we did for some clients in Snoqualmie a couple of years ago. These floors were such a treat to do. Like most craftsmen, Artur has an amazing attention to detail and takes great pride in the completed product.
Newly Installed And Finished Maple With Custom Mahogany Inlay
Detail of Maple with Mahogany Feature Strip Installed Before Final Finish
Detail of Maple with Mahogany Feature Strip Installed Before Final Finish
Here are the care guidelines we recommend for the first two weeks after the final coat of finish has been applied to your floors.
– No walking on the floors for 24 hours. *See below for airing out your house post-finish.
– After 24 hours, you may walk on the floors with no shoes.
– We recommend you keep shoes and pets off of the floors for a minimum of three days.
– After three days, you may put furniture back on the floors but NO AREA RUGS. In order to best protect your beautiful new floors from scratches we suggest you put some sort of felt pads (like these) under all furniture.
– After two weeks you may put down any area rugs you have. Putting them down before the two week period will compromise the full curing process of the finish and may lead to discoloration.
What’s the safest and quickest way to get rid of the odor from the finish?
The best and quickest way to air out your house after the final coat has been applied is air movement.
– Open up as many windows and doors as possible.
– Please do not do this until 24 hours has passed as to avoid any dust or particles landing on potentially wet finish.
– Fans are great for getting air movement in the space as well.
– In the winter, it’s ok to leave the heat off for a day or so while you are airing out the house but please turn it back on after a day to ensure the proper curing process of the floors.
– In addition, you may want to change the filter in your furnace. We take great care in sealing off any heating vents and areas of the house that are not having work done but dust and odors can still escape the work area.
Artur and I are huge fans of older homes. They ooze character, craftsmanship and are the historical storytellers of our neighborhoods.
We recently worked on a 1909 gem in the Ravenna neighborhood of Seattle. Our clients had us pull up the old carpet and refinish the fantastic hardwoods beneath. We were excited to find that both the living room and dining room floors were composed of two different species of wood. Both had a center square of Douglas Fir with an Oak border. This is a common hardwood flooring layout for homes built during this period in the Pacific Northwest.
Because Douglas Fir was so plentiful in our part of the world, it was more economical to install the majority of the square footage with this wood leaving only the border for the pricier Oak planks.
Wall to wall carpeting didn’t exist in 1909. Instead, people used area rugs, often Persian or Oriental, to decorate their living spaces. These rugs were perfect for covering up the more inexpensive center square of Douglas Fir, leaving only the Oak border showing. So clever and functional, if not a bit deceptive!
See the before and stunning after photos below.
BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
Sometimes when a client calls us to come over and look at some floors that they want refinished we find some unexpected surprises hidden on the ares of the floors that have been coverd by carpet or rugs. Often these surprises come in the form of unpleasant pet pee stains. Unfortunately, no amount of sanding can eliminate these stains. In comes the art of patching. Except in extreme cases, we generally do not have to replace the entire floor and can fix the stained areas by patching the damaged areas. Artur skillfully pulls up the damaged boards and installs and blends in new boards. See the photos below for an example of a floor stained with pet pee and how Artur resolved the problem with patching.
We recently refinished the hardwood floors in a home located in the Wedgewood neighborhood of Seattle. This home, which has been a rental for some years, is getting some serious TLC before being put on the market to sell. Some of the house had exposed hardwood and some of the hardwoods were covered up by vinyl flooring in the dining room and an overdose of tile around the fireplace. Once the vinyl and extra tiles were removed we were able to come in and successfully refinish the floors. One would never know that these floors were once covered in vinyl, tile and glue. We think the results are pretty awesome and will add tremendous value to this home. The floors were a combo of Fir and Hemlock and we used a Swedish Finish on them. See below for before and after shots.
This Spring we’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with an experienced, talented and smart local interior designer, Lisa Lucas of Lisa Lucas Design. Lisa specializes in interior design and home staging in the greater Seattle area. She creates interiors that sell.
Planeta Works has refinished the hardwoods in several of the homes Lisa has polished before putting on the market with amazing results. Each house on which we worked sold within days and for well above the asking price. According to Lisa, our work refinishing the floors was a major component in not only selling these houses quickly but for also sending them into a bidding war. Every home seller’s dream scenario!
Refinishing your hardwood flooring will always add value to your home. If you are thinking of selling your home and your hardwoods could use some love, or if you have hardwoods under carpet, it’s well worth the small investment and efforts to get them refinished. Hardwood flooring, especially hardwoods in good condition, will always enrich any space and appeal to home buyers.
Our latest clients (who also happen to be very talented architects) asked us to help get their very cool and hip mid-century modern home in north Seattle ready to put on the market. We refinished the red and white oak hardwood flooring in their living room, dining room, kitchen and hallway. Because they have children and are on a time line to get the house on the market, they choose to use a waterborne finish on the floors which is less toxic and stinky. The results are stunning. See some before and after photos below. Check out more photos and the full listing for this home sold by Tanya Thackeray Wilson for 360 Modern, here.
Seattle Home Remodeling 