Almost finished... but I just found another sanding project.

Well, I am almost done reassembling the baseboards and staining/ polying. The wood work on the first floor looks AMAZING! What a difference. I almost can't remember just how awful the old woodwork used to look. You would think I'm beginning to like sanding woodwork with this new project I've taken on. In fact, here is a glimpse of how dull and boring the old woodwork looked.

That is a floor grate made out of wood up against the baseboard in the dining room (which I've already refinished). BIG Difference. This is the new project I've taken on. I have pulled one of these apart already and plan on sanding it down this weekend. The floors on the first floor are sort of the last to do for us when it comes to woodwork. We plan on tackling those within the next month. Oy! 3 days of homelessness.

Here is a peak at how some of the other woodwork turned out:



Quentin also framed out the stairwell ceiling so that it matches the rest of the woodwork. We sort of assumed that it looked like this at some point before the gorgeous tiled ceilings we installed. Whether it's original or not, it's going to look amazing when it's stained and polyed.



This Friday we finish the tiling on the fireplace!!! Can't wait to have that complete!

they're done- almost

Finally!!! That took up about the last 2 months of my life. But they are done and they look amazing. Just 3 more coats of poly on a few of the stairs. In case you forgot what the stairs looked like before we began here is a refresher.



Why on earth would we ever refinish such beauty, right?

View from the top

View from the landing


Just a few more coats of poly and they are complete. We decided to stain them a little darker just because the stairs had so many imperfections from all of the staples/scratches. I think they look pretty darn amazing!

I'd like some new stain with a side order of shine

So this weekend I began sanding the buffet, what a task. Eventually all of the trim is going to need sanding and stain as well. The current stain on a majority of the wood work is a darker walnut. It's something that doesn't necessarily need to be completed immediately but something that would make a HUGE difference. Of course there are paint splatters, scratches andscrapes throughout. There also isn't much of a shine to it.

I want to get all of the big messes done in the first year or so, so why not just begin the sanding now? Here is where the problem comes in. I am stumped on what color of stain to use on the wood. Should I do a light cherry, a dark cherry? The possibilites are endless. I want a deep dark rich red, but then again a medium cherry might be nice. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I may just end up going with a dark cherry stain to keep the woodwork looking classic, yet giving it some vibrance. I'll post some pictures of the work in progress very soon.