My Hardwood Floor Refinishing Reveal
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If you missed my previous posts in this series, I had the hardwood floor in my living room and kitchen refinished by Bona. My first post about the hardwood floor refinishing process focused on meeting with a Bona Certified Craftsman to sample and choose a few stain colors and finishes. Then I posted about the sanding and staining process.
Today I am sharing the reveal showing you how the Bona REFINISH treatment transformed not only the flooring, but my decor as well.
The last photo I shared with you of my newly refinished hardwood floor was of the grey stained floor in my living room with no furniture.
Well – I finally had the time to get the furniture back into my living room and kitchen.
Hardwood Floor BEFORE
Here is how the floor looked before getting the Bona REFINISH Treatment.
The floor was in good shape for the most part, but I was not a fan of the amber orange color.
Hardwood Floor AFTER with Furniture
We put everything back into the room except the seagrass area rug. It is undergoing its own makeover that I will share with you soon.
I love seeing the hardwood throughout the entire space, but I also like the way an area rug brings seating together into a conversational grouping. I will be placing the rug back into the room in a few days.
The new floor color coordinates with the cool color tones I like to use in my decor. When the floor was amber orange it only looked good when I decorated the rooms using fall colors. :-)
The stain color I chose is called Bona DriFast Stain in Grey. On my hardwood, it looks more like a driftwood color. When I first thought about what color I wanted the floors, my plan was to go with a darker color to match the flooring in connecting rooms.
It wasn’t until the Bona Certified Craftsman came to the house and sanded a section of the living room that I started to consider alternatives. His demonstration of how different stains would look on my hardwood was invaluable in making me comfortable with a final stain color, which was quite a bit different than my initial vision.
Sampling stain colors is so important as every wood will take a stain color differently. When I saw the sample section with the grey stain – I knew right away it was the color I wanted. It is not too light or dark and blends in with the flooring in the connecting rooms.
Here is how the refinished flooring looks in the kitchen without the movable island...
… and with the island in place.
The stain color looks perfect with the stone fireplace and even my “mollifier” recliners. :-)
One reader wanted to see how the new floor color goes with the brick floor in my foyer that I whitewashed. It doesn’t match, but now blends nicely together.
Here is a video showing the process and some cool drone footage of the outside of my house.
How to Clean a Hardwood Floor
Cleaning the Bona REFINISHed floor has been very easy.
I have been using the Bona Premium Spray Mop and cleaner. What I like most about the mop is that both the wet cleaning pad that comes with the mop and the additional dry microfiber dusting floor cleaning pad are washable – you simply throw them in the washer and dryer and then re-use. No need to have to keep buying cleaning pads.
Attaching either of the cleaning pads to the Bona mop takes a second – they stick onto the bottom of the mop head like VELCRO.
- I also like that the cleaner cartridge bottle in the mop is refillable, less plastic waste.
Daily Dust
I have been using the Microfiber Dusting Pad to do a daily dusting of the floor. It uses static electricity to trap dirt, particles, and other household grime.
- I found out that I should avoid lifting the microfiber pad up off the floor as I clean—keeping it in contact with the floor, helps keeps the dirt trapped on the pad so the dirt will not scratch the floor.
Weekly or When Needed – Mop
When the floor needs to be cleaned, I switch out the Dry Dusting pad to the Microfiber Cleaning Pad that came with the mop.
- I simply press the trigger on the mop’s handle and a light mist of hardwood floor cleaner sprays out onto the floor. A few quick swipes and I am done.
- The cleaner dries fast and leaves no residue or heavy scent.
I love, love, love the refinished floor, but you know what happens when you add something new to a room or complete a home improvement project – items around it no longer look as nice.
This scenario happened when we placed the kitchen table back into the room. The natural lightly white-washed top looked too orange.
Over the last 10 years I have refinished the table twice. Over the summer, I plan to lightly stain and then add a new coat of white wax over it so it looks less orange.
Having the floors refinished is the home improvement project that has truly transformed the house. It has made the biggest overall change, bringing continuity to the first floor of my house.
Even though we had to move all the furniture out of the room, eat our meals outside and not use the room for a few days, the slight inconvenience was totally worth it.
Greg Martin, the Bona Certified Craftsman that refinished my floors was wonderful. If you live in the Columbia, SC area and are in need of getting your floors refinished, I highly recommend him. You can find out more about him and his company – Martin’s Floor Sanding on his Facebook or on Instagram.
Inspired to do amazing things with your hardwood floors? Check out Bona’s flooring inspiration site and for even more hardwood floor ideas head on over to their Pinterest boards.
Sharing this post over at Thrifty Decor Chick
Hi Diane! I am wondering if you had to touch up your baseboards after refinishing your floors? I’ve had several quotes and each person who does waterborne finishes says we will have to touch up the paint on our baseboards afterwards and that there is not much we can do to prevent it. They’ve said that even taping off the baseboards doesn’t work because it wicks up underneath the tape. Thanks for your tips! I’ve followed you for years and love all the things that you post about.
Hi Holly – Yes I had to clean up the quarter round on the baseboard after getting my floors refinished. They weren’t awful, but in some places they got nicked or stained. I cleaned them with detergent and let dry and then gave them a new coat of white paint. To make it easier. I used a piece of cardstock printer paper and placed it up against the quarter round and used an 1″ angled brush to give them a new coat of white paint. Once coat was all I needed. Thank you for following me all these years. XO Enjoy your new refinished floors.
Thank you for getting back to me! I look forward to having some less yellow/orange floors very soon!
While googling for colors I landed at your house! Your floor looks absolutely beautiful, I never would have thought that a gray stain could go that. What kind of wood did it go on, hard to tell with the beautiful pattern if it is all the same, but whatever it is I love it!
Hi – I am pretty sure the flooring is red oak. Each board has a lot of color and grain variation and a tinge of pink in some spots. I was really surprised how nice the grey stain looked, it wasn’t what I had planned, but when I saw the color I loved it. Pays to do the stain test like the Bona contractor did to see all the colors on your actual floor before choosing a color. :-)
I’d like to see a pic of how the new color coordinates with your brick entry!
Hi EJ – I just added a picture to the post so you can see how the floor transitions with the brick in the foyer.
I’m very late to the game here, but my wife and I are struggling with finding the right Bona stain for our new white oak floors. The difficulty we’re having has to do with the stain color before and after the topcoat. I even see from your pictures that the Grey stain looks lovely, but the original stain sample looks nothing like the finished product (the former appears to almost be a heavy grey, whereas the latter seems to be more natural wood color with grey veining and slight overall tint). Is this accurate, or a function of the photos? If accurate, is this a product of the water-based topcoat diluting the resulting finish a bit? We had some samples of Driftwood done and they too came out wildly different than expectations, and wildly different oil- vs. water-based topcoat. And nothing looks like Bona’s online swatches…
Hi Jon – I think what you are seeing is just photo colors changing on the screen. Every computer reads colors differently. If it is of any help, I would say after the Grey stain was put on it looked darker until it was fully dry and then looked lighter. The clear matte water-based Bona finish didn’t change the color at all. Have they come to your actual floor yet to test stains out yet? This is the only way to find out for sure how the wood on your floor will take a stain color.
I just read the previous article. The result was amazing. I would also love to have a hardwood floor. I prefer wood rather than cement.
I love your new floors! Are your floors red oak or white oak?
I found a Bona pro refinisher in my area, and excited to get a quote next week!
Hi Vila – Good question. I am not 100 percent sure, but think they are white oak.
GORGEOUS! It updates and upgrades the entire house!Great great job!
Way way behind on my reading but this looks totally incredible!
Hi Lisa – The floor came out better than I imagined. Everything in my living room looks so much better now. :-) I hope you are enjoying the holiday weekend.
Wow! The new floor color tone matches perfectly with the rest of your furniture, it really transformed the space. Btw, I love your decoration as well. I’m a fan of the darkest ones like gray or black. Makes me want to start renovating right away!
Done 6/25/2019
The floors are looking really beautiful and your round table setup is looking amazing too. I wish I too had the budget to work on my home..
The floors look fabulous. Did the process of sanding create much dust and could what kind of stain was applied, oil or water based? I too want to refinish my flooring. Thanks for sharing and information.
Hi Velia – The Bona REFINSH process creates little to no dust. They have a dust containment system. The stain was Bona Dri-Fast Stain in the color Grey with Bona HD sealer. You can see and read about the process in a previous post I wrote. You can find it here: https://is.gd/irLOyD
It looks great, Diane!
Thanks Marilyn – I am enjoying seeing the floor every time I enter the room.
Your new flooring finish looks amazing – it does tie everything together with a fresh look! I like the gray stain.
Thanks for sharing.
Your floors turned out so beautiful and the color is so nice. Your floors and all white kitchen really make your home,. along with everything else that you have done too! I love the new exterior color.
Hi Linda – Thanks. The floor truly has brought the color scheme of my home together. I am so happy with it. Same with the exterior… I waited for 3 years to paint the house, it feels great to have it finally done.
It really looks fantastic!
I love it too! The beauty of the grain really shows now. Sounds like it was worth the mess and I’m glad you like it.
Your newly refinished floor is really beautiful. I’d like to add that when you painted all the trim and baseboards white, I sighed with enormous relief. And I love your new, blue pillows.
I will be so happy when my living/dining room is all white. I’m waiting till I get my ceramic, wood look tile done. I wanted grey also, but settled for beige, but I will like it too.
I’m so happy for you with all the updates you have had done. Very gorgeous! I know your happy and a beautiful granddaughter too!
I always thought the floor lovely, but it was definitely time for an update! Your choice of stain emphasizes the natural beauty of the pattern of the wood and brings the floor into it’s own. As always – Good Job, Diane!.
A much more sophisticated look Diane. Just gorgeous!
Hi Diane, Amazing! Absolutely amazing! I knew your floors would look great when the orange was gone, but I had no idea they would look so brand new and beautiful! You must be thrilled! I’m thrilled for you! And you are so right, the price of a successful room refresh is that it brings another “re-do or refresh project” into the light. Enjoy those floors.
Hi Judy – My next re-do…the top of my kitchen table will be a good project to do this summer when it is too hot to be outside in the afternoon. It needed a refinishing even before the floor was done. Now it has gone to the top of my to-do list. :-)
Your floor color and finish are perfection! I love it!
Breathtaking!
Love the color.
absolutely gorgeous! I love the matte finish.
Thanks Laraine – The matte finish was something I really wanted. Since it is less shiny, you can see the detail in the layout of the wood and the wood itself.
We did matte finish, but I haven’t loved it. Shows every footprint. Like I can even see the exact outline of foot/toes. We don’t let anyone wear shoes so it’s their actual foot. We are having floors redone 1 year later, and I’m thinking satin might be better finish for us. Does yours show footprints?
Also, do you have video showing refinish if your table?
Hi Jill – Not sure if the matte finish that was used on my floor versus your floor was different, but the finish doesn’t show any footprints. It seems really odd to be able to see the foot and even toe impressions in the finish. Was it a Bona Matte finish?
As for the table refinishing, I haven’t refinished it yet. :-) One of these days. I did find a temp fix that I love and that is making me happy for now. You can see what I did in this post: https://bit.ly/2FOgPNz
Yes, It was Bona Traffic HD Matte.
I think we are going to refinish with a bit darker than natural. I love your color, but in my screen in looks brown not grey.
You must be absolutely THRILLED!! It looks amazing!
Hi Carol – I am! Plus – I didn’t have to DIY, which was a nice thing to enjoy… watching someone else do the work. :-)
The floors are beautiful. Can you tell us how much this cost? How many square feet did they refinish?
Thanks Jamie –
The cost of having my floor redone was figured out by square foot. Bona has a few different products to refinish floors that range from about $3-$5 a square foot. The Drifast stain and the Bona Traffic HD (super hard topcoat) that was used on my floor is the top of the line so it ran $5 a sq. foot. My space was a little less than 500 sq. feet. $2200
Wow…what a difference! The new stain does wonders for your home. Didn’t realize how orange they really were. They are stunning! ;)
Thanks Donnamae – I am so happy that the amber orange color is gone. :-)
Love the refinished look! I too had that orangey brown hardwood floor in our former house….always wanted it lighter. …but then we moved. Haha! Nice to see how a different color works so well with your rooms!
Hi Connie – Thanks. The orange color is quite common. Natural floor with no stain and then an oil-based poly over it always turns amber orange over time. I lived with the color since it didn’t affect our life, it functioned just fine, but it sure is nice now that the new color coordinates with the decor.
Am so envious, know shouldn’t be, have been living with what’s on our floors since 2006, were here when we bought our place. Ceramic tile is big pain, hard to keep clean in desert area and if you happen to drop anything fragile, it’s broken immediately, groan. Have lost way too much over years.
Well hubs is back in frim crushing cans so time for BK and our supper. Am frustrated with horrid slowest internet there is where we live, so better get off here before I throw laptop out back door which feel like doing pretty much all the time here. We live few miles west of GJ out in rural area, everybody who lives out here complains about their internet, duh!
Happy daze.
Diane, it looks like you have a new house! How happy you must be to have picked the right stain after waiting and waiting to have this done. You have an unmatched eye for color – proud of you!
So beautiful!! The hardest part is walking on the beauty for the first few weeks.
Just incredible.
Gorgeous!!?
Your floors look beautiful Diane!
Wow Diane your floors look beautiful. I love them. I can certainly see why you would want to refinish your table, You are right it does look orangey.
You and Ed have excellent taste and skills. Wish I could accomplish all that you both do. I passed the info about Bona to a friend, she is now going to find them here in Texas.
Hi Diane,
Your floors look amazing! The color coordinates well with your decor. Can’t wait to see your area rug makeover : )
Your floor looks FANTASTIC! You must be very happy!
Looks very good, Diane. Congratulations!
Floors look gorgeous Diane! Love the new color. You must be thrilled to have it done. My husband likes the orange hardwood look–it’s what he remembers from his youth in Missouri. I’m so over it…
Diane your floors look amazing! And I agree with you on the orange tones….banish them & you’ll have the continuity you desire.
Hi Linda – Thanks :-) I only liked how the orange looked in October.. :-) So happy to see it gone.
Beautiful floors. Gives the rooms a whole new feel.
Hi Deb – I love the flow that is now apparent between the rooms on the first floor of the house.
STUNNING! Yes, in all caps.
Hi Kim – It truly is amazing what color can do!!!
The floors look wonderful. Everything flows so nicely together now. Your before and after photos though- I had no idea your floors looked so……. well orangish!!! I didn’t think the kitchen table was either but it is. Your home is really coming together so nicely. Great Job Diane (and Ed).
Hi Gail – When it was cloudy day, you didn’t see the orange tone as much, but when the sun shined into the room, the floors looked very orange. Can’t wait for you to see the floor in person. Want to come over for lunch or dinner soon?
Diane – 2 thumbs up and a snap for those floors! They look fantastic and I don’t know how you could have picked out a more perfect color!
Hi Pamela – The Bona process was very specific about taking the time to sand the floor to sample the stain colors. If I hadn’t gone through this process, I probably would have chosen the Grey. I am so happy I took the time to sample colors on the actual floor.
Stunning!
We have dark wood stained floors…when they need refurbishing…I’m going to try this!
Hi Kimberly – This is the second time I have had floors redone by a pro. This time around with Bona was such a great experience. I highly recommend using a Bona Certified Craftsman. My floors needed the REFINISH treatment, but they also offer two other treatments depending on what your floor needs. These treatments are called REVIVE and RESTORE. You can find out more on the Bona website.
OMGoodness. It looks like a different house. You are one clever girl. It is simply beautiful.
Thanks Rebecca – I am smitten with the new color and how it makes my decor look. :-)
The color of your floors perfectly coordinates with the other colors and finishes in your home. Choosing a stain or a floor color is a huge decision and I’m so happy that you love what you chose. It looks amazing!!
Thanks Pat – I am so happy that I got to see how different colors of stain would look on my floor. It was the most important part of the whole process. The stain color I thought I would like looked much to red/brown on the floor. I would have never known this and been in for a big mistake if we hadn’t sampled the colors. :-)
It is really beautiful. It was good to see the before and after pictures – never would have remembered the floor being that orange. Great job choosing the stain color!
Hi Barbara – Thanks – Now that it has been two weeks with the new floor, it is hard to remember just how orange the floor really was before. I am so pleased with the new color.
The new stain looks really good! Enjoy!
Thanks Cyndi
Hi Diane,
I too have the yellow/amber floors. Mine are natural hickory that have yellowed with age. I’m ready to change my floors and I’m very intrigued by the Bona process you used. It’s a different technique than the traditional way of refinishing with polyurethane and love that about it and that it is water based but also scared to try something ‘new’. Now that you have had the floor for over a year will you please share how the finish is holding up and wearing for you? Has the color changed at all? Do they use a special machine for making it “dustless”? THANK YOU! Brenda
Hi Brenda –
I would go with Bona. The finish looks as good today as the day the floor was done. The process and finish is so much better than the traditional way of redoing a floor. The water-based sealer is super durable, has no smell, will not yellow and dries quickly so you don’t have to wait days to use the rooms. I have the matte finish. I LOVE it!
The color has not changed one bit. In my previous house we had floors redone the trad way. The stain faded e soon after the floor was completed and the finish wore within a short time.
None of this has happened with the Bona stain and matte finish on my floors.
I hope this helps. :-)