Prior to moving into our new home, one of the bigger projects that we opted to tackle ourselves was refinishing the hardwood floors on the main level. We weren't looking to sink thousands of dollars into the project which is why we went the DIY route. The two key factors that went into our decision to refinish them were (1) we weren't crazy about the color, and (2) they had 14 years of love starting to shine through. We were able to complete the project over two weekends which fit in nicely with our moving timeline.

I also feel as though I need to preface this post with the "we are not professionals" language. What we did worked for us, the floors look great and are holding up wonderfully after almost two years of semi-rough use (dragging an 800 pound piano across them, dogs running laps around the house, dropping heavy toys, etc.).

What we bought/rented:

• Drum Floor Sander - $68/day
• Floor Edger - $45/day
• Sanding Belt for Drum Sander (36 Grit, 80 Grit and 100 Grit) - $72 (we needed 9 total)
• Edger Disc for Floor Edger (36 Grit, 80 Grit and 100 Grit) - $5 (we needed 5 total)
• Palm Sander (already had this and purchased this and these x2) - $50
• Tack Cloth - $6 
• Swiffer - (already had)
• Paint Roller - (already had)
• Paint Roller Cover - $13
• Paint Tray - (already had)
• Paint Brush - $4
• Applicator (x2) - $25
• Paint Roller Extension (similar) - $14
• Stain -(x2) - $60
• Terry Towels - $30
• Square Buff Floor Sander - $62/day
• Scrubbing Floor Pad (similar x2) - $18 (we bought ours at a local hardware store)
• Polyurethane - $95

Total project cost us: $567

Here are what the floors looked like before we started the project:

First.
We gave the floors a good sweeping and picked up the random odds and ends. We opted to remove our baseboards but that is only because we had plans of replacing the millwork all throughout the house. 

Second.
Watch 2,000 youtube videos until you work up the courage to let the drum sander touch the floors. Everyone recommends that you NEVER let the sander sit in one spot for any amount of time and to always keep it moving to prevent it from making stationary marks. We had a few instances where this happened. We started with 36 grit sand paper and worked out way up to 80 grit and then 100 grit. We had to use a palm sander to get some of the hard to reach places and in between some/most of the boards. Be sure to run with the grain.

Third.
After a grueling day of sanding (which you might think will never end), return the sander, sweep up all the dust and use tack clothes and a swiffer to remove everything you can't see and feel. It's there!

Fourth.
We water popped our floors by dipping a paint roller in a tray of water and then rolling that over the floors right before we stained. This opens everything up and helps condition the floors for a more even look.

Fifth.
Use a paintbrush to stain the perimeter of the floor in a small workable section. Once that has been done, apply stain to the floor in a timely manner so that there are no distinct lines. Before we moved onto the next section, we would use terry cloths to absorb and evenly distribute the stain.

Sixth.
Once the floors have dried (at least a day or two) use a deck sander to ruff them up before poly is applied. If you do not do this, you will get small bubbles like we did. This will need to be done in between each layer of poly. Make sure the poly is completely dry between each layer. Another mistake we made was applying another layer of poly too quickly which made it messy and caused more bubbles. We were able to easily fix that issue by running a deck sander over it after everything had dried.

Once everything was completely dried, we refrained from walking on the floors for a couple days and did not move anything into the house for a couple of weeks.

I don't have many after photos, but here's a great picture of the dog room with the new floors and trim!

Pictures and a video of the house when we first moved in can be found here!

And here's a shaky video of the adventure!

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!

Holy guacamole, after 4 years of renting in some amazing places in both Boston and New Hampshire, L and I bit the bullet and bought our first home 2 months ago! We feel as though we hit the house jackpot, as it is close to both of our offices, the water and the mountains! We also have the sweetest neighbors which is a huge bonus!

Thanks to a very chilly winter, we quickly realized how important a warm house was to us which is what unexpectedly triggered this endeavor. The chalet that we had been renting had electric heat which unfortunately isn't the cheapest heat (over $400+ a month) nor was it able to compete with the cathedral ceilings. SO, when we began shopping around, the single most important thing that we kept telling our realtor was "must be warm." Other high priority items included looking for houses that were big enough that we could grow into, we wanted to be in a neighborhood and we wanted to be close to work.

As you can imagine... everyone wants that, which left us with little inventory to choose from. We had our eyes on a place that we knew was going to hit the market, so after if finally did, we swooped in with our checkbook and docusigned the P&S from the Sunburst Six at Okemo less than 24 hours after it was listed. Thankfully, we lucked out with the most organized and proactive professional team in our neck of the woods and were able to close on April 4th! Cue the happy dance!

I have longed to be a homeowner so that I can modify and update a place to fit our style. It's nice to finally have a place that we can build some equity in and enjoy in the meantime.

As you can imagine, this blog is going to be a brain dump for all of my pictures, videos and updates regarding the project palace. The best place to keep track of everything will be the "HOME TOUR" tab located at the top of the page. I will try my best to keep all "house reno" related posts linked there.

Here are the before pictures and a video of our first house!

THE DEN?

We don't know what to call this room and we don't know what to put in it either. It's a fairly large space that is located between the kitchen and garage and open to the front entryway and slider out back. Should we ever want to knock down the wall for a kitchen renovation that is an option, or if we want to utilize it as a formal dining space that is an option as well. It is also home to the ONLY closet (other than bedroom closets) in the house.

THE DOWNSTAIRS BATHROOM 

Right around that corner we have a small half bath which will be getting a facelift down the road.

THE LIVING ROOM

Our living room is located on the opposite side of the house and is equipped with a groovy propane fireplace that turns on with the flick of a switch (literally!). No more cutting and hauling wood or stoking the fire. I will miss the luxury of roasting a s'more from the couch though.

THE DINING AREA

The dining area takes up a small corner of the living room. There is a small wall that separates it from the kitchen which we are debating knocking down some day.

THE KITCHEN

The party continues on through the kitchen which is also where our little pantry and basement door are located. I have big plans of painting all of the doors and cabinets a light grey color to brighter it up a little.

THE UPSTAIRS

The upstairs is pretty simple consisting of 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. 

THE GUEST BEDROOM

The "Guest Suite" which I lovingly refer to it as will be the first project that we tackle. The goal is to completely 100% renovate this room and refinish the floors prior to moving in. 

THE OTHER GUEST ROOM / OFFICE

L and I love to host, so it is important that we can comfortably accommodate our families near and far. While the other guest room is taking priority right now, this space will eventually get a full makeover as well.

THE GUEST BATH/LAUNDRY ROOM

Down the hall we have our laundry room/guest bath. Having laundry on the same floor as the bedrooms will be a new luxury that we are looking forward to!

THE MASTER BEDROOM

This bedroom is by far the largest bedroom that we have ever had. We thought we had hit the bedroom lottery in our old Boston apartment! This space is at least twice the size! Our current arrangement is maybe 1/3 the size of this room, so to say we are excited is an understatement. Macy Cat even scored her own closet in here!

THE MASTER BATH

We also lucked out with an ensuite which I can't wait to attack with some marble tile! It's not huge, but it has potential! Take note of the toilet paper rose that was left on every roll by the sweet lady who cleaned the house prior to closing.

There you have it! Our first home! We have a lot of work to do and are very eager to tackle it all. I'm obsessed with the idea of renovating and styling this house to fit our lifestyle and can't wait to start crossing items off of our list!

Weekend Rambling

(Little cat, big door... just kidding, she's 12 pounds!)

• After being introduced to sweetgreen (yummmm) at the end of last month, I'm working on making an easy vegetarian rendition of their harvest bowl that I can throw together at home. So delicious, filling, and healthy! I will share on here once I figure it out!

• I live in my pajamas, and that is not an exaggeration by any means. I spend more time in them than anything else. They're the first thing that I put on the second I get home everyday and they don't come off unless I need to shower or go out in public. They're comfortable, easy, and I don't care if they get cat hair on them. Great success! The pair I wear most frequently are really meant for Christmas, so I'm on the hunt for some "4 season pajamas", if ya know what I mean! These ones from J. Crew would be ideal, but I'm not sure how well white will do here. I love the idea of this top and bottom set as well, perfect for summer! Any suggestions? 

• I'm a sucker for Olive Garden's Chicken Gnocchi soup, making me pretty pumped to try this version at home. It's a pretty simple recipe, calling for shredded carrots, onions, rosemary, chicken, chicken stock, lemon juice, heavy cream, parmesan, nutmeg, gnocchi, spinach, garlic, and olive oil. So maybe it's a little involved, but people swear by it and claim that it's much better than Olive Garden's.

• I am taking a writing for research class for my biology degree that I am 2 weeks (TWO WEEKS, PEOPLE) away from getting. In this class, we had to pick a topic, research it to the Nth degree,  design a research experiment, write an entire report about it and then present it. I chose to study the environmental factors in soil that affect the bitterness levels in hop growth (It's a page turner). I'm no expert, but after all this research and over 2.5 years of working around a microbrewery, I am slowly learning and felt inspired to try my hand at a tiny hop garden. A friend who grows his own hops kindly gave me some Columbus hop rhizomes, and I put them in the soil last week! WELL, we are cat sitting my sisters cat and she accidentally got locked out the room with the litterbox, so being the resourceful cat that she is, dug a big hole in my hop garden and did her business there. I WISH I had saved the snapchats that I sent to my sister, what a big mess to wake up to... the soil was EVERYWHERE!

Enjoy your weekend!