• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Menu
  • Home
  • Interiors
      • Stripping-paint-with-heat-gun-7-e1383003893561-700×933.jpgDIY Projects
      • Prairie House HallwayOur houses
      • black-painted-trimHow To
        • finished-diy-dog-gate-for-cheapDIY dog gate for cheap ($3.75)
        • before-dining-room-leftMini Dining Room Makeover Before
        • mcm-master-bedroom-01How to figure out what your decorating style is
  • Living
      • Simplifying
      • Pet Care
      • Making Money From Home
        • how-much-money-can-you-make-on-roverHow much money can you make on Rover?
        • scan0025Last-minute mother’s day gifts for a minimalist
        • make money from home with a hobbyHow to make money from home: start with a hobby
  • About
    • I'm Christina, a full-time web developer with a dog sitting business, home renovations, and a blog on the side.

      This blog is about restoration and decorating of our houses, currently a 50s New England ranch, previously an MCM, and before that our Little Victorian...and the homemaking in between.

      READ MORE

Little Victorian

Modern Homemaking

You are here: Home / Interior Decorating / The hallway makeover (and part 2 of stripping the floors)

The hallway makeover (and part 2 of stripping the floors)

FacebookTweetPin
Interior Decorating, The Victorian

After stripping the gunk off the hallway floor, it needed to be sanded.  I’m very glad I ended up sanding them down a little too, it is so much softer to walk on.

The sanding didn’t help much with the water stains themselves, but it evened all the colors and tones enough to look well-aged and well-lived-in.  In fact, once I was done sanding, it reminded me a lot of all the floors I used as inspiration for the last dollhouse.

finished-floor-2

I sanded them with my little hand-held sander.  Which is actually on its deathbed.  In fact, it attempted suicide a couple times during the process.  I can’t say I was happy it didn’t succeed…this guy has given me trouble from the beginning.  But it did hold on and we finished the floor.

finished-floor-3

AND, once the floor was finished, we finally put baseboards up.  We’re not sure why, but when the previous owners put drywall up in here, they left it a good inch-and-a-half (in some spots) off the floor.  Even with the 4″ baseboard up, shoe moulding was required to cover the giant gaps between the crooked wall and the floor.

We added baseboard cap to match the house’s original baseboards, and then caulked and painted it all.  Here is our progress so far (unfortunately, the walls were already half-painted in the “before” photo, but imagine them all the dingy, flat yellow).

hallway-progress

I also painted a little pattern on the plywood where the floor grate used to be, just a temporary measure until we figure out what to do there.  But in the mean time, it doesn’t stand out like a sore thumb anymore.

Just a few more things left to do in here and this space will be done!

subscribe for more

SUCCESS!

FacebookTweetPin

8 Comments

Read more:

◁ ...previously

up next... ▷

Reader Interactions

Comments

Add a comment

  1. [email protected]

    July 15, 2014 at 1:28 am

    It looks amazing! I’m sending it to my mom who doesn’t believe I can do something with the floor upstairs in my Cottage. You’re giving me hope!

    Reply
    • Christina

      July 15, 2014 at 6:47 pm

      That’s great, Magali, I can’t wait to see yours!

  2. Leena

    July 17, 2014 at 3:34 pm

    The generous baseboards seem to suit the place very well. Oh and how much you have done to your floor, perhaps you should treat yourself with a new sander once this project is finished. I think you’ve earned one.

    Reply
    • Christina

      July 17, 2014 at 5:15 pm

      Thanks, maybe I will. 🙂

  3. Inge

    July 20, 2014 at 3:50 pm

    Looking great Christina! It really looks amazing, and you were very brave to sand it all yourself with a little hand-held sander! Thumbs up girl! 🙂 Hugs, Inge x

    Reply
    • Christina

      July 23, 2014 at 8:04 am

      Thanks, Inge! 🙂

  4. J R

    July 30, 2018 at 3:40 pm

    What did you coat the floor with, when you were done? Anything? I used Citristrip to strip poly off of my floors this weekend, and they look just like your floors do now. I am wondering what my next step should be, since I like the matte look.

    Reply
    • Christina

      August 5, 2018 at 5:38 pm

      We actually didn’t do anything to the floors once they were cleaned up. We didn’t plan on leaving them unfinished, but the more time went on, the more we preferred them that way, they stayed nice and soft, and they weren’t difficult to clean. I wish I could be of more help! 🙂

What do you think? Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

Recipe Rating




I have a question
I have a suggestion
I did this!

Primary Sidebar

Seen on:

Little Victorian on HGTV Country Living Brit and Co Apartment Therapy

See more popular  posts:

Meet the Prairie House

Re-painting the kitchen cabinets

How to strip paint with a heat gun

Beautiful brackets

Kitchen open shelving brackets

Instagramming

Ugly photo time! We're doing the $100 Room Challen Ugly photo time! We're doing the $100 Room Challenge on our dining room (that you guys haven't even seen the "before" of yet). It's a super fun challenge to stay within $100 and makeover a room in a month. We're behind schedule, but there has actually been progress. I'll try to remember to share here, but there's more on the blog! LittleVictorian.com
#100roomchallenge
Update: the MCM is officially sold! We did eventua Update: the MCM is officially sold! We did eventually finish most of our restoration/renovation projects. I'll share the updates in the coming months as we get settled in to our new place. 😁
House update! The realtor is still confused about House update! The realtor is still confused about why "it's such a popular house." When she arrived yesterday for a showing, there were 8 cars in the driveway. 😃

We had three offers the first day, one of whom hadn't even seen the house in person yet.
Surprise! The house is going on the market today. Surprise! The house is going on the market today. (Long story that I'll fill you in on when I have more than 2 seconds.)
.
But we're once again with a realtor that calls our house "unique" instead of calling it a Mid Century Modern. 🤦‍♀️
.
We can't count how many locals came into this house and mentioned that those windows should be removed and walled up and the beams cut off. And then it would be a "normal" house. 🤯
.
Still can't really identify with people in this area. 🤷‍♀️ SO happy to be going back home to the East coast TOMORROW!
@little.victorian

Before Footer

Ugly photo time! We're doing the $100 Room Challen Ugly photo time! We're doing the $100 Room Challenge on our dining room (that you guys haven't even seen the "before" of yet). It's a super fun challenge to stay within $100 and makeover a room in a month. We're behind schedule, but there has actually been progress. I'll try to remember to share here, but there's more on the blog! LittleVictorian.com
#100roomchallenge
Update: the MCM is officially sold! We did eventua Update: the MCM is officially sold! We did eventually finish most of our restoration/renovation projects. I'll share the updates in the coming months as we get settled in to our new place. 😁
House update! The realtor is still confused about House update! The realtor is still confused about why "it's such a popular house." When she arrived yesterday for a showing, there were 8 cars in the driveway. 😃

We had three offers the first day, one of whom hadn't even seen the house in person yet.
Surprise! The house is going on the market today. Surprise! The house is going on the market today. (Long story that I'll fill you in on when I have more than 2 seconds.)
.
But we're once again with a realtor that calls our house "unique" instead of calling it a Mid Century Modern. 🤦‍♀️
.
We can't count how many locals came into this house and mentioned that those windows should be removed and walled up and the beams cut off. And then it would be a "normal" house. 🤯
.
Still can't really identify with people in this area. 🤷‍♀️ SO happy to be going back home to the East coast TOMORROW!
Right? We're getting back into the house restorat Right? 
We're getting back into the house restoration and we'll be working on the powder room in the master bed. 
Guys. It's bad. Swipe to see.
And we're going to try to make it pretty with a super tiny budget of $100 in 4 weeks and we're joining the #100roomchallenge to keep us (me) motivated.
The bedroom design is starting to come together th The bedroom design is starting to come together thanks to Craigslist and Goodwill. 
#OneRoomChallenge
Our poor aloe plant is so gnarly and gangly. But a Our poor aloe plant is so gnarly and gangly. But at least I haven't killed it in the last 4 years! Anyone know why it's growing so ugly? 
#oneroomchallenge #uglyplants #prettylamps
Roscoe got his (pretty bad) spring haircut today. Roscoe got his (pretty bad) spring haircut today. Good thing he still has a gorgeous face. #baddogmom
@little.victorian

Footer

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

Privacy Policy & Disclosure · Copyright © 2020 Little Victorian · Website by Meyne