Give your floors a deep clean to strip away months (or years) of ground-in grime. Use a professional power scrubber to extract dirt without scratching the surface. Then regularly clean your floors with a hardwood-specific cleaner — regular surface cleaners are too harsh and can remove the finish. Use a polish to add a bit of shine and additional protection from scrapes and scuffs.
Do your floors have dents and dings you can’t clean out? Invest in a large, stylish rug or a collection of rug tiles. Play with color, texture, material and layering. A cowhide rug like the one seen here is a timeless, sophisticated way to update your floors with minimal effort.
Whether it’s matte, high-gloss or something in between, a different sheen can help old floors look new. Achieved using a fresh top coat, a new finish can be a powerful design element. Embrace matte for a modern farmhouse look, or go glossy for a sleek, contemporary space.
Also consider your lifestyle; the higher the level of sheen, the more light reflects off the floors, exposing imperfections. Certain products, such as a water-based heavy-traffic finish, come in different sheen levels and provide a durable, protective coating. For a flawless look, make sure your floors are professionally cleaned and prepped before the new finish is applied.
A new stain color is a great way to refresh older floors without breaking the bank. Try a whitewashed hue for a relaxed, airy vibe, pick a medium brown to stay classic or go gray for a modern look. Consider your home’s color scheme and design style to help you choose the right shade.
Some stains allow you to mix several colors to create a custom hue, like the blend shown here; it contrasts beautifully with the room’s white-and-cream palette. A new stain color requires sanding the floors first, so plan ahead with your professional. Select a fast-dry, low-odor stain to make things easier.
Wood’s naturally occurring grain patterns are part of what makes wood flooring so artistic and luxurious. Use a natural oil finish to further enhance each plank’s inherent character and bring an authentic matte warmth to your floors. Natural oil finishes have the lowest VOCs (volatile organic compounds), compared with water- and oil-based finishes, so you can breathe easy.
Blend or apply two tones for a custom look, as seen in this living room. The homeowners chose an ash base topped with a medium brown to create a rich patina. Certain natural oil finishes dry in less than eight hours, so you can enjoy your sparkling floors sooner. They stain, seal and protect your floors all in one, safeguarding your investment.
Dreaming of beautifully textured floors? A professional can wire-brush your existing floors, removing the soft grain to accentuate the visually alluring hard grain. The brown wire-brushed wood flooring seen here grounds this glitzy transitional-style dining room, adding organic warmth. To create the rough, rustic appearance, a professional attaches a wire brush to a specially made power sander to open up the wood grain. A two-person crew can wire-brush and seal 1,000 square feet of flooring per day on average.
Whether it’s a basic refresh or a full restoration, breathing new life into your floors enhances your entire home. For the fixer-uppers or house flippers out there, always remember to pull up the carpet or vinyl to see if there’s hardwood floor hiding underneath, waiting to shine once again.
