At Peace...sort of

So, remember how I wanted black wood floors? Sort of like this?

Well, my floors don't look like that. They are gorgeous, but they don't look like that. They look like this:

Before you think me ungrateful (how could you?) for not appreciating the fact that we did not have to refinish the floors ourselves, lemme esplain: We told the floor guys that we wanted a black stain, to which they gaffed and gaffawed and promised us that we would end up hating it. They told us horror stories of other misguided homeowners that chose black floors and wound up ripping their hair out and were finally admitted to the psych ward. It was a pain to clean, it showed wear really fast, we would end up hating it - they promised us. Rather than stand our ground, we caved. We thought, "Oh man, these guys have been doing floors for decades, they know what they're talking about. Maybe we will hate it. What if we're wrong?" So with that we chose a black walnut stain and crossed our fingers that it would be dark enough.

As soon as they spread it on the floor, I knew it wasn't dark enough. HOWEVER, it really warmed up the tone of the wood and the stain locked into the grain and made it really stand out. They turned out so great! So pretty, like a tobacco stain.

Mmm, but those black floors! The past few months I have entertained the idea of perhaps using a black epoxy on our floor to get the color I want. We don't have our baseboard on yet or the kick boards around our base cabinets, so really the time is ideal. It's our only option (other than replacing the floor entirely) since we can't refinish our floors again. I talked to my brother at length about the process, it sounds totally doable and Cody and I could finally get those black floors!

But Cody and I talked this morning. "Am I crazy?" I asked. He knows better than to answer truthfully, but he did say that while the floors aren't the dark color we wanted, he really likes how worn and sort of 'saloon' they look. He thinks they look warm and inviting and give the house that country feel without it being a country house. I so get that.

So while I initially wanted (and may always yearn a bit for) dark floors, I do love the color of mine. I love the idea of how these floors will look years down the road. They are so pretty and warm. They fit the feel of the house and everything plays off them beautifully. I regret that we didn't stand our ground about what we wanted, but man... I think we came out alright, don't you?