I first wrote this post in July of 2022, right after we replaced our beaten-down, sad floors with a real game changer for our home. I thought I’d reshare this post, with an update three years later, at the end. Because we get a lot of questions, and we still love these floors. I have a few things you may want to consider. So, without further ado, the best finish for hardwood floors!
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We packed up all our belongings nearly ten days ago and moved out of our home. Yes, right after moving into our primary addition, it was time for phase 2 of this insanity. {Technically, I think this is like phase 7,554 of our home, but who’s counting?} We were lucky, and everything fit in other parts of our home. We were also lucky to find a LOVELY Airbnb only a few houses down. The kids each got their own bedroom, and we were able to work somewhat peacefully while this entire process {nearly 2 weeks so that everything could acclimate and dry} took place. Sometimes, the stars align and things happen even when it feels a little chaotic. This is what will be forever known as our summer adventure of 2022. At least, that’s how we’re planning to spin it.
Our new floors, finished
The Why: I feel like I’ve been on a “flooring journey” for some time now. Haven’t we all? In adulthood, we have our own experiences to form a well-informed opinion on what we truly like and dislike. I was always unhappy in one way or another, with the flooring that we chose, in various homes for various reasons.
I think partly because we were always constrained by a budget that didn’t allow much wiggle room with real hardwoods, the color we wanted, or what was happening in our lives at the time.
white oak floors, unfinished + unsanded.
I’ve arrived at a place to really determine what I want and what will work best for our family. When we started building our primary addition, I wasn’t sure how to finish it off due to our current flooring situation. I knew it would be a different flooring from the main house, because we weren’t ultimately happy with it in the end. It had also been discontinued. While it was solid maple, it was prefinished in a dark, highly polished look. As it turns out, and I should have known, this is a NIGHTMARE with three kids, two dogs, and a pool. You could see every single speck, hair, smudge and spot. I felt that unless I cleaned those floors daily, they just weren’t looking good. Cleaning the floors daily isn’t on my top 100 list of life goals.
You can see the subtle warp here, but these photos don’t do the damage justice.
I considered tile and luxury vinyl plank, for the newest addition. I just didn’t like the way any of it was tying in with our existing house.
White oak, unfinished, ready to sand.
I’m to the point in my life where I look at something and wonder how it will withstand time, and how easy it is to clean. I hate babysitting floors. You think these two things would cancel each other out, but I’m stubborn and THE HEART WANTS what the HEART WANTS. Then I had a client who refinished the floors in her own kitchen, which we helped her design, with a simple, clear finish over White Oak, and I fell in love. She was adamant about her choice because she’d done her own research, and I could see why. It’s simple. It plays well with three kids and a dog. I’ve seen it hold up over time. I was obsessed with her floors, and I’d seen them in real life to know that they were gorgeous. Timeless. Hers were finished in Bona.
before
Then, in the middle of all my indecisiveness, I wanted something that kind of matched, so our house didn’t look like the Winchester House, something very interesting happened: we had a leak that occurred in the kitchen that winter. Our house is an older home with multiple additions, having expanded over time. We wanted it to look as intentional as possible. I also knew what I REALLY wanted. {See me, lusting over the white oak for the past three years.}
Again, this flooring appears fine in photographs. Perfectly fine. And I was fine with it. Until the leak.
It was a slow, sneaky leak. The kind of leak that came from our kitchen faucet, down through the cabinet, and to the hardwoods below. I found the warped boards in our kitchen while cleaning up after we immediately fixed said leak, and I was in denial at first. I couldn’t believe our existing hardwoods were messed up. I didn’t even want to deal with this. We were up to our eyeballs in trying to finish our fourth bedroom and bath, and we’d just fully gutted and replaced these existing floors and kitchen only five years before. I wasn’t about to do it again. See me in full panic, rocking back and forth in the corner. We’d already dealt with basement flooding twice because of issues the previous owner never addressed, and we’ve been addressing water damage while rehabbing this old home since we moved in. It made me nauseated. I didn’t even tell Jamin for a whole day. It was subtle but it was there, and getting worse.
White oak unfinished, and I’m already obsessed. Look how much brighter and bigger it makes our house feel!
When I did point it out, Jamin gently reminded me that we should probably contact insurance about our damage. So we did. Fast forward to a plan. I knew that in the long run, this would be rough but worth it. Because the floors are continuous throughout the house, they would all have to be replaced. Yes, I fully acknowledge that this felt extremely high maintenance, but also very lucky for us. Again, didn’t want to deal, but kind of had to. Now that I see the results, it was worth it.
When I chose floors for the addition, after consulting a flooring expert, I opted for White Oak. They usually also work with Bona, but after conducting my own research, I was adamant that we wanted Loba. This is not sponsored. Both are great.
I’ll tell you exactly what and why. It’s different in subtle ways, and I encourage you to research both. Both will give you a beautiful finish. However, I believe this was the right finish for us, given our needs. One of them being TWO GIANT NIGHTMARE DOGS. They’re fluffy and wonderful, but they also wreak absolute havoc on our home.
The WHAT: So, to tell this huge backstory to explain the why, here’s what we chose, in case you’re currently doing your own research: 3.5 inch planks, in white oak with #1 grade flooring.
Then we finished it off with THREE COATS of Loba 2K Invisible Protect AT. This is me as a designer figuring things out because I’m exhausted and need a sensible, beautiful, and timeless solution for our own home. Something that works for us. Cobbler’s kids have no shoes. That kind of thing.
White oak, finished.
The finish is BEAUTIFUL. True to its name, the waterborne polyurethane is invisible. It’s a two-component finish available in Matte, Satin, and Semi-Gloss. It lasts longer, cures faster, and is non-yellowing. It’s a commercial-grade finish, and even the flooring experts said they might switch over after this, because it was so easy to apply. It went on, looking a little wet, and once it dried, it was perfect.
It’s a matte finish, so you can’t see any smudges. {They have other options.} It hides all sins and transgressions like not vacuuming every day {aintnobodygottimeforthat} or skipping the mop occasionally. I have to say that I was nervous at first. The finish was SO transparent I wondered if I’d made a bad call, imagining nightmarish grease spots everywhere, even after doing my due diligence. But when something is spilled, it just beads right up.
Yes, there is the always-present issue of our dogs. They will likely continue to damage the floors. The best part is, the floors HIDE that insanity. I think I really CAN have my cake and eat it too.
White oak, finished.
It’s the perfect solution for what I wanted, in our home. And if something like this ever happens again {FINGERS CROSSED it doesn’t BECAUSE I CAN’T HANDLE IT IF IT DOES} the floors are white oak. White oak will not be discontinued. White oak exists in nature and therefore is completely classic and timeless in and of itself. We can hopefully just touch up and move on, over time.
Since we’re staying in this home {we’ve added too many custom touches NOT to and our kids are settled and happy} even if I decide to change the stain in {10+} years, it’s doable. Lots of pros to picking something and sticking with it over time. This is our forever home {until we decide to retire to Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, duh} so this is worth it.
White oak, finished.
Another benefit of having our floors redone is that it’s taken care of all the squeaking and installation that wasn’t necessarily done correctly the first time around. Our stairs are fresh! Our old home feels brand new again, with timeless touches. And we can walk quietly without waking everyone up.
We’re excited to permanently lighten and brighten these main living spaces, and put the kiddos’ rooms together just in time for back to school. {HOLD ME}. This main space will also be getting a new look, due to the hazards of the job. The main cabinets have to be refinished (same colors because I love them) because of the water damage (I REFUSED to rip them out, but I am grateful for the option), and mold remediation has been taken care of underneath the house. While it doesn’t look like much, water is the worst. It’s been a WHOLE THING.
White oak, finished.
Yes, this was very “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.” It was lucky and unfortunate all at the same time, but we’ll take it. We’re tired, but also grateful for things like insurance that help us out with problems like this, even if it’s been a slow burn since February. We’re excited to finalize everything.
And that is the long, dramatic story of our floors and the choices we made. Wheeeeee. I’m sharing in hopes of helping someone starting their own flooring journey. We’ve been living with it for over a month now in our primary suite, and we have nothing but wonderful raving things to say about it!
And here’s a three-year update to answer a few FAQ’s.
No regrets, three years later. We still love our floors. I do have a few thoughts to share that won’t change.
• A word on temporary: Many people choose LVP or pre-finished hardwood for their homes, and we completely understand that. Areas like a basement will call for finishes like this. Just a word of caution from someone who has learned the hard way: There is something to be said about things potentially being discontinued in the future. Every situation is different, but if we’d initially gone with what I really wanted, the leak would have been a patch-up job, and the smaller area would have been refinished. The end. Now, it was a bigger deal than it needed to be, and we had to move out of the house; it was a whole thing. Grateful that it worked out the way that it did, and it was a happy accident because insurance handled a vast portion of the cost. So… it is what it is. But if you’re choosing floors now or in the future, be wary of anything temporary throughout your entire home. Think through how long you want to stay there. It is wise.
• A word on researching: If you’re doing this on your own, be sure to get multiple quotes from multiple installers. We did this for insurance purposes alone, but you should always do this. It also may seem like common sense, but do not give any companies the full asking amount with the assumption that they’ll come back. Never pay up front. We’ve seen it happen too many times: some companies or contractors take funds from your job to pay for other jobs, never to return. It’s a whole thing. So just don’t. Make sure that whoever you are working with is reputable before you begin. Read the contract carefully. We had one rep try to convince us to install pre-finished floors, and he planned to have them stripped and re-stained. What? Either he didn’t understand what I was asking for, {there’s really no excuse because this was pretty straightforward} or he was trying to rip us off. I’m going with the latter, since his quote was astronomically {about three times} higher than the other quotes. I had photos. I do this for a living. So does he. It’s not that hard.
• It should be simple: People keep asking us where we got those floors. It’s just 3.5-inch planks in white oak with #1 grade flooring. With a finish of our choice as shared above. A good reputable company should know exactly what you want. All you need is a flooring installer.
• Where: We took this finish throughout our great room on the first floor and upstairs with the kid’s bedrooms. We also took it through the hallway / butler’s pantry area, and the primary bedroom. You can see more of our entire home here. The only spaces that do not have this flooring are the laundry, our bath, poolroom + basement. {Along with the other two respective baths.} The closets even have this finish. It makes the house feel larger, simplified, and clean.
• Why: Three years later, I’m still reminded why we chose this flooring. You can’t see the smudges. You can’t see the dogs’ hair. Or the dirt. Or the chip crumbs. Or even the popcorn pieces that the kids like to spill at night before they can be discovered the next day by the dogs who shed on said floor. I guess it’s 6, half dozen, another over here. This was a big deciding factor for me. However, I do feel that the decision to keep the flooring simple with the finish was a significant one, as it simplifies upkeep. I opted for a few imperfections and variations in the wood, for that very reason.
• Cleaning: This is the part where I’m supposed to tell you that you need some special system to keep your floors amazing forever, or you’ll die. Honestly, it’s the {affiliate links because this post was a doozy:} Swiffer for Wood, our Vacuum, and this robot guy when I can’t get to it on my off days. {And most days are off days.} I know. Sacrilege. Here’s a quick shot I took of said floors whilst being robot-ed. They were not clean yet. Nor had they been mopped in a while. Naary a smudge in sight, my dears. They just look good and wear well.
• The One Thing I Hate: So, this happened in the second year. It’s the one thing I would say about these floors, though I think it will happen with any hardwood flooring in a kitchen. This is why some people are adamantly opposed. This was a user error on our part. Someone spilled some ice, and it melted. When it hit the seams, that caused a problem. BUMMER. I will say, though, it’s an easy fix down the line. Honestly, no one has noticed. We just haven’t gotten around to it yet. We don’t have toddlers, but I can imagine that juice cups would be something you’d want to watch out for with standing liquids. Our dogs are white Pyrenees mixes, and are aging rapidly at nearly eleven years of age {bless.} Excessive drool while standing underneath our feet is becoming an issue. Also one tends to lose her bladder control when napping for hours on end. Double bless. You should watch out for standing puddles of any kind, is my point.
One More Thing: We’re a shoes-off family. We just are. We have dogs, but we wipe their feet when they come in, and keep a fairly orderly situation when it comes to this. Basically, I think it helps to prolong your floors if you’re not wearing stiletto heels all over the place. It also helps to prolong the amount of time you’ll need to clean. It’s gross to think about where your shoes have been after a nice visit to a gas station bathroom and traipsing into your house… but that’s just me. Actually it’s not just me. That’s just gross. I don’t understand why people ignore this. It prolongs the wear and tear on your house. Think about it. Yes, I will always have strong opinions on this topic. I’m basically Canadian and this is something serious to consider.
• We love these floors so much, we’ve recommended them to our clients. Here are two finished homes, but also stay tuned for project War Eagle, as theirs are going in soon! It’s going to be glorious.
Let us know if you have any questions. We’d love to help point you in the right direction. Have an inspired day!
