Saving Ida {floors} with Minwax

*This post is sponsored by Minwax, however all opinions are my own.

I am so excited to share that Ida’s floors are finally complete! After removing multiple layers of old laminate we found the original pine floors!Unfortunately they were in bad shape and I was worried that refinishing them would make them feel too “new” and orange and wouldn’t fit the lived-in aesthetic I was going for. As I started researching refinishing floors and stains/sealers I knew quickly that I wanted to use Minwax products. I had such a fun time working on these floors with them. I knew their stain colors would help me achieve the goal of keeping the floors look as true to the actual natural wood as possible. I started off with the necessary steps, I sanded and buffed the floors and then applied Minwax oil-based Pre-stain Wood Conditioner to get the floors ready for the stain. Then it was time to find my perfect custom mix!

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After testing out about 4 custom mixes from Minwax, I chose to go with 1/2 Minwax® Wood Finish™ penetrating oil-based wood stain in Pickled Oak, 1/2 Minwax® Wood Finish™ penetrating oil-based wood stain in Natural. I added a bit more Pickled Oak into the custom mix to help brighten it up and make the floors slightly whiter. Testing out the different stains allowed me to see what looked best and how the final product would look. I highly recommend doing this on the exact species of wood as your floors to make sure your custom mix is perfect for you!
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Then it was time to apply my Minwax stain!

I soaked the rag into my custom mix and started applying the stain across about 5-7 floor boards thick, after that I took a clean dry rag and started wiping away the stain because the wood absorbs the stain pretty quickly. Another option for applying the stain would be to use Minwax floor applicators.

I continued this process throughout the whole floor, and added the Minwax Fast-Drying Polyurethane after the stain as a protective finish. It was amazing how quickly the stain transformed the look of my floors while keeping the original 1890's pine flooring! The floors became so much brighter and perfectly muted with no yellow tint. If you have flooring that you want to transform without the hassle of tearing up the floors then I highly suggest you try staining them with Minwax. I could not be happier with how these floors turned out and can’t believe how easy it was! Check out the before and after pictures below to see this amazing transformation!

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Final Photos by Madeline Harper Photography

Styling and design by Claire Zinnecker