Hardwood Flooring for the Guest Room: A Reveal

Happy Friday! How was your day? Mine was especially wonderful because I became a grandmother for the second time! My son and dil welcomed their second son early this morning. Mom, Dad and Baby are all doing great.

My son shared several videos with me today and I can’t wait to hold him in my arms. No matter how old I get or how often it happens, I am always completely awed and amazed by the miracle of a new little being coming into this world. It truly is a beautiful miracle each and every time. Does it just amaze you each time, too?

Upcoming on Monday

I plan to share a landscape update on Monday. I have all the boxwood shrubs in the ground but one, and I hope to get it planted either tomorrow or Sunday. In the meantime, I thought I’d share how the new hardwood flooring looks in the guest bedroom.

Guest Room Flooring Renovation

Here’s how the flooring looked in the guest room prior to adding hardwood flooring. Before moving into this home 25 years ago, I had all the rooms that weren’t getting hardwood (back then) carpeted with a cream-colored Karastan carpet. If I were carpeting my home again today, I’d go with this same color carpet again. It really held up and worked well over the years.

Over the past few years, I’ve been gradually replacing the carpet throughout my home with hardwood flooring. I hate having to have carpet cleaned and love the look and practicality of hardwood flooring.

When I started replacing all the carpet, I started with the most often used rooms or the areas with the greatest amount of traffic. I only have one room left to do now–the bonus room. I’d love to hardwood it in the future but I’ll most likely do a bath renovation first since the carpet in that room still looks fine.

In preparation for the hardwood flooring in the guest room, I moved out the lamps and all the small decorative items. The hardwood flooring guys moved out the larger furniture pieces like the bed, secretary, dresser, chair, etc…

GUEST ROOM BEFORE WITH CARPET:

Blue and White Guest Room

 

Tip: I knew I’d want to get this room back together as quickly as possible once the flooring was completed. To help speed up the process, I took a photo of the inside of the secretary with my cell phone. Once the flooring guys moved the furniture back in, I was able to quickly refill the secretary by referring to the photo I had saved on my phone. Sure made that process go quickly!

Here’s how the room looked after all the furniture had been cleared out and the carpet removed.

Preparation for Hardwood Flooring

 

I’ve used white oak (not the standard red oak) throughout my home because I like more of a golden, honey brown color and the first time I added hardwood flooring, I was told white oak would better achieve the color I wanted.

Hardwood Flooring Installation

 

AFTER WITH HARDWOOD FLOORING:

I’m sharing this photo of the guest room first because it’s the one that most accurately shows how the new hardwood flooring looks in this room. The rest of the photos in this post make the floor look a good bit darker because my camera was facing right into the windows. So this photo of the flooring is the most accurate of the color.

New Hardwood Flooring for Bedroom

 

I know the “trend” right now is to do a really dark stain for hardwood flooring, but I’ve always preferred this color. I think the reason I like it so much is because it’s similar to the color of hardwood flooring in a lot of old homes, and I love old homes. It also looks great with pretty much any wood furniture like dressers, chests, beds, etc…

New Hardwood Flooring for Bedroom

 

Here’s an overall view of the room. Again, the flooring looks darker since my camera was compensating for the light coming in through the windows. (see photo above for actual color of flooring/stain)

Hardwood Flooring for the Guest Room

 

I almost never show the other side of this room, just never think to do that, but here’s how it looks with the new flooring. See what I mean about how pretty the color works with other case pieces. I love how it looks with the antique dresser and the old trunk.

Guest Room with Dollhouse

 

The bonus room is the only room left in my home with carpeting (other than bathrooms) and it will probably stay this way for a while. (See more of this room here: Upstairs Family Room) I have three bathroom renovations that really need to get done next. I do think this room would be great with hardwood flooring one day, though. One day.

Upstairs Family, Bonus Room

 

If you are in need of hardwood flooring and live in the Atlanta area, I highly recommend the company I always use, A. L. Thomas. I’ve been using them for many years and they are excellent.

Have a wonderful weekend, dear Friends!

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Comments

  1. Susan, congratulations on your precious new grandson! I can’t wait to see pictures of him! Your flooring looks fantastic, and it will be so much easier with little sticky hands and feet running over it. =) I, too, want to put hardwood in our 4 bedrooms one of these days soon. It’s so much easier to keep clean than carpet. I hope you have sweet dreams of that little baby boy tonight!

  2. The floors look beautiful! I like this color better because the darker floors show every speck of dust and lint!

    • Thanks, Toni! I’ve heard that about dark floors. I know my dark mahogany furniture shows everything so I can see how floors would do that, too.

  3. Congratulations on a new grandson Susan! What joy!

  4. Oh, Susan, congratulations on your new grandson!! I bet you are “bustin’ your buttons!” Tomorrow will be my baby’s 39th birthday and I can still remember the thrill of it all! I absolutely LOVE your guest room flooring. Don’t you think the room seems bigger? Your home is such a showplace, yet reflects warmth. You should be so proud of all your efforts. Try to rest tonight, Grandma, although I know there will be a giant smile on your face all night!

    • Thanks, Rosie…you are so nice to say that! I didn’t get a lot of sleep night before last, was waiting for news. Just so grateful all went so well and everyone is happy and healthy.

  5. Susan, the hardwood floor adds a beautiful dimension to your guest room. I know you are going to enjoy this change. We have always had hardwood floors in our homes, and we also have more of a warm honey color. So easy to care for and doesn’t easily show tracks.
    Congratulations on the new grandson. How exciting! I know you are eager to get there to hold this new one and play with his older brother. ‘-)

    • Thanks, Sarah! I am! Looking forward to that trip!
      You are so right about the color. Sometimes I don’t even realize I need to vacuum until I take off my shoes and go barefoot. This color hides everything.

  6. Cyndi Raines says

    How Wonderful!! Yes, I agree, babies are a precious gift sent right from heaven above! True Miracles! So very happy for you Susan. I’m sure a trip up north will soon happen! lol Congratulations to all of you!

  7. Patricia says

    New baby joy! Congratulations to all. Love the new hardwood. Dark stained floors come and go, but I think your honey color is warm and classic. Must feel great to check another project off your daunting list.

    • Thanks, Patricia! It will be interesting to see if the dark stain for hardwood flooring is still around 5-10 years from now. A lot of the decorators are still using it in makeover on HGTV and I think that has a big influence, so it may be around a while.

  8. Congratulations on the new addition to the family.
    I love the upstairs family room. It looks so comfortable. I know what you mean about ordering custom furniture. Everything has such deep seats for tall people today.

  9. Congrats on new grandbaby! That floor (and the room) are beautiful!

  10. First things first! A big congratulations to you on the arrival of a new Grandson and so happy to hear that Mommy and baby are doing well. Secondly, your floor looks amazing and personally I feel that you made the right choice in colour as dark flooring can be a nightmare to maintain since it does have the tendency to show every little blemish. All said; wishing you a beautiful weekend. Warm hugs -Brenda-

    • Thanks, Brenda! Appreciate that so much! I do love the color, feels like it grounds the room. Hope you have a wonderful weekend. I’m giving myself the day off to play, need to rest my planting muscles. lol

  11. Gail Bell says

    Congratulations on your new grandson!!

    Guest room looks awesome,but can’t wait to see the finished landscaping.

    Have a great weekend!

    • Thanks! I can’t wait to share it, Gail…it’s been a long time coming. I wish that last bush would plant itself. It’s a big one and I’m tired! lol

  12. Congratulations, Grandma – aren’t grandchildren wonderful!! Your guest room looks beautiful…so warm and inviting 🙂

    • Thanks, Susan! They are, they are indeed! My son and dil are over the moon and in love with this new little one.
      Thanks, so glad to finally have that room done! Now I need to make the guest bath presentable. That’s next on the agenda, as soon as the decorating budget allows.

  13. Congratulations! New babies are amazing, are they not?! And I agree with your choice of flooring. The dark hardwoods show every speck of dirt and every dog toenail scratch. Sign me up for honey!

  14. Congratulations on your new grandson! What joy. The guest room looks lovely…love the color of the floor.

  15. First of all, congratulations to you and your son’s family on the newest grandbaby!
    Your flooring looks great, Susan. We desperately need to replace our bedroom carpets, and I’ll keep your comment on Karastan in mind. I did the same thing (photographing interior cabinets) when we had to move to have our floors refinished. It helped tremendously!
    You are really knocking off the projects swiftly!

    • Thanks so much, Rita! Karastan is good stuff, at least it used to be. Hopefully it still is. I don’t know where this energy burst came from. lol I’m going to ride it as long as I can though!

  16. The guest room floor turned out beautiful. I live in an old ( 1853 ) schoolhouse – and it came fully equipped with hardwood floors, it is the first home that I have lived in that was entirely hardwood, and now that I have experienced this — it is the only way to go….. love – love – love….

    • Oh, Maggie…you’re so blessed! I love the older homes with their beautiful hardwood flooring. I agree! When I used to have carpet in so much of the house and was always having to have it cleaned, it dawned on me one day how impractical it was. It’s basically fabric on the floor. It’s a synthetic type of fabric but it’s like having fabric on your floor. How could you ever expect to keep it clean. I love hardwood flooring and I love that it even looks beautiful when it has some age on it.

  17. Maggie Amis says

    AND ( Sorry – got distracted here by my own grand babies) Congratulations on your new family addition….

  18. Congratulations on your new grandson! How exciting 🙂
    The guest room flooring is beautiful. The small patch of wood flooring I have is the same kind of coloring and I like it too. I put in Karastan carpet last fall in our hallway and bedrooms and I love it. It’s going to last a long time!

    • Oh, so glad to hear Karastan is still awesome! They were really great back when I had it installed in this house. They also make great rugs, or so I hear.

  19. bobbi duncan says

    Susan, big congrats to everyone on the birth of your latest little sweetheart! There is nothing better than getting to spoil the grandbabies. Just hearing them say ” love you, Grandma” makes me melt. Flooring looks great and will be so much easier to clean around and under the furniture. I, too, take pictures of interior cabinetry…it’s amazing how quickly you can forget how things were arranged, especially since you see the set-up every day. Yes, I will tell you all about our time in Williamsburg…we always love our trips here as this is where we have always felt most at home. Hugs!

    • Thanks, Bobbi! Oh, that is so sweet! My older granson who is 2 years, 3 months old just started saying that back to his parents a few months ago. I don’t get to visit often enough for him to know me that well. Maybe one day that will change. Can’t wait to hear about your trip!

  20. Congratulations on that new grandson!! Your wood floor turned out beautifully. Your right, the warm tones go so well with your furniture.

  21. Renee Cook says

    Congratulations on the birth of your new grandson!! I hope you get to see him in person soon.

    The new floors look good!

  22. How wonderful that you have another grandson. Grandchildren are so precious. Your new floor in the guest room looks beautiful. I know you are glad to only have one room left to do. Vikki in VA

  23. Congrats on that new baby boy Susan. What a wonderful way to start the summer with a new little tyke to spoil. Enjoy!
    Love the hardwoods!

  24. Love the new flooring. You are right about the color. My folks had it in their homes and I always loved the floors.

  25. Susan, having joined the Grandmother club a little over a year ago, I can attest that being a Grandmother is even better than I ever imagined. And, I was certainly more than ready! You have been given such a precious gift and I know you will treasure both boys with all your heart.

    The new floors look lovely. Your ambitious projects are inspirations to all of us who “intend” to do things but fall short in the execution. Thank you for the incentive.

    And, randomly, have you seen the “Porch Rules” sign that JoAnn Fabrics is currently selling in their summer section? I stood in front of that sign and immediately thought of your wonderful porch. I forgot to look at old posts to see if you have a similar sign, but if not, it certainly looks perfect for your space. Happy Saturday. MM

  26. Congratulations. A new baby is the best. Love the new flooring. I am going to be having hardwood installed one room at a time also. Are there any issues with doing this? How is it connected or tied in room to room. Love all your updates. I am thinking maybe I should get the cottage I envision. Ha

    • Thanks, Ruth! It’s hard to explain without a photo. I’ll try to do write a post about that, showing how it has worked out. There’s usually a transition board used in the doorway and the transition can look different from room to room, depending on how the floor joists are run in that room. In the case of my office and guest bedroom, the flooring had to be turned in a different direction than it was in the hallway because of the direction of the floor joists in those room. But it worked out (luckily) where each time the hardwood has been laid exactly the direction I would have wanted it to run anyway. I’ll have to create a post and share that and how the rooms transition into each other.

  27. Congratulations on becoming a grandmother again! What an exciting time for your family! The floors look beautiful and go perfectly with the room. Enjoy your weekend!
    Shelley

  28. Congratulations on your new family addition. We are anxiously awaiting our first and probably our only one. I too, prefer the white oak over the red. I have white oak every where in my home except the bathrooms. The upstairs was left unstained and looks very similar to yours with a little darkening due to age. Both staircases are the same with white risers. Downstairs we went with a stain, but not dark. It was half American walnut and half American cherry. In 25 years I have never regretted our decision. Before we leave this home for a smaller nest, we will have the kitchen and lounge area (adjacent to kitchen) redone. We will stain them the same for the continuity. As you say, the dark floors are popular now, but will they be 25 years from now? I am not so sure.

  29. Congratulations on your new grandson! I know your family is thrilled.
    The hardwood floor in your guest bedroom looks wonderful. They did a beautiful job. Looking forward to seeing your landscape reveal. You are an inspiration to all of us!
    Have a wonderful weekend.

  30. Susan I am so excited to hear about your new grandson! Congratulations!
    I too like the lighter floor color and that is what I have here. The guest room looks so pretty with the new flooring. Can’t believe you have all but one of those boxwoods planted. What a week you have had.

  31. What a happenin’ week! Congratulations on the family addition, and bet you’ve already started packing. I don’t know quite how to describe it, but the wood flooring adds depth to the room. (color? texture?). So genius about taking a photo of the secretary. (I do that with some seasonal decor; I won’t remember what I did a year later.) Anxious to see the lawn reveal and hear about any adventures 😉 Take a moment to enjoy all your accomplishments before you start on your next project.

  32. Your guest room is beautiful with the new floors but was also nice before. I too have carpet in bedrooms that I would love to replace with hardwoods – and will do so one of these days. I follow your blog always and love your big house. I have a small (1200 sq ft) single story house and am amazed at the amount of furniture and items a house the size of yours requires as compared to mine. We all live our lives in different ways but making the best of our homes is something we all have in common, regardless of the size. Enjoy that new grandson. They grow up so quickly.

  33. Susan,
    Love all that you have done! Keep going, I’m getting inspired.
    I have that exact same trunk, I think. I bought mine for $10 eons ago; it was covered in canvas, very untidy, which I removed–and just left the trunk like yours.
    Mine has a label that reads:
    H. W. Rountree Trunk & Baggage Co
    Patented March 12th, 1889 – and March 29th, 1892
    Richmond, Virginia

    • This one was too, but it was all ripped and torn so I finished removing it. I like the look of the wood underneath so that worked out well. I think we paid around $35 for this one at an auction…back around 1982.
      I should check and see if there’s a label in this one. I remember we found an old check inside. lol

  34. The flooring is gorgeous!!!

  35. Congratulations on the new grandson! I just kept my first grandbaby this past week and a half, and although somewhat challenging, it was enjoyable! We got so much pleasure from all her cute antics!

    Love your new hardwood! Could you please share the brand/color? I’ve been looking for something to put in our bonus room, and what I’ve chosen is a medium dark brown, but I’m wondering if it is too dark. I can’t seem to find something in the middle, and yours seems to be. Thank you!

    • Thanks, Rhonda! This flooring was installed unfinished, so it’s not a prefinished floor. I prefer the unfinished flooring (like they put into homes when they are first being built) because you don’t get the beveling on the edges of each board that you can see and also feel underfoot when barefoot. It’s more inconvenient and time consuming to do it this way, but really worth it in the end, at least it is to me. May not be to everyone, though.

  36. Congratulations on your new grandbaby. I love the color of your hardwood and also the yellow shade on your walls. Can you tell me what shade and brand the paint is?

  37. I love your new floors! I have had my downstairs completely replaced with engineered hardwoods & I love them! It’s a breeze to clean behind 3 pets now. Enjoy!

  38. HAPPY BOY DAY!!! And, boy, does your wood flooring look fantastic!! LUV the color!! franki

  39. Congratulations on that new grandbaby! We have 5 and I didn’t know it was possible to love little beings so much. Hope you get some cuddle time soon.

    Love, love, love your new floors! It makes your guest room “sing”! We added hardwoods to the dining room, den and hallway a few years ago and I wish we’d done it years ago. We are planning on re-carpeting 3 bedrooms soon and while I’d like too do hardwoods there too, my husband prefers carpet in bedrooms….pick your battles, right? (LOL)

    Have a great weekend Susan!

    • Thanks, Judy! It will be July before I get to see him unfortunately. Congrats on your 5!
      Well, I would love carpeting if it would stay clean. It feels nice underfoot but I you can always add a rug to hardwood. 🙂

  40. ~Susan~
    A bundle of baby boy joy ! many blessings! what is his name??
    Your new floor looks great !!

    Paula
    IN
    p.s. we had a wonderful week in your state while staying in Savannah and the weather was perfect:)

  41. I prefer lighter colored flooring as well. Unfortunately the manufactured home I bought had dark wood flooring and carpet in bedrooms. I like Daltile winter spruce and zen garden.

  42. Elizabeth Roderick says

    OH BOY OH BOY a BOY…congratulations Gma! That’s the best news ever. The floors are one of my favorite colors…not overly fond of the super dark one, where I live is very dusty..again, congratulations…
    Sincerely, Ema

  43. Congrats on that precious, new grandbaby and your floors look fantastic!

  44. Linda Page says

    A new baby to love. How wonderful! There is nothing like the feel and smell of a baby. Hope you get to visit soon. Your floor looks fantastic! I love the lighter color, too. Good job! Want to come do mine????? I think I have decided to throw out all the carpet and get my wood floors refinished. I dread it but know I will love it once it is done.

  45. Kathie M. says

    Susan, your floors are beautiful! And so happy to hear of your new grandson! I’m curious could you give me the measurements of that room? It looks close to mine, but bigger in a way….my smallest room is only 9×9 or so….Thanks Kathie

  46. Congrats on your precious new grandson.

    I do love the light colors of the hardwood. What made you decided to change to hardwood over carpet? I want hardwood but feel like I need area rugs because of the whole being on a ship and walking on the berthing decks. I know I’m out now. It’s a psychological thing.
    I really want hardwood because of the dog. I don’t want him to track up light colored carpet with muddy paws.

    • Well, there are so many reasons. I love how it looks contrasting against the wood pieces and fabrics in the room. But probably my favorite thing about hardwoods is the low maintenance. I absolutely hate spending money to have carpet cleaned…not to mention the inconvenience of having that done. If hardwoods seem to hard underfoot in a bedroom, one can always add a rug, and the good thing about a rug is if it gets stained or damaged, you can donate it and buy another one. It’s expensive to recarpet when the carpet wears out. When you first have carpet installed, it looks good for a while, but after that first cleaning, it’s never the same again, even if you pay to have it scotchgarded/protected. It seems after that first cleaning, it gets dirty even faster and more often. I’m just not a carpet person. I do LOVE wool rugs though because they absorb virtually nothing so stains just kinda sit on the surface and can be vacuumed off. Wool rugs are a great choice for a bedroom for added warmth and softness underfoot.

  47. I love the color of the wood and grand babies! First two graduated from high school this week…tears and joy! Three to go. Dark stain is so hard to keep clean, every piece of lint, every blonde Lab’s hair, every dust ball all show up. We have this same color in our Va. lake house and it barely shows anything.

    • Awww, so sweet! Congrats, Gayle! Yeah, I’ve heard that about dark wood flooring. Wonder why so many folks get it when it’s so hard to maintain.

  48. Charlotte Bordelon says

    Congratulations on your new Grandson! So happy for your family! I like the lighter color of wood floors too, it is classic and will not go out of style.

  49. Darlene Gardner says

    Congratulations on your new baby! One question about your flooring – was the oak flooring finished or unfinished? It looks lovely and the speed at which everything seemed to go back in your room makes me think it was prefinished.

    • Thanks, Darlene! It was unfinished. They lay it, then sand it and apply a coat of poly. Then they come back each day to apply another until they have three coats of poly on the floor. Once that was done, they came back and moved the furniture back into the room.
      I’ve been using the same company each time so they have the “recipe” written down regarding how to mix the color correctly. They tweak it as necessary but have done a great job matching up the color each time.
      I prefer unfinished flooring because you can get the exact color you want and you don’t get the look of the beveled boards that you get with prefinished flooring. Also, I don’t like to feel the beveled boards under foot when I’m barefoot. It takes a few more steps to add unfinished hardwood flooring, but it’s worth it to me for the end result.

  50. I so love the new flooring in the guest room and the color too!…I had dark stained wood floors in a former home and it showed every spec of dust…I wore out many a broom vac!

    • Thanks, Shirley! What color are the floors in your current home, are they lighter? I’m glad I started out with the color I did after hearing so much about the worries folks have with the darker floors.

  51. Congratulations! How exciting to have a second Grandchild! I have two boys myself and there is a special bond between brothers!
    The wood flooring is amazing! I absolutely love your guest bedroom! 😉

    • Thanks, Rebeca! It will be fun seeing them grow up. The pictures of my older grandson who is 2 now, kissing his baby brother just melt my heart! 🙂

  52. We are in the process of remodeling the master suite (bedroom, bathroom and walk-in closet). We’ve lived here almost 15 years and always thought it was built on a concrete slab because the previous homeowner converted a garage into a master suite. The remodel was forced because the plumbing was shoddy from the previous homeowner and we found out water was leaking into the walls and subflooring, rotting much of the lower half of the wall studs, and several below the subflooring. I wanted to take out the carpeting in the bedroom and install wood floors, but thought it was too expensive, so I was prepared to just replace the carpeting. However, when the contractor took out the subflooring in the bathroom, he saw wood in the bedroom and started pulling up carpet. Guess what? Virgin hardwood floors were there the whole time! What a gift! I was SO EXCITED!! We just had the closet and bedroom refinished (some repairs had to be made from the water damage), and did it in the same honey color you used. It’s just a clear finish that brings out the wood’s color. I love it! The remodel is almost done and all 3 areas (closet, bath, bedroom) look like completely different rooms. Unbelievable! I created a photo album and the transformation is amazing. It’s the prettiest room in the house.

    • What a wonderful discovery! So glad those original floors were still there, Kelly! Nice when you find a surprise like that during a renovation. 🙂

      • If you’re interested, I can privately send you a link to the photo album. We are so close to being done, but probably still 2 weeks to go before the furniture is back in. Our contractor had to have an urgent knee surgery in the middle of it, so everything was on hold for about 5 weeks. He’s doing great – I’m so glad for him! And back to work – I’m so glad for ME!! lol!! But what was supposed to be a 3 or 4 week deal has morphed into a 3 or 4 month ordeal. While he was out recovering, the sewer pipe from the house to the street blocked and back-flowed into our basement. $10,000 later….basement is completely empty and sterilized again, but smells like a chemical dump! We did have some bad surprises (termite damage – but no new activity – we do live in the south!), the hardwood floors were the light at the end of a long tunnel!

  53. Bonnie Mann says

    I visit your site often and love it. Did you have prefinished hardwood in your guest room or site finished? D

    • Thanks, Bonnie! They are true oak hardwood, installed unfinished and finished on site. I really prefer those because you don’t feel the individual boards underfoot when walking on them barefoot, I don’t like feeling the spaces between boards that you get with prefinished wood flooring. Also, these can be refinished 7-8 times over the lifespan of the home, not that they would ever need that but I do like knowing that they can be refinished many times if ever needed.

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