I often sing the praises of hardwood floors. I love them. They exude warmth, beauty and unlike carpet they don't hide all sorts creatures. However, hardwood floors do present some challenges of their own. The primary issue is trying to prevent them from being scratched or marred.
If you have young children you can appreciate just how challenging this is. They throw, drop and bang toys on the floors. They drag chairs and other items through the house and inevitably the floors begin to show signs of the presence of said children.
In my own home there are some spots that are downright embarrassing. I very much want to have my floors refinished but I am hesitant to do so because I am concerned that the kids are going to scratch them up again.
Here is the thing, I don't want my house to be treated like a museum. I want the kids to play. I want them feel comfortable here. It is their home too. So the trick is trying to find a balance so that this is not used as a playground but not treated as a hospital ward either.
And there you have my dilemma. I am beginning to hate the way that the floors look but I don't want to throw away money either. What to do, what to do.
8 comments:
Have you tried gymnasium finish?
throw rugs and runners. Then when your kids are a little older, you can refinish them without wasting money.
Bamboo seems to be the latest thing. Maybe look into that? It's very pretty.
When you do get them redone, ask for (at least) three coats of polyurethane.
Also make sure when they do polyurethane it the guy is not smoking. My friend had a guy do his apt and it blew a hole in the floor.
My daughter and her little friend were, oh, 2 or 3 when I learned from the friend's mother that the best way to get Desitin out of the cracks between (MY) hardwood floor planks is with a toothbrush.
Ellie,
That is a good idea.
Babka,
You should see the throw rugs get thrown around. ;)
KRG,
I'll ask around.
JF,
At a minimum.
JB,
That is what we call a party foul.
Chana,
Kids are great.
"What to do, what to do."
Use "Mark's Handy Household Tip #436":
Nail their feet to the floor until they are old enough not to tear the finish up. That way, you'll only have four small areas to refinish...
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