Finishing the bedroom floor...

Hello stranger. I've been up to my neck in floor prettifying whilst juggling single motherhood as my husband was away. The floor is done, just need the skirting boards and I need to repaint the whole room which I'm halfway through. I only had one slight emotional breakdown over the weekend so I call that a success.

Sander number 5 finished the job beautifully.

The whole idea I had of washing the floor with watered down paint didn't work out at all. Fortunately I did some tests on a piece of wood so I didn't ruin the freshly sanded floor!

 The other thing that concerned me was that we have this black iron bed. It's an M&S bed that I bought for about £60 on ebay years ago. I know! A total bargain. (We got a new mattress for it.) The rug is also darkish as it's navy blue.

 So I thought that a black bed and a dark rug in an all white room might be too much of a contrast. I don't want to paint the bed.

I decided to stain the floor instead. I hoped this would just tie in the dark bed, the pale cupboard doors and whatever else will go into the room.

I had one stain already and I bought a few more. Yes some of them are expensive but if you're going to do this job ONCE and get it right, I think it's worth the money. Most of them I can use on other projects.

I wanted a rich brown. Not too dark. No red tones and certainly no orange. Again, I tested on a plank and took it up to the room to decide.

Rustins Walnut? Too purple

Rustins Medium Oak? Too orange. (Incidentally this was EXACTLY the same colour as Wilkos Georgian Medium Oak. Which is cheaper.)

Wilkos Jacobean Dark Oak? Too black. No warmth.

Colron American Walnut? Nice. A brown brown with warmth. Not too dark.

Colron Indian Rosewood? Also lovely but a little darker than the walnut. Rich and warm.

I went with Colron American Walnut. Warning: These things STINK.

It says on the can to apply with a rag. I applied it with a brush. There are gaps between my boards and a rag wasn't going to reach in there. I wiped it off with a rag.

It says on the can to do one coat. I did two, finding the colour far more rich and intense. Such a rebel aren't I?

Then I did 4 coats of Roneal Diamond Hard Floor varnish in gloss. It's not a really 'glossy' gloss. Hence 4 coats. But it's tough. It's also quick drying and won't yellow as it's not oil based.

And close up?

Aah, that's better.

Top tips...

We all know about not painting yourself into a corner don't we? Well, don't paint yourself out of a corner and towards the door leaving the stain lid on the windowsill in the corner!

Don't think you can be clever doing two jobs in one with a coloured varnish. When it scratches the pine will show through. A stain actually penetrates the wood so that scratches to the surface won't show.

Open a window so you don't get high/sick/dizzy.

And there we have it. My knees have just about recovered. It's a big big job. Unfortunately we have another two bedrooms and a hallway to tackle.

Something nice to sign off with: We've three ducks in the garden today.

 They're very hungry and very thirsty. Two boys and a girl.

Bad Bobby and Fat Freddy are fast asleep upstairs thank goodness. I hope they don't nest here as I couldn't bear it if the boys brought me little dead ducklings. I think I'd have to put them under house arrest until the ducklings left.

Right, better crack on with that painting...

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