I have to say in regards to Waterlox: it is a wonderful finish when first applied. For the record I have laid yellow/heart pine and used poly to finish, I laid 900sq' of eastern white pine and covered with Waterlox. We built our own home 4 years ago and used waterlox original on the entire 900sq' of the downstairs. It gave is a yellow orange tint which is eactly what we wanted. It did darken over the 3 years we lived there as when we moved last week and lifted the rugs there was a very noticable difference in coloration. Application was horrible. I used a quality paint respirator in january. Since it was cold I had the windows closed. Eyes burned so I used goggles. When I would take the respirator off to readjust etc the fumes almost knocked me out. After the 4 coats over 2 days I shut up the house (opened windows at timed intervals to allow new air in). About 3 weeks later we moved in and could still smell the waterlox. A few days before we sold our house I did some touchup work since our yellow lab left several claw marks down below the finish. I simply put a little waterlox on a rag and applied by hand the 1'x1' area. You could smell it upstairs with the door closed. We had to open windows in january. Waterlox finish very much resembles poly. It never chipped on us but had the same type of appearance with the scratches. Repairs. Don't let anyone fool you. If you have a dog scratch your floor and it is deep you now have fresh unstained, unweathered wood showing. It will look very white next to the tinted weathered finish. You can apply new waterlox but it will not tint the scratches to match the finished side adjacent to it. It will reseal it and tint it a bit but you are going to see the scratches. Not as bad a poly, but you will see them clearly. Fast forward. Economy goes bad, decide to sell our home and purchase a cheaper fixer upper and try to pocket a little cash in case of job loss. The new home has pergo, yuck. I have already found a dealer for red pine this time. (should be a bit harder than the eastern white pine we had in the last home.) Plan on installing red pine in the entire house less the 2 bathrooms. Equates to about 2000sq'. The big debate. Tongue oil or more waterlox. We did lover the finish of the Waterlox and always got great compliments on the floor from guests. I don't really want to evict my family(young child) from the home for 7-10 days while the new finish gases off while drying. I have heard mixed reviews on the citrus solvent as being almost as bad for you as mineral spirits. I loved the finish of the waterlox and it did bead up nicely and cleaned well. I have never used the tongue oil and hope I am not making a mistake by taking that route. We love the matte finish of the waterlox along with the slippery feel to it. Does the tongue oil leave a smooth slippery texture also or do you feel the wood grain more? I have used a marine based tongue oil on a boat I built and that was not something I would want to walk on every day.

Ok - I've been outed (hanging my head in shame as I try and sneak outa here!) ummmm ...... the chairs are already done and I haven't posted an update - but what else is new??!! I'm the queen of not following up with the end of the story :-/ That Cottage Vine fabric is very cute! Are you going to use it or something like it in your MBR? I ended up with something more colorful and a bit funkier than my initial plan but when I saw it I knew it was the one! I promise - cross my heart - I will post pics tomorrow. The room is no where near done, nothing on the walls, no rug..... but the chairs are done and I'll show you how they look.

Mtnrdredux, I've got many of them, purchased over a year and a half or two. I know you really liked the one in the bathroom, and so did I, but I didn't really like the gold part of the inner frame. So I finally found a silver toned one and swapped it out last week. I also ditched the antler collage and put in an oil horse painting, moved a small antler over to the small wall by the fireplace, moved the new one (well, new at the time) down to the dining room above the secretary desk, moved the one that had been in the bathroom up to the master bedroom, and moved the one where that one now is to over by the tartan chair and curtains. And then there's the two I've had: one in the canopy room and the ship one between the windows in the living room. You really cannot beat them for $50 - $80 a piece (assuming they're right for the space). New bathroom one: New living room horse one: Above the desk one: Relocated antler where that painting used to be: Canopy room one: Two in master (one old, one moved from bathroom): Old one in living room between windows: And here's the damn door I've spent a month stripping and repainting and finding matching door hardware and polishing the brass mortise, and getting a matching skeleton key and tassel for the bathroom. So, it's done; it just needs to be hung, and I need to get some nice cast iron or black hinges. And the new antique (made in England) brass spittoon I bought for the orchid on the dining room mantel and the antique brass and cast iron andirons in the fireplace below: This post was edited by KevinMP on Wed, Apr 24, 13 at 23:13

Thanks yall. KM - I love the frame too. I purchased for only $23 from a little convenience store where the owner went to Mexico to pick up his frames. Unfortunately, he died so I can't get anymore. I also tried the HD paints and the tube acrylic and they do take a little longer to dry but I haven't painted with them enough to really know what I am doing. Luvs, I know you will be painting a lot this year - can't wait to see what you will be doing. MaryLee, I posted on your Yarnell post. Punk, it is really hard to say no but I am learning. Joan, I admire you wanting to take lessons again. But it is a good idea to probably buy a palette from the teacher before you invest in the oils. I still have tubes that are 30 years old and they still work. Belle, I didn't like the drying time because I would keep going back in to tweek the painting. And I made a lot of mud but I have since learned to lay my colors next to each other and then blend. Sherry Nelson who paints flowers and birds a lot does this and it keeps you from getting so muddy. Ladies, this is the year to try new things and to try the things we loved but got away from. I think it is going to be very interesting year. I never make resolutions because I don't usually follow through but I want this year to be different. I am retired and I want to do things I love without feeling guilty - so don't come to my house without calling first or you would be surprised how badly it needs a cleaning - I will be painting in my studio and loving it - housework will have to wait. That reminds me of a little painting I did back in the 80's. it still hangs in my little studio. Thought you would like to see it (the pic is not very good, took it under regular lighting).