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Updating Floors. Ugh.

Bestyears
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago

Fifteen years ago, we installed Brazillian Cherry, (solid wood) in our DR, family room, stairway, and hallways. A few years after that, I redid the kitchen and wanted a wood-look floor in there, but didn't dare go for the BC in there, so instead chose a laminate. Despite lots of scratch testing of the laminate, it hasn't held up well, so we want to replace it. So now we have laminate in the kitchen and half-bath, sheet vinyl in the laundry room, and BC in the family room, DR, halls, and stairway. We also have carpet in our upstairs which we want to replace. I'm thinking laminate.


I'm considering trying to address the entire hodgepodge of flooring right now, not just the kitchen. One of the things I dislike intensely are the transitions that sit at the two kitchen doorways, and around the marble foyer where it joins the Brazilian Cherry, so we could fix that perhaps. I also don't actually love the BC anymore. It's dated and too shiny, and too orangy-red for my taste, so perhaps that could be addressed. Not to mention an overall cohesive look. So goals= eliminate transition, achieve a cohesive look, tone down the BC. We may be in this house a good while longer, or we could downsize within five years, so there is resale to consider.


This is what I see for options (open to other ideas):

Scenario I

  • Refinish and restain the BC -probably something midtone, not dark
  • Match flooring upstairs, and in foyer, kitchen, half-bath, and laundry to the refinished BC

Concerns:

  • it's expensive to refinish and restain, and who knows if I'll like the look?
  • Can I truly match it to the rest and eliminate the transitions?

Scenario II

  • Tile the kitchen, half-bath and laundry room in matching tile (they are all next to each other).
  • Tile the foyer in something that blends but is more entry-like.
  • Update the old marble fireplace to blend with the new foyer tile.
  • Replace upstairs flooring with laminate (or vinyl?) that will blend with the BC
  • Leave the BC and just live with it

Concerns:

  • Although I hate the wear and tear of the laminate we picked, I do love the look of it in my kitchen and am unsure about the look of tile in its place. No specific ideas for tile either.
  • I still end up with the BC, which I'm tired of

So instead of continuing to burst my few remaining brain cells with all of this, I thought I might once again tap into the GardenWeb brilliance (yes, I know it's officially Houzz).....

I've attached photos, which I took in the midst of deep cleaning (or what passes for that these days), so please ignore the wretched state of the rooms.

Thoughts?

Thank you, thank you, thank you!















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