A plethora of Oak
Arriving at the Cross House today, I was startled to find a pile of oak flooring on the Carriage House porch. Does this mean that my long yearning for finished flooring in the house is at last, at last, on hand?
At some point the flooring in the living a dining rooms was torn up and replaced with two layers of plywood. I have no idea why. With the price of flooring still being scary high (fuck corporate price gouging!) I had…I hope…the brilliant idea of only replacing the plywood not covered by area rugs. Both rooms will have rugs. The dining room rug is in place and is 9×12. It covers most of the floor.
As you can see. So, only the outer edge of visible plywood will become new oak. This will save me a ton of money. And at some point down the road, the remaining top layer of plywood can be removed and infilled with oak.
Between the two door frames with transom windows is the newly created Master Suite Foyer. I want the foyer to be a special place so it will have a glamorous crystal chandelier (but, of course, dahlink!).
And I asked Handsome Justin if he could do something fabulous regarding the floor. Which is now plywood. He showed me this. I said YES!
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Swoon! That floor is beyond fabulous!
Golly, I’m being annoying tonight. But here’s one more: Replace “replace” with “replaced” in this area: “At some point the flooring in the living a dining rooms was torn up and replace with two layers of plywood. . . .”
Not annoying. I love it! Thank you!
It will be nice to have proper flooring. The floor Justin showed you is so unique and gorgeous.
I think the cost cutting re: central rugs, is perfectly fine and when or if you decide to finish them they can get a central medallion treatment just like Justin’s photo. Doing it kinda backwards from edges in instead of center out but I’m sure it can be made to work.
Do you know who gifted you with the oak?
I hear you about the price of wood. I just need 2x6s to finish my front garden raised beds but I have had to do it a bit at a time because of the cost. I’ve got two beds done with some boards for the ends but have to wait for the sides. Meanwhile I did manage to get a butcher block countertop on clearance for 28% off. Not exactly what I would have chosen and I wasn’t really ready to work on converting the sideboard into an island but couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I got the last one. So at some point I’ll be attaching the wheels I already have and the handles I already have and then cutting the top and sanding it, attaching it and then finishing it. I only need about 40 inches and this is 6 feet so I’ll be making a cutting board as well.
Sometimes you just have to seize the opportunities as they come and be open to a change of plans.
I’ve always loved the faux rug floor designs, be they in wood or tile. Sadly, there is no place in my house for one unless I remove or cover the existing wood floors and they are in far too good shape to do that. Plus they are of a quality of wood you cannot get any more so they are staying.
Mary, the oak wasn’t a gift. Justin purchased it, dropped it off, and then got a check from me.
Wheeee nice, Ross! Here’s to the future dining floor!
Appears to be a lot of flooring but maybe not since they are not wide. Either way, that’s really awesome! I’d be doing a happy dance!
Ooh, Justin’s floor 🤎 Yes, Please! 🤗
It’s actually funny to me how closely this mirrors historical precedent, of houses having more expensive woods, like Oak, put in as borders around a middle area which would be covered by a rug. Under the rug would traditionally be pine or such. This is, I guess, the 2024 equivalent (for now?)
So true! Some rooms in our house have entirely wood floors, but the middle of all the rooms are still raw wood. Apparently it was very expensive to shellac/finish them, so only the edges were shellacked and a rug used in the middle.
Floors in the 1880s and 90s were often NOT what most people today would expect. We see the “mansion grade” homes with beautiful inlaid floors, but most ordinary homes didn’t have those. Our “public” rooms on the first floor initially baffled me; they were cheap 1×3 pine, and obviously had never been finished. The bedrooms upstairs were finished about 18″ in from the baseboard, but the middle of the rooms wasn’t. Obviously, area rugs were used there, but it wasn’t until a few years later that I understood the reason for the cheap floors in the fanciest rooms. Wall-to-wall carpet was very expensive, and a sign to visitors that the homeowner was prosperous; since the wood floor wouldn’t be seen, they went cheap and spent the money on carpet.