I might be a paint-aholic... as more hardwoods fall victim.

Unlike some other areas of the house, pulling up the carpet in the guest hallway did not reveal golden-brown heavenly hardwoods that had some ounce of potential.  This floor was bad.  No amount of TLC was going to bring this bad boy back to life.

As bad as this little bit of flooring was, I had lost all desire to mess with it.  So there it stayed, for more than two years, this filthy, uneven, mismatched, bowing, splinter-giving, collection of boards, formerly known as a floor.  It was like a wart on a nose, removing any chance for beauty from everything around it. 

I suppose that sometimes it just takes time, or in this case enough splinters.  I finally met my limit and decided I had to do something with it.  This was, by no means, a final solution, but it did cover the problem for the time being.

Paint is always a good idea, right?

I cleaned and sanded the boards (we're talking about a very light sanding here, I wasn't trying to find a reason to dust my entire house).  Then I filled in the large gaps with paint-able caulk and gave them several thick coats of plain white paint (the cheap stuff from the hardware store). 

As you can see, the white was a tiny bit on the bright side. I knew they could not stay this way.  Even if I wanted them to stay this way, the eight paws of our two butt-shaking behemoths wouldn't have allowed it.  I mean, really, it's almost as if they don't like clean floors.

So what's a better fix than a light brown wash to give a aged-wood look?  

 

For a quick fix, they turned out pretty decent.  I'm pleased with them for now.  I did go back a few days later and applied a light Minwax Polycrylic coat as a seal.  I was really happy with the final look that this gave the floor.

If I had the energy (and room to move out furniture) I would consider doing the entire guest bedroom floor this way.  But for now, shutting the door to that room works for me.