Back to the blog! And an update...
Hi there! It’s been a while… but I’m back to blogging and wrapping up project Cliffwood. In January we welcomed our son and I have been soaking up my days with him while juggling a few interior projects. MBI has been enjoying some quiet time as I focus on finishing our family home while continuing with some client projects already in the works. I’ll be back in May ready to take on new clients and projects.
Our moving date is set (end of April!) and to say we are excited is an understatement. There has been a lot of action and we are seeing our vision come to life. Once the trim and flooring were installed it really started taking shape and looking like a home.
And when I asked what topics you all wanted to hear about flooring was a big one… so here we go! When it came to the floors, we kept it simple with natural hardwoods throughout, except for the bathrooms.
I had my heart set on slate for our mudroom but at the last minute scrapped the plans. The mudroom is very small and I didn’t want to make it feel even smaller by adding another threshold in the hall.
TIP: to trick the eye and make spaces feel larger, carry paint colors and flooring throughout!
In our master bathroom we decided to carry the hardwoods everywhere except for the shower area. I took a chance and did this in our current home and have loved it so decided to do it again. (When you know what you like, stick with it!) The hardwoods warms up the space and reduce all those grout lines that require extra care & cleaning!
TIP: While I wouldn’t recommend this in a bathroom with a chance of little ones pouring water all over the floor, it certainly works in a master bath. And is much more forgiving than white tile!
hardwoods warm up a crisp, white bathroom
We selected a 5” white oak for the hardwoods. The original home had 2 1/4” boards but with our modern updates we decided to upgrade the size. Wider boards work well in an open concept space, making a room feel larger. We were thoughtful in our stain choice (Provincial with an oil based poly) to maintain the traditional aesthetic. Provincial is a go to stain color for me - a medium brown with just enough warmth without being red and not too dark. I find that it doesn’t show everything but hides just enough.
5” white oak with Provincial stain
We had the option to run our hardwoods from the front to back of the house or left to right. We ran them front to back to lead your eye down the hall when you enter the front door.
TIP: Just like paint colors, always sample your floor stains in the space!
trim, flooring and doors in our new entry!
I’ll be talking tile in my next post and sharing bathroom progress!
xx, Molly