Here it is: the big reveal. After a week of teasing, we’re excited to share the major home improvement project that swept through Casa Petersik. No, we didn’t remove a structural wall (we tackled as many doorways as we could last year). We didn’t add a second story or an addition, and we didn’t remodel a bathroom, build a massive closet, or add exposed beams. And that nursery rumor? Not this time.
What we did do was refinish our wood floors. We took down our Christmas tree early, emptied the guest bedroom and the other bedrooms, cleared the living room, kept windows open to air out the house, hung a curtain to contain sanding dust, and lived in controlled chaos — confined mostly to the den and the kitchen, which were piled with furniture from the rest of the house — all for glossy new mocha floors.
Some readers guessed this from the first clue. Our original 50-year-old floors had a pronounced yellow-orange tone that clashed with the newer mocha hardwood we’d installed in the kitchen, den, laundry nook, and half bath. The mismatch was obvious and bothered us enough to take action.
Although refinishing meant moving most of our things into two rooms and not having a full bathroom for a week, we jumped at the chance when we received an excellent estimate. Refinishing prices vary by region — for example, New York averages around $5 per square foot while here in Richmond prices run lower — but after negotiating we secured a highly competitive rate of $1.50 per square foot. That covered 600 square feet sanded, stained, and polyurethaned over four days for $900.
We were initially quoted $1,200, which included new shoe molding to match the deeper stain. After asking if we could come in under $1,000, the refinisher offered to scrape and restain our existing shoe molding instead of installing new pieces. That approach looked flawless and saved us several hundred dollars. Below you can see a bit of scraped molding alongside the mostly sanded floor mid-project.
The floors stripped back to raw wood looked almost blond — very different from the finished tones before. During sanding we covered vents with plastic to limit dust spread, then removed the plastic for staining and polyurethane so heating could speed drying time.
Here’s a reminder of the hallway before the refinish project — you can spot a darker stain left by previous owners in the lower left corner of the photo.
And here’s the after photo: the old stain is gone and a rich mocha tone replaces the orange hues, giving the space a warm, cohesive look.
The guest bedroom now features deep chocolate flooring that feels fresh and modern.
The living room also wears a rich brown stain that ties in beautifully with the adjacent kitchen and den hardwood we installed previously.
We love how cohesive the house feels now that nearly every room has the same mocha flooring. The bathroom retains its vintage tile, which contrasts nicely with the deep brown wood in the hallway and adds character.
For a side-by-side comparison, here’s the prefinished oak flooring we installed last year next to the newly refinished 50-year-old oak. Our floor professional mixed three batches of stain to achieve the right tone. The main visual difference is that the sanded and stained, on-site refinished oak shows knots and grain slightly more distinctly than factory prefinished planks. Still, the color match is excellent and the transition from room to room feels seamless.
Our floor professional came highly recommended and proved meticulous and skilled — key qualities when matching existing flooring. For local readers, his name is Mr. Charles Sanders. You can find his site by searching his name and contact him by phone; mention John and Sherry from Bon Air sent you.
We’ll share more tips later in the week about finding a reputable floor refinisher, what questions to ask, what to expect during the process, and advice for DIY refinishing. For now, we’re thrilled with how the restored, darker floors have unified the home and banished the orange tones for good.