I don't like perfect

Our kitchen floor is made from pine.  Pine boards from Home Depot.  Plain Pine Boards.  

 I hand picked each board - my husband dug through and pulled out boards for my approval.  You will see the knots in the boards - they are all Number 2 quality.  I don't like Number 1 - I didn't want a perfect floor!  

I will tell you this floor was rather a battle between us.  My husband likes perfect.  He ofcourse would have chosen the Number 1 boards.  Since he couldn't do that, he spent quite a bit of time in preparation.  He put a tongue and groove in each board, planned a layout and nailed all the boards in place through the tongue so there would be no nails visible.  

Then came the finishing - no one was allowed to help.  He put on the gel stain by himself to get it perfect.  We used the color Pecan from Olde Century Paints.  

The floor looked perfect for some time - and then life happened.....

In front of the fridge where everyone stands, the stain/varnish have worn off

Our pivot spot,  coming off the carpet from the living room where we turn the corner to go to the basement or into the kitchen.  

 I wanted reproduction nails in the floor.  My husband wanted no part of nails in his perfect floor.  I don't nag, however every couple months I'd mention something about nails.  After letting him think about it for about a year the nails went in.  It was a family affair.  I had to drill the pilot holes exactly where I wanted each nail and the boys helped Dad pound them in.  Everytime the hammer hit the floor, Dad cringed and Mom grinned.  I LOVE the various marks in our floor.  

I will admit this floor isn't for everyone - especially if you like perfect.  If you don't like scrubbing on your hands and knees, this floor isn't for you.  I don't mop - afraid of too much moisture, it's on my knees using a well rung out rag.  I do have to vacuum out the spacing between the boards.  And there are places where there is spacing - not much but enough to collect crumbs.  

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A little progress on my hooking....our youngest is on his second day out of school.  We've never had one of our kids this sick.  Dr. said he was on his way to pneumonia when we took him in.  He hasn't moved off the couch and wants me sitting at the other end with him.  Thank goodness he "lets" me work on this! 

I need to do a little reverse hooking in the bottom right corner.  I dont' like the backwards letter R.  It's not supposed to be, just how the wool hooked up.  I'll never see anything but that R so it's coming out.  (Ok, so I don't like perfect in floors, but my crafting is a different story!)

~Ann