apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Is it possible to get invisible shelves for a stereo?? If not, what could take the place?

So...I scratched up the wood floors in my new co-op while moving my bedframe. I swear I was ultra-cautious...but now there are long, 1/8"-deep scratches on my bedroom floor. Not even in straight lines, but in telltale zigzags (think Charlie Brown's t-shirt).

I don't have the time or money right now to redo the floors--any way to fill in the scratches or minimize their appearance for now? I do plan on putting rugs down eventually, but would like the floors to be in as good condition as possible before I do. (Knowing those zigzags are under a rug will drive me crazy.)

Will Orange Glo-ing the crap out of the floors help at all???

Thanks in advance!

Okay -- I'm a season late but I just started watching "Dexter" on Showtime and wondered if anyone has a link to a photo of his kitchen. I tried Googling and Google-imaging but so far no luck finding a shot of the kitchen.

Do you think I could paint my IKEA teak folding table white so that it matches my new white interior plans?

I filled in my very deep, very long wood floor scratches (rental apartment, last tenant must have been dragging a metal file cabinet) with a prismacolor marker. I happened to have a bunch of browns so I could test all of them to see which was the best match, and you can't even see them anymore. You have to feel the scratches to know they're there.

Awesome, AmyV. Thanks!

janbrady,
you might also want to check this out: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/painting-fixing-repair/best-products-tibet-almond-stick-012374

sleek,

could you put your stereo on a floating shelf?

I am considering a cowhide rug for my living room. My concern is that my dogs -- a papillion and a blue heeler -- my assume its an extra large treat for them and claim it as their new favorite chew toy. They're very well behaved dogs, but I'm afraid some cow scent may linger. (gross, right...but I LOVE the look) Am I being paranoid or is this a valid concern?

Also, does anyone have experience buying cowhide off ebay? Looking for an affordable source -- thks!

JanBarday -- I assume from the description that the floors are not stained or, at least, the stain is not also sratched.

Here are four slightly more durable, all rather simple options, in order of neatness and permanance: (i) Get some bowling alley wax -- any decent hardware store will have it -- 3 or four coats over the entire area should mkae the scratches disappear if relatively light, (ii) HD, Lowes, etc have pens in the stain/varnish section in a host of colors (including clearish) that you just trace the scratches -- the pens contain diluted stain/varnish, (iii) any hardware store or big box store sells polyeurathane in aerosol cans made for fixing floor problems -- a light sanding around the scratches and spray the entire area (with windows open), light coats as needed until the scratches disappear, or (iv) sand the scratches and a rectangle area surrounding them and put down some new satin poly with a roller, two coats, light sand between, feather the edges into the old floor.

J, thank you thank you thank you--that sounds perfect (and rather like magic). I've actually searched this site several times for advice on scratched wood floors, but that post never came up.

Lightenup, thanks. Actually my floors are stained, not poly-ed--sorry for the poor description.

Hi Janbrady:

Perhaps you could use this to convince Max to send you the new Martha Stewart book?

Actually, I had a similar problem a few years ago and I first colored them in with a wax stick then used superfine 000 steel wool to apply tinted floor wax and buff it out. Go WITH the grain of the wood (NOT circles!) and then just mop with Murphy's oil soap. Voila!
Quick tip: mix turpentine in with the wax and then buff with steel wool; it'll clean the floor and hide any scratches. Fabulous if you're unhappy with your floor but don't want to refinish it.

The following excerpt is from doityourself.com I like the variety of options they provide for coloring the scratches. It's meant for furniture, but can definitely be used for floors too.
"Light scratches will often disappear when carefully rubbed with furniture polish or paste wax. Deeper scratches can be hidden by: (1) carefully rubbing with a piece of oily nutmeat such as Brazil nut, black walnut, or pecan. Be careful to rub the nutmeat directly into the scratch so it will not darken the surrounding wood. (2) Color the scratch with brown coloring crayon or liquid shoe dye (especially good on walnut). (3) Stain the scratch with iodine: Mahogany--use new iodine; Brown or cherry mahogany--iodine that has turned dark brown; Maple--dilute one part iodine with one part denatured alcohol. (4)Commercial scratch removers or stick wax to match the wood finish can also be used.
After the scratch has been hidden, polish or wax the entire area. Note: Deep scratches on some modern furniture finishes which resist staining are almost impossible to hide."

Moni-ka, I bought a cowhide rug off ebay and I am very happy. I spent around $125 with shipping and the colors are very nice. I bought it from an individual and not a cowhide dealer. They have them at Ikea right now for $200. I think size and color variation dictate the cost. I have no pets, so I can't help you there.

janbrady,
If your scratches include "dents" of the wood, in the olden days, we would use a steam iron held above (not on) the wood to hydrate the wood and thus causing it to swell back into near-normal position. Test first to be sure your stain doesn't watermark (although there are secondary ways to remove these). After steaming, I would then use the camo techniques others suggested. You might want to google "steaming wood dents" or scratches for other methods. And I agree -- even if they were covered by a rug it would make me crazy! :)

You all rock my wooden-floored world. Thanks so much.