Before and After: This Bold $100 Floor Redo Will Stop You in Your Tracks

People who purchase very old homes often dream about ripping up stained carpet to discover stunning original wood floors. Sadie, who lives with her husband, David, and their two children, had that dream. “Our home was built in 1880,” explains Sadie, who designs and runs the blog Clover Lane with her sibling Cassie. “It is full of character, just like you’d expect from an old home, and that is why we bought it. The plan was always to rip up the old carpet and refinish the original hardwood flooring.”

Except, when Sadie and David ripped up the carpeting in their large entryway-type room, they found original flooring that had been patched in multiple places with plywood. Not ideal, right?

Still, they hated the idea of replacing the original stuff, so they decided to get innovative. “We came up with the idea to paint the floor, and to our surprise, it turned out even better than we expected!” Sadie says. They didn’t just go monochrome, either—they chose to paint a big and bold, black and white checkerboard.

First the couple sanded the floor, added faux slats to the plywood to make it appear consistent with the rest of the flooring, and painted the floor white. Then they added 18-inch-by-18-inch black squares, and sealed everything once it was dry. The whole shebang cost less than $100 and took around eight hours of work, with no outside help.

The black and white tones help tie the space in with neighboring rooms, which have black-painted built-ins. “The ‘after’ truly makes my heart happy,” says Sadie. “Not only is this room brighter, it still has mostly original flooring! Sure, it’s painted, but it is the same flooring put in about 140 years ago.”

Inspired? Submit your own project here.