Refinishing puts the "great" back into a great room. While planning for a big party, the owners of this country great room realized their antique pine wide-plank floor was far from “great.” Worn in places, it's color generally dull, the floor made the whole room look a little shabby. The couple decided they were going to make the old floor look new again, and they were going to do it themselves.

The first step was deciding what the floor’s new color would be. To do that, the couple tested a few mixes of Minwax® Wood Finish™, eventually choosing a 50-50 combination of Ipswich Pine and Golden Oak. Next, they sanded away the old finish and stain using a rented floor sander. Then they applied the new stain and the floor regained its rich color. Once they put on three coats of Minwax® Super Fast-Drying Polyurethane For Floors in a satin sheen, it came all the way back to beautiful. The room has its dramatic stone fireplace, big windows, French doors and nice furniture, but it’s the floor that makes it great.