Janel, if it works for what you want and need, in other words fit, form & function, and your like the looks (fashion) then you have 4 out of 4! No it won't last forever like hard wood and maybe not as long as the less expensive click together laminate, but it is your home, do what you want. I would have painted it some shade of purple myself but then my hubs would have had a fit. lol That is why is has taken us 7 years to replace the carpet in this house with pre-finished hardwood floors. ...»

Speechless - this is amazing!!!!

This is fabulous! I couldn't afford hard wood so wound up with laminate. I hate the stuff and it was still expensive. I wish I had thought of something like this. And btw... no matter what you have on your floor, water is going to ruin it.

Part of the problem with this flooring choice is that lath is typically only dried to about 19% moisture content. True flooring and other interior millwork is kiln dried to between 6 and 9% MC. Wood in WI will dry to around 8% MC on its own during the winter heating period. True flooring is prepared for these conditions ahead of installation. Lath will shrink far more than a wood designed for a flooring application and either shrink and leave gaps or split or cup or all 3. You can minimize ...»

lumber liquidators sells oak relatively inexpensively that will last forever, and so do some of the big box stores. Definitely don't think this is the place to be so interested in saving a few cents that you devalue the resale value...and this isn't intended as an insult, but rather a significant criticism not of the person who did this, but to the editor who thinks it was a "great idea". It's not!!

Janel likes to think outside the box with materials and colors. Kudos to her. She fully realizes that it may not last long but if it brings her joy everytime she looks at it, then no harm done.

She has small children so the color is fun and the money she saves by doing it her way she can spend on the them.

I still say nice job.

not sure where you are seeing that this is a temporary thing since it is being described as an ideal solution. New carpeting would have been similar in price for such a small area and not as temporary as lath.

Men/Mars/carpet; Women/Venus/hardwood.

Bloggers/Pluto/lathe?

Fred >> carpet is nasty!! especially with kids and pets. For some of us, it's not a house for sale.... it's home! It should be filled with things that make us happy and her floor is delightful. Oak is expensive no matter where you get it (your view depends on what your budget/income is) and she probably saved much more than a few cents. You must be a flipper.

Becky, I am a man and love the look of hardwood and restored our house so that all the rooms (including the kitchen) have red oak flooring. Fact is, lath is not hardwood-it isn't even classic pine board. At my big box store I can get lath for approx 24 cents a linear foot, but I can get red oak flooring for 17 cents a foot. My contention is that this is actually going to cost more money in the long run because it will have to replaced relatively soon and to do so will probably require ...»

Janel....I like the way you think. I change things all the time too.

You go girl. I love the longivity of hard wood, hate wall-to-wall carpeting so we have hardwood floors from lumber liquidators. I just change out the area rugs every few years and move the furniture around.

Janel, this turned out amazing. It's your house to do exactly what you want. We live and we learn. If it doesn't work out, hey, you're not out much more than your labor! Hey... I used PAPER on my floors and I've had so many people tell me it looks like leather, stone, cork... YOU ROCKED IT GIRL!!

Nutmeg Place ... paper? Now you've peeked my interest! do tell....

Marg C - I posted it here yesterday.

I'm a newbie, so I don't know how to direct you there! Sorry!

I saw the paper floors and they are beautiful.

Great idea, always looking for inspiration.

i had an old nasty worn to the black backing kitchen floor i painted with semi=gloss enamel and coated it with varnish this was 30 yrs ago(no money problem) i remember my neighbor looking at it and oohing and aahiing till i told her what i did she looked me straight in the eye and said who told you ,you could do this i laughed and said i did its my floor xx urs looks great

Janel Hutton I remember when you posted this, and I loved the floor then and I love it now. This is so not a big deal. Not too many of us would paint real hardwood, but lathe, why not? and as you say, if it doesn't hold up, what's the big deal? At least for a while you have painted floors! Which is so fun! if I ever get a chance I will paint plywood flooring or something like it. Glad it is holding up!

Beautifully done!

love the floor, love the idea. people like to say you can't do that, it's good to prove them wrong..i just got finish painting 87 year old linoleum, looks nice. thank you for the post