You have nothing to lose here. Refinish the pine, and if you should decide later you want something else, you've lost hardly anything, except maybe the cost of the finish, the sanding media and maybe the floor machine rental, if you are DIYing.

I wanted HW all along and DH was totally set against it but now that he's seen what it looks like (even in the rough form), he's on board so we are going to refinish it. Thanks!

Pine isn't a hardwood, but I've done these up for customers and they have all liked the results.

Yes yes yes. Way to point out the "obvious". Pine is cool. Its different. Ive been refinishing ALL wood floors for over 10 years professionally and you dont come across pine that much. So kudos for keeping it and makin it look nice. Keep in mind pine is soft so be carefull sanding.

So . . . one guy came yesterday, said the floor could be saved then tried to sell me a new floor. I don't want that.

Someone else came today highly recommended and a gentleman. Everything was great until I asked about the color when he was leaving . . he said he can't really stain the floor because it won't take but it will be a lighter color than it is now and then bloom over the next 6 months to a year . . . I wanted a dark stained floor. He said because the wood has been covered for so long (since 1940) the oils have been dried up (I think). Utter disappointment came over me and I lost my focus.

Your thoughts/comments please? Thank you.

Hes semi correct. You can stain the pine. It requires something called a "waterpop". Its not going to take the stain as even as say oak but you can stain it. As for the oils being dried up. Thats wrong. Ive sanded 100's of floors that are older than yours and never had an issue. Keep your head up.

Thank you gregmills. I was hoping to stain it in a similar color to the HW in the dining room, I do realize the results on the pine will be different than the oak but I don't want blotchy either so we may just embrace the floor in its natural color and go with it.

Of course you can stain and color pine...not the easiest floor to work, but it can be done.

You are interviewing craftspeople in your search for someone who can deliver what you want. You may have to keep looking.

Where in the states do you reside?

Long Island, NY. The room is tiny, 110x101 inches. Yes, after working on a kitchen cab layout, I have to measure my kitchen in inches, not feet. I've done a lot of internet research and keep finding that staining the pine is not the easiest to work with and their are additional chemicals involved. DH wants to go au natural . . . I have to think about it a little more.

I'd go natural. Dark floors show everything, are currently trendy, and could turn out differently than you imagine. Sometimes it's easier to embrace obviously different floors than to try to match two different floors.

What color are your cabinets -- painted or a wood finish? A light floor could provide a nice contrast to them. I like natural pine because it has a warm and relaxed feeling. And the kitchen floor doesn't have to be the same as the other floors..

Barbarah, my cabs are painted maple in dove white, my kitchen is currently a pale butter yellow which I love but was considering a sage green for a change and I always wanted a creamy beige granite such as giallo ornamental, cinnamon sand or new venetian gold but was considering a dark green such as pavao butterfly. I wanted a shiny chrome faucet and glass knobs. I know the floor will be beautiful but what I'm afraid of is ending up with a yellow gymnasium like floor which is something I don't want but if I could be assured that it would come out more of say a honey color that would be great although it wouldn't be the darker oak color I was looking for (yes, I know oak and pine stain differently). I think we are going to do it and if it's really not to my liking, heaven forbid, I will tile the floor . . .thank you.

Oh my! I would definitely agree. That floor is really sharp! Thank you for posting these pictures Casey.

Beautiful, Casey!