She transformed the beauty into a floor-t0-ceiling fireplace for her 1912 farmhouse. What a great addition to her space!

If this is something you are thinking about doing, Kathy recommends finding a place for the keys as well. Find someone in the music repair business who may need the keys. Or use your creative talent to use the keys to make a beautiful wall display.

Thanks for sharing, Kathy!

My husband said the people who originally covered up those floors had no idea that someday those floors would be so sought after – and thankfully, in their decision to cover up the hardwood, they protected it for decades!

These dark blemishes appear in eight areas of the room – Jim says they indicate where the legs of the bed would have been and in this case, there were two twin beds, one on each side of the window. How’s that for super sleuthing?

Near the door the Douglas fir switches to pine and you can see two areas where the floors had been patched. Our neighbor, who is a contractor, wondered if that’s where those old fancy heat vents used to be. Given how the floors are cut up like this, it’s evident that a major remodel happened on this floor decades ago. Who knows what the layout used to look like?!

Looks a lot different than the before pictures, doesn’t it? I promise to show you an update to the staircase, but it may be a little while. I have to pick out the perfect paint color for the risers. If you have any ideas, let me know!

In Part 1 of our house project blog I showed you the uncovering of the bedroom and hallway flooring.

Well, this is where all of that flooring ended up – the bedroom served as the scrap area while we worked on the rest of the project. We worked so hard so clear the hallway because we just couldn’t wait to uncover that staircase!

Right away the surprises started – the top two stairs were naked and had been rebuilt at some point. Why? We all scratched our heads about that for days.

That’s when my husband figured out that the original staircase actually veered to the LEFT not like it is now, to the RIGHT. (Take a look at that notch on the wall in the trim, a perfect slot for a stair.) So that would explain the low grade attic flooring in our hallway – because it was not originally a hallway. The pieces were starting to make a little more sense.

As we ripped the carpet off we found more linoleum, and would you look at that? Each edge of that linoleum had been painted cream to make way for some type of runner.

This is what we were left with – many layers!

Hubby and I both posted photos on our Facebook pages showing some of the progress of our work. Floor guru Jim was scheduled to come see us two days later, but called after he saw the photos and came over that afternoon! As kids you had friends over to play in the sandbox, now friends come over with their sander and help you discover what’s underneath all the layers.

Jim told us it’s likely that the original layer stairs was a black shellac – over the years the risers had been painted many different light colors.

In Part 3, see how beautifully the floors have cleaned up!

I thought you might like to have an inside look at a project that involves many twists, turns, and interesting finds.

I had been spending so much time out looking for updating furniture and accessories for {the studio} that the improvement projects in our 1922 story and 3/4 home had been put on the back burner.

This project all started with a call from a college classmate named Jim. He runs a hardwood flooring company called Natural Accent Hardwood Floors in Fargo, N.D. and has a passion for bringing old floors back to life. We met for coffee to talk about marketing and project ideas and I couldn’t resist asking him to come take a peek at the second floor of our home. (It wouldn’t hurt to just look, right?)

This is the part of the home that we have neglected when it comes to updates. The second bedroom upstairs had smurf blue carpet and really, it was just gross. It had to go. (Here’s hubby starting the clean up process, unfortunately, he had to wear my gloves!)

The hallway, luckily, had much more updated carpet, but it was too plush for the vertical deathtrap staircase and it also really needed to go. I also think the dog was taking a toll on it. Updates to the mint green paneling will come later. (My husband says that it’s like living in a Shamrock Shake.)

Imagine our surprise when Jim looked under that blue carpet and discovered Douglas fir flooring. It was beautiful! We had looked before but we didn’t pull up enough flooring to see what was really underneath until that moment. Jim said once we lifted all of the carpet he would be able to determine the next step. The great news for us is that we might be able to use this flooring! I don’t think I slept that night because I was so excited about the possibility!

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This is where the project got real…and also where it really got to be a lot of fun. We couldn’t wait so we started ripping out flooring. Look at what we found between the carpet and the hardwood. Most of it was ruined due to glue from the carpet but it certainly is retro fabulous!

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Now we were cooking and everything was looking great. The Douglas fir flowed right out into the hallway. And then it just cut off and turned into what is a lower grade pine, often used for attic flooring in the 20s. What the heck? Another strange discovery – many of the interior walls looked like they had been constructed right on top of the linoleum! Mysteries abound.

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Those pine floor boards continued all the way through the hallway. (You can see that our furry mascot could not be away from the action for a second. He always has to be right in the middle of everything.)

Wait until you see the staircase uncovered in Part 2!

Do you have a store or event where you would like to sell our directories? Awesome. We would love that. To show you our appreciation, we’re running a special where you can get a couple of free directories on a first order or a reorder!

Wholesale Ordering Special, Now through April 30

*For every 10 directories you purchase at wholesale, you’ll get 2 free!

Wholesale Ordering Information

To place an order, simply email us at hello@MidwestJunk.com with the quantity you would like (minimum order of 10). We will calculate your shipping and send an invoice out to you. Let us know your preferred method of payment (Paypal, check, credit card).

Wholesale price: $4.00 each, plus shipping

Minimum order of 10 directories

MSRP: $7.99

We will list your shop or event on MidwestJunk.com as a location where people can buy the directory and we’ll promote that link through our social media sites.

2013 Midwest Junk Directory

The directory is 107 pages and includes an editorial section in the front, giving people ideas and inspiration on how to use the junk they come across. Hundreds of stores are listed throughout the 12 states of the

Midwest, and a special section in the back lists junk events and flea markets.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Sarah, Laura, and Dan

Check out some of these items that are available at {the studio} in downtown Fargo, N.D.

Above you’ll see the two newest posters created by our very own Dan Nisbet. These are also available in packages of postcards so you can send them to your friends and family members. Totally up to you who you send them to, but we think they are hilarious.

Speaking of sassy. These are two of our more popular plates. We’ve tried other words, and the nice ones just don’t sell. These plates are fun because they have hardware on the back so you can hang them up. Many of the “Hussy” plates that we’ve sold are hanging in kitchens. I’ve always found that interesting.

Another item that’s become quite popular for us is the door-turned-into-chalk-board. The one pictured here has been cut down so we used two panels of the door and painted them with chalkboard paint. We added hooks on the front for keys or whatever you’d like to add, and hooks on the back so you can hang it up.

Never fear – there are always things left for junkers.

Actually I couldn’t believe what was left.

The picture up above shows three wooden Coca-Cola signs. We purchased the middle one last summer, but the two others we purchased at this estate sale. We knew they would fit perfectly and they do!

I also spotted the prettiest little red chair. It had to come home with us and if you can believe it, it fit in the back seat of a very small car. As you can see, our puppy claimed it right away.

Then we spotted this awesome scale on a table of knick knacks in the living room. It’s awesome and it came home with us.

The funniest thing happened though – here I was buying all of this great junk for resale at {the studio} and when we arrived home my husband said, “You know, all of this stuff is so awesome, I think we should just keep it all.”

He didn’t have to tell me twice.

How was your last junking adventure?

The Midwest Junk 2013 Junker’s Guide to the Midwest is 107 pages of inspiration, photos, and a directory of junking hot spots. Hundreds of stores are listed throughout the 12 states of the Midwest, and a special section in the back lists junk events and flea markets. The directory is spiral bound (awesome) and travel size, so you can keep it right in your glove box or your purse. Check out the listings by town as you’re traveling.

The directory is $7.99.

Want to be one of the first to get your copy? Buy a printed or digital version from our online market right now by clicking here! Then get it in your hands and start junking.

Let us know what you think!

Thanks for shopping local!