At last -- one project completed: behold the "new" floor!

Hello again

Some of you may remember my griping about a diy disaster that I created early last summer when -- against T. the builder/decorator's advice -- I painted a freshly sanded, beautiful parquet floor with the wrong stain (see blog post of June 29, 2008).
Well, I am happy to report that the work is completed. I hope you will agree with me that the floor now looks gorgeous.
I had help from one of my neighbours, who really made me push on with paint-stripping the terrible plasticky-sticky stuff and hand-sanding the entire floor. Thank you, G.! Our wrists, elbows and shoulders are slightly the worse for wear, but my eyes are enjoying the feast.
Evidently part of the original 1930s interior, a built-in cupboard used to stand where the flooring is a darker shade. Whoever put in the 1950s parquet flooring did not extend it to the inside of the cupboard. When I moved in, the door had long gone missing. One of my friends advised me to rip the hideosity out. Which is when the original strip flooring was revealed.
Sourcing the replacement parquet was quite a job, and having it made to order did not come exactly cheap. Never mind, I am very pleased with the result.
I declined having the new wood bleached to blend in better with the old -- shall we call this a case of "didactic interior architecture"? I think that's as good a label as any.