I'm Back + Flooring Update

It has been a long time since I sat down and wrote a post. I am not lacking in house updates, they are also what has been consuming me and my time, projects and chasing the girls (Claire walks now, well she runs too..) I have a thousand and one changes, updates, projects, everything that has happened over the passed year, all of which I hope to share as time allows.

I am hoping that now with Jack's return from his Air Force Training, this will allow me a little bit of free time to share our updates. He has been home for about a month now and has finally started to settle in. He has gone through some big changes since his return. Two of which is a career change along with enrolling as a full time student. He has wanted to go back to College for years and now that he is home from his Air Force training he has the opportunity to focus on his goal.

Project numero uno: Flooring.

This was actually done a few months prior to Jack's homecoming. After months, perhaps even a year of toying with the idea, we decided to cover up our wood floors with carpet. I know, crazy, unfathomable, insane, who does that? Well...I did. As much as I have told Jack and other friends and family that I detest carpet and will always only be a hardwood floor kind if gal, we thought it best to cover them for a few reasons. Random side note, when I was 4 and my parents were building their house, my mom asked me what color carpet I wanted for my room. I told her I wanted hardwood floors, not carpet. Even at the age of 4, I was partial to the look of a nice hardwood flooring. I should also add, that I did not get my way. :-(

Reasons For Covering Up our Hardwoods...

1. They needed work. Refinishing. The 50 year old original finish was almost completely worn off and therefor exposing bare wood. This is stressful for a number of reasons. Most people get nervous to have drinks on carpet, I was a wreck when people had drinks over the hardwoods. If any moister spilled or was left for even a short amount of time, it left drop marks and stains. In the last almost 4 years we have been here, even with me letting only adults have drinks in the living room, we have still managed to add a number of stains to the floor.

2. They needed patched. Because the finish was nearly gone, wood naturally expands and contracts with different seasons as the moisture levels change in the air. ---haha, I'm not a nerd, sometimes I just sound like one. But it is true. A good wood seal will actually help reduce that. Since ours was lacking that, the wood would swell every spring and summer, and then shrink down each winter. This would make for gaps in between the planks and also left some of them a bit lose. There were even some spots where if we stepped on it just so, a lose board would come together and pinch our foot. It would also make for awkward moments if we had guests over. We would randomly hear an "ouch!" and if they had just walked over a specific spot, we would then be like, "So sorry! Did our floor pinch you? I apologize!" Yes, this happened on a few occasions.

3. Claire. As she was learning to walk, the bare, pinching, semi slippery wood floors made for a nervous me.

4. As much as I would have much preferred to refinish them, the cost + labor in numerous aspects was too much for this solo mom. I would have had to completely gut the house while the refinishing was being done. For a least a week I would have had to crash at someone else's pad, and while I know the fumes are at their worst for the first week, they can linger for a month and sometimes even two which is not good for kiddos...or anybody. And did I mention the cost? Refinishing in our case was more then triple the cost of the carpet. Now I know that could vary depending on how expensive the carpet is that someone is going with, but in our case, huge price difference.

5. The wood floors are still in tack under the carpet. When we sell in the future (this is not a forever house) the carpets can be ripped up and the floors can be refinished if new owner so desires. Or if for some reason we choose too. The option is always under there.

Ready for the before and afters?

I am not going to lie, I miss the look of the hardwoods. To me, hardwoods always make a room look bigger, more grand and even homey. But for right now, the carpet is just a better solution to a number of problems. And I have to admit, the carpet is a lot easier to keep clean. I thought for sure that I would have a harder time with the upkeep of carpet, but it only needs to be vacuumed once a week or so (that is also all that is recommended) and it is oh-so-soft to just lay on and play on with our girls. All in all, I am happy with our choice. If anyone is interested, we went with Martha Stewart's carpet line, which we ordered through Home Depot. They were very easy to work with and the entire process went very smooth. And at a cost of 1.98 a square foot, my wallet is pretty pleased too!