Burlap & Satin

Yes, boys and girls, after nearly a month of constant back-breaking work, it is done.

Say hello to our new floor and - let's be honest here - our whole new house.

Before and After - One

Before and After - Two

Before and After - Three

We decided to go with a click-lock laminate from IKEA, which was a surprise to me. Due to my history of having easily-slipping kneecaps and a hip injury, I was incredibly weary of having any type of floor that could be too slick. Laminates had always been in that category for me. But I was actually surprised to find that laminate floors have come such a long way in the last few years. So much so that I actually found them to be less slick than some of the actual hardwood floors we were considering. Of course, I am a person with skin and sweat glands and complex gripping mechanisms in my feet. The dogs, however, are still learning how to run and play on it.

The reasons it took nearly a month from start to finish:
1) We had to bust up nearly 150 square feet of ceramic tile that extended halfway into the living room (yeah, speaking of slick?) and let me tell you, that was a damn J.O.B.
2) Laying down nearly 500 square feet of plywood sub-floor (used to level and prep a floor for new covering) was another big job that just took way longer than we had anticipated.
3) Lowe's pissed us off. We picked nearly every single paint color in this house based on how they would compliment this one Blonde colored hardwood floor they had on display for the past year at Lowe's. So after nearly a year of preparing for and planning on that specific hardwood floor, we bought a couple boxes of it and brought it home only to discover this: the display was Blonde while the actual floor was ... wait for it... RED. Like, near to a cherry floor red. It wasn't the light in our house, it wasn't the paint colors. It was the fact that the actual wood didn't even remotely match the in-store display. WTF?! So after a month of prep work, we were literally trying to do a year of research and find a new floor in a period of a few days. This is when I got desperate and decided on the laminate. I'm soooo glad I did. Not only was it half as much money and work, it was infinitely a more durable and sturdy surface.
4) All good things when you consider that we did exactly 500 square feet of floor. That's one third of our house.

We have more work to do in the dining room yet. But hey, at least it feels like an actual dining room. It like, has a purpose and a title and stuff. There will also be real furniture in there at some point too, so I imagine that will make a difference, yes?

For the first time in our 16 months here, we are actually proud of our house and happy to have guests over. Hell, we're actually considering staying longer. Now that's an accomplishment!

So don't be shy, tell me what you think!