There was a grimy track worn into the cream-colored carpet from in front of the sofa to the kitchen. A finer line of ground-in Cheetos or some sort of orange-ish chip marked, presumably, the spot just underneath the edge of the couch where the vacuum cleaner couldn't reach. The carpet had baggy-saggy-itis, and I tripped over it whenever I tried to make my way from the kitchen to the patio.
Last week 74 boxes of engineered "antique walnut" flooring was delivered single-handedly by a rather corpulent man who I thought might expire before dropping the last box to the floor. "One guy?" I asked. "Why do they only send one guy?" He shrugged and hobbled back to the truck.
Yesterday the carpet was removed and the cement slab was sealed.
Today the floor in the living room/dining room was installed.
It still needs moldings and some cleanup, but the change is pretty stunning.
I'm going to go flooring-geek on you for a minute. (The man who loves me is a flooring contractor.)
It was hard to decide which direction to lay this floor--with the boards pointing from the front door out to the patio--or the other way (which I ultimately chose.) With the just a little shaving on the edges of the boards next to the kitchen tile, we were able to make the transition from travertine to wood without a stumbly T-molding or a reducer. Shaving the butt-ends of dozens and dozens of boards would have added too much to the task. I figured the eye is drawn to the view anyhow and doesn't require help from the floor. I also think I'll like how the direction of the wood ties the two spaces together.
Tomorrow the upstairs.
Oh--and just in case you're wondering what an engineered wood floor is---it's real wood (a thin layer of it)--in this case actual walnut, afixed to plywood and pre-finished in the factory. The more durable brands have a thicker layer of real wood than the bargain brands, which means it can be sanded and refinished once or twice like a solid wood floor. And, unlike solid wood, you can install it over a concrete slab because it can be glued down instead of nailed to a sub-floor.
4 comments:
I'd be a flooring geek if mine looked like yours! I can't wait to see this fabulous pad of yours -- and eat coconut cake with you, too!
That looks beautiful! We're getting new floors too and have gone back and forth about which color works best. Having lived in several homes with hardwood floors, I prefer that to carpet. Thanks for sharing the pictures. I love seeing the transitions you're doing to make it more your own.
We did floors like that in a house once. The were fine. I liked them far better than the carpet which had been in there.
This is the part that is fun. Making the house just how you want it.So pretty.
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