I'm floored.....

The floors are in. Moldings yet to come.

The paint color on the accent wall is called "Beach Hut." The other walls are a pale yellow. The picture does not quite capture it.  The window shades have dragon flies on them.

The window shades in here are a tweedy brown. You can see the water from this room, which makes the blue kind of breathtaking.

This is my room. The accent wall, at the head of the bed, is "Bountiful Orange."The other walls are "Pearl." The quilt for my bed is pearl and blue. Opposites on the color wheel are exciting, but I think the room will still be restful because the orange won't be seen while one is lying in bed.

And here we have my favorite nostalgic childhood collection installed in the kitchen. I'm going to have to prop them on little platforms or something. They look like they're sinking. Custer's in enough trouble as it is. It would be good if it looked like his horse had legs.
And the Lone Ranger and Tonto look like they're riding through quicksand.

My dad bought me these horses and riders one at a time starting in about 1956 or so. They've lived with me in 8 different houses. This is their first time displayed in the kitchen. I suppose most people would put pretty plates up there or tea cups or tea pots or something kitchen-y. Or maybe because I live near the beach, giant seashells or sailboats would be an option.

Surprise! I've got cowboys and Indians and soldiers instead.

Out with the Grungy Carpet, In with the Wood Floors

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.