What Lies Beneath…
You know when you have company coming over and you throw all embarrassing messes into a closet? Or is that just me? Did everyone grow out of that stage a couple years post college? Cause I’m still in it.
Well, one embarassment that I couldn’t throw into a closet was our absolutely disgusting dining room carpet.
Disgusting. Like frat house gross. It was already pretty bad when we bought the place and then Josie spilled a gigantic bowl of spaghetti with marinara sauce on it and well it was just a downward spiral after that. It is really embarassing when we have people over. I find myself apologizing for it immediately and actually just pointing it out at the same time. Awesome.
Since moving in, we’ve spent months wondering what lies beneath the carpet. We were hopeful that there was hardwood floor but we weren’t fully sure. The neighbors homes were built by the same architect in the 40′s and they both have terricota tile in parts so there was a chance that was what was there. Regardless, we had no idea the condition. So we waited until we had some more savings in case we needed to redo the flooring.
This weekend, Graham ripped up the carpet and I helped lift up the staples and clean out all the dust. About four hours of teamwork later and take a look at what we have now…
I mean how lucky are we?!!
There are some very minor spots to touch up with a wood finish pen and wood filler. Overall, the floor is in fantastic condition and the stain is just perfect. What an upgrade!!! Don’t need to throw anything in the closet anymore.
There are still more tweaks I need to do to the dining room but it’s on the right track.
We also recently got new dining room chairs that you see above. I went to the Oly Studio warehouse sale with the intention of buying nothing for myself. But, I went, saw these chairs at about 90% off. I’ve always been a huge fan of the klismos chair and I absolutely love the color leather on them. One quick call to Graham with an “I trust you; do what you want” response and they were mine.
I love them, Graham loves them and Josie just has a grand old time climbing up on them. Win, win, win.
If you’re wondering what the chandelier is poking through the top of the photos, that is the Stray Dog Designs chandelier that was a display (ready 75% off) at an Anthropologie store.
It actually will be going in our breakfast nook once we get around to making my breakfast nook dream come true. You can read my dream plans here. One day, I’ll put a more formal chandelier in the dining room. There will also be drapes. And a rug, of course. But, it all takes time and budget so for now this is where we’re at and I’m happy with it.
Step by step, the home is becoming more us. I have to admit that I’ve got this overwhelming feeling of home ownership pride due to that weekend DIY project.
