Those 3 letters, D, I & Y make any job seem reasonable. So when the sticker shock of hardwood flooring plus installation smacked us in the face, we decided doing it ourselves would be the smart thing to do. So we called my dad, put on our knee pads and went to work. Here are the before and afters
We ripped up all the carpet, tack strips and staples first...and you can see we started to peel up the kitchen floor but realized it would take some major time so...
we started in the upstairs hallway
then the stairs
Living room
then we tackled the kitchen. The builders glued down cheap hardwood that peeled apart when we tried to pull it up so it took longer than we thought it would. 3 full days to peel it all up and then another day to scrape and smooth out the floors for the new hardwood.
While things were cleared out we decided to update the feel of the room. I LOVE the beach and wanted that bleached-out driftwood laid back vibe so this grey media console was perfect. Found it at Haverty's.
We capped off the ends of the staircase...
I roughed up my previously perfectly white picture shelves so that it made sense with the media console
This would be considered the dining area...but a play area is more important to us at this juncture of life so we kept it wide open
And used the old tv armoire for toy storage
Our house is pretty neutral throughout so I used some old Martha Stewart paint samples I had in the garage on the front door and laundry door
This door is constantly smudged and dirty from all the traffic in and out of the garage so the darker color hides a lot of that mess
This was an old wall hanging my husband and I made that used to look like a patchwork quilt with bright colors...but Carter, my son, and I white washed it and monogramed it
Found these beachy white curtains with citron stitching at target
We got rid of our matchy-matchy coffee table, end tables and sofa table and opted for a few smaller mis matched tables. This one has a lid with storage inside...
And this one can be used like a tv tray. Found them both at World Market
So glad the floors are down, and while there are STILL small trim projects to be done, it was worth the sweat equity. However...I don't think we will tackle another one this large for the rest of our existence.
