New Floors at Hidden Bluff

New Floors at Hidden Bluff. November 19, 2024.

A few months ago, our carpet had gotten to be such a sorry disaster that I stopped having people over. The dogs had ruined it, and it smelled worse than it looked. We learned early on in our marriage that pets and carpets don’t go together even if they are potty trained. However, in this case, the particularly dire state of our rug can be attributed to our 6-lb. yorkie chihuahua who has always been stubborn on the potty training. Of course, this doesn’t clean up easily on carpet. And we also knew it was pointless to have carpet cleaners in repeatedly. It was inevitable that we would eventually have to get new floors.

From the start I felt it important to do the whole level in the same flooring- even the bathrooms. Our upper level was a hodge podge mix of flooring with everything from carpet to tile to linoleum to laminate. The patchwork quilt of different floorings was annoying. Additionally, we also opted not to have floor transitions for a seamless look as well as avoiding potential tripping (me).

What flooring to use….

My husband and I put in the flooring ourselves in our last home upstairs. For 2 weeks my husband and I were on our hands and knees measuring, cutting and fitting until I was rummy and swore never do this again. Therefore, as I had absolutely zero intention of putting in a floor at Hidden Bluff we had to find a company. Thankfully, our daughter’s fiancée is in the business, so we hired his family to put the new floors in. We just needed to pick the flooring. This was the part that took a while. Real wood floors were the dream, but the dog owner’s reality dictates lvp. So, after much shopping and sample ordering we settled on a style of lvp flooring in our budget for the project.

Our new flooring is waterproof, scratch resistant, and tough amongst other things. What drew me to it right away was the traditional warm wood look of it. It had a cozy appeal that felt well-suited for our home and would be an excellent base for decorating. And while we will never own a 300-year-old cottage with an herbaceous border in the Cotswolds it is a rustic-looking flooring that at least lends a bit of cottage flair to the imagination.

We finally got there….

For 10 days our future son-in-law and his family demolitioned our floor, leveled it, sawed, hammered, sanded while we lived in the downstairs apartment. We donned masks as a thick layer of dust accumulated over everything- even inside closed cupboards. My husband and I made daily trips to Home Depot and Lowes as well as other home improvement stores. We found an amazing deal on 6-inch floor trim for 83 cents a foot at one store and bought all the store had. There were a couple of exchanges with stair noses. We didn’t dare cook with all the dust and debris, so we brought in lunches for the crew and spent time getting to know them while watching everything take shape.

When the house was done and put back together I hardly knew what to say. It was a brand new house. My husband right away noticed how big it looked with the flooring all being the same. There was a smooth and homogenous appearance making the house feel larger and more elegant especially without the transitions. The wall trim had a historical house look to it that added character to the house. The wood look gives the rooms a rich character with the vintage wood furniture. It is warm, rich and inviting. And I am not embarassed to have people over anymore!

Have a beautiful day!