Downstairs Flooring Project, day 1

If you know us, you know that we've been talking about renovating the downstairs since before we even made an offer on this house. It's a split level, built in 1974, and I think that was when it was last decorated. When we moved in it was all dark wood paneling with a red carpet. The sliders were duct-taped shut with heavy red velour curtains, shielding the previous owner from the dazzling sunlight while working away in his office–what at the time looked a little more like a burrow.

Fast forward a year and a half! Living entirely on the upper floor, we sanded the paneling down over the course of about six months, primed the walls, and months later settled on carpet, tile for the hallway, and, last but not least, paint. We went ahead and painted in the space of a weekend (though we've yet to remove the mile of painter's tape) and finally scheduled the flooring to be done starting this weekend and happening nights during the week to wrap up next weekend.

It's the first time we've had someone else come in to work on the house, though, and it's a reasonably major project, so I figured I'd blog the progress similar to our friends Jack and Anne's recent kitchen overhaul. Not as many moving parts as there, so it won't be a fraction of the excitement, but I wanted to have before- and after-photos and here's a good place for them to land.

Here's the morning work started. We weren't sure when Ray would be showing up, or if he'd come at all on Saturday (details were left loose due to vacation schedules) but sure enough, he surprised us in our pajamas at 10:00 Saturday morning.

Above: The hallway, with carpet

Above: The main room, with carpet

Above: The fireplace side, with carpet. Isn't it lovely?

Above: Ray and his assistant hard at work. Note that this carpet
was actually put down over another thinner utility carpet.

Yeah, you heard me correctly.

Stay tuned for more; exciting times ahead.