Living Room - Progress Report

[anneandkita]

Why are there no pictures in this forum? I want to see all your houses!!

I got to head to the new house while it was still light outside. I walked in and was immediately greeted with the smell of "yucky" carpets, and I made a split decision that it was time for them to come out.

http://www.asdesigned.com/house/305grant/livingroombefore.jpg

You know, it sure looks easier to take out carpet on TV....

After carrying all that junk to the back porch:
http://www.asdesigned.com/house/305grant/oldcarpet.jpg

I got to cleaning up the floors. Turns out there was a lot of dirt under those carpets! I also spent a large deal of time pulling out staples. Does anyone have tips for not ruining your back doing all this work?

However, after mopping the floors clean, I have to say it was DEFINITELY worth it. The floors look great. Now I just need to figure out a color to paint the room!

http://www.asdesigned.com/house/305grant/livingroomclean.jpg

[annielinz]

Oh my goodness Anne, your little cottage is going to be adorable once you put your stamp on it. Just removing the carpets made a vast improvement.The floors look like they are in good shape too. I love the big picture window you have--is that looking into your backyard?
Boy, I can't wait to see the progress you make.
It's going to be fun watching the transformation.

I'm with you, we need more pictures here.:D

This is what I did while you were ripping out your carpet, baking :rolleyes:, please help yourself.

[shabbychick]

Wow, Ann, your place is adorable! I love those floors! Taking out the carpet was definitely the way to go. I love all the light you have coming into the room, too. It's going to be wonderful once you get it personalized with the colors you want and your own stuff on the inside.

[Lisa S]

Wow ~ you know you totally lucked out with those floors, don't you? They're bee-utiful!

Your house is going to be gorgeous in no time.

[Gigi]

Well look at that! Those floors are just beautiful. Lucky you that the carpet preserved the beauty of them.

You must be so excited~ I love the details of your home~ so charming.

[Lynzee]

Oh, Anne! It is absolutely adorable! And those floors are beautiful! What a find!

I look forward to seeing the pictures as you continue to make it your own.

[ChapterTwo]

I love the "pass through" and the rounded doorway to the kitchen. Your new home is very "cottagey" already, without doing a thing, so it'll be easy to go in the direction you choose.

I agree with the other ladies - the floors are wonderful! I use Murphy's Oil Soap spray on mine, and a sponge mop for a quick clean.

[Nikki]

WOW the wood looks like its in great shape....is it fir?

And I love your front door :D

[anneandkita]

Thanks everyone! We actually knew the floors were under there in the front room. Turns out the wood is under every carpet, but it hasn't been refinished like these have.

I believe it is fir. It's not a super hard wood, so it has some gouges and dents, but as I told my boyfriend, you'd have to pay a lot of money for that kind of look these days! :D

The window looks out to our side yard. The deck where I put the carpet is our back yard. We have a corner lot, so we have a large side yard. :) The other side yard is about 3 feet wide though! :p

Annie, those brownies look DELICIOUS!!! Yum! :D

ChapterTwo, I was wondering the right way to clean the floors! It seems to have an almost...waxy? finish, so they don't get real shiny.

[RoseMary]

The floor is beautiful--you're going to love this house:)!

[rubyslippers]

We just used a local "Mom and Pop" version of a franchised chain to deep clean and reseal our floors when we moved. They look great - - we still have dings, gouges, and a couple of spots I may have repaired down the road. It was a group called Mr. Sandless. Anyway, if you can find them in your area, they were AWESOME. Also, I am loving that blue. Then again, I decorate with blue. Plus, how did you post "big pictures" - - I would post pictures directly in forums as well as grab interesting ideas off websites, but I haven't been able to copy and paste in as I was able to on our CL site.

Anyway, I love the arches. Just precious ... I am SO happy for you.

[Breezy]

Anne ~ what a charming house! Very cottagey and I love those hardwood floors. I personally like very light colors (in our house) but any color would look great in your living room. Please keep us posted and thank you for the pic! I posted mine and I'm still waiting for others to post theirs.:)

[memmey]

Minwax makes a special cleaner just for hard wood floors and it won't make them dull. I got it at Lowes. It was not expensive.
That little cottage is gonna be adorable. I am so happy for you.:D

[Zuzu's Garden]

Wow!!! Cute house! May I ask, (if not, don't answer), is this home in Santa Cruz? If so, cute house in a fantastic location!!!
Zuzu

[WannaBHomemaker]

Love the house, Anne! Love the wood, love the arches! I even love the wall color. Add some light colored furniture and white curtains and that room would really pop!

[chyna]

You are so lucky with those floors!!!! Not sure what I think of the current color but I would choose either paint of stain for the trim and make them both the same thing. Just me but I find it weird that the ceiling molding is different than the floor trim. :o Since your window is so big and looks over your yard like that I would pull a color from outside or something complementary. :)

[Nikki]

I believe it is fir. It's not a super hard wood, so it has some gouges and dents, but as I told my boyfriend, you'd have to pay a lot of money for that kind of look these days! :D

ChapterTwo, I was wondering the right way to clean the floors! It seems to have an almost...waxy? finish, so they don't get real shiny.

If it IS fir, it might be finished with something like this:

http://www.environmentalhomecenter.com/shop.mv?CatCode=PRODUCT&ProdCode=OS_HARDWAX_OIL

Supposedly its the best finish for softwoods like fir. In our current cottage, we used polyurethane on the fir floors and it just scratches waaaaay too easily. With the hardwax oil, you can supposedly touch up scratches without refinishing the entire floor again. Plus, its much more eco-friendly :p

[CohenCottage]

My back saving tip is to start taking pilates classes from a good instructor so you can strenghten and learn to properly recruit your core muscles. Also, we used a "money stick" (also known as a post hole digging stick) as a leverage tool for moving heavy rocks and plants in the yard. DH and I moved a 1200 lb (not exagerating) boulder using one. It wasn't pretty and it involved said boulder rolling into our neighbor's fence. Now we call it the "divorce rock".

[Daffodil]

Hi Anne,

I'm new here as of tonight, but I just wanted to tell you that your cottage is adorable! My home also has come curved doorways, one of which is barely tall enough for my 6' 3" hubby to go through (we call it the "hobbit doorway"). Love the floors and front door, too. I was wondering what that thick and lovely vine is in the second pic?

[Lynzee]

Welcome Daffodil!

Anne ~ how are things going? Have you moved in yet?

[RoseMary]

Hi Daffodil~welcome to the forum. I'm looking forward to more of your posts:)

[Breezy]

Hiya Daffodil ~ nice to meet you!:)

[Lisa S]

Welcome, Daffidodil! I'm glad you joined us.

[Daffodil]

Thanks so much for the kind welcome! I'm reading through the threads and posting here and there. I LOVE being with like-minded people!

[Danske]

Welcome Daffodil!

Anne~~~Your cottage is addorable! Love the archways, the door, the great big picture window and the beautiful old floors..more pics, please!

[BoisBungalow]

What gorgeous floors! I wish ours looked that good after ripping up the carpet :( Can't wait to see what color you paint the walls!