Sunday, February 26, 2012

New Entry Floor


While the hubs was gone for a week to the upper peninsula this past month,
I took advantage of having the house to myself 
and getting a project completed that had been put off for way too many years.

I installed a new floor!

Well...I can't take all the credit.
I did have help.

I called Lin up to see what she was doing
and she happily and fearlessly donated her services.
She's willing to try anything 
once
(from what she tells me anyway).

Neither of us had put down flooring before.
What were we thinking...???

But, being women of the 2000's 
and being incredibly inspired by all of the DIY bloggers out there,
and being such a teeny, tiny space ~
we knew we could do it.

We plunged right in.

Pencil?  Check!
Box cutter?  Check!
Level?  Check!
T-square?  Check!
Yardstick?  Check!
Box of new flooring?  Check!
Bottle of FatCat*HappyDog wine?  

Ummmmm.....

"Hey, Lin?"
"Yeah?"
"It's 10:00 in the morning."
"Yeah, so?"
"We better wait on that."

"Okaaaaaayyyy....."




I had ripped up the old parquet floor a couple days prior
with a hammer and putty knife.

As you can see, it was in bad shape.  
It had gotten wet from snowy, salty, dirty shoes over the years
even though we've always had a rug there.
I couldn't keep it clean any more and it just looked
gross.
Not to mention that I've never been a fan of parquet floors.
Too busy for my taste.


Yuck!


The old parquet came up very easily.


"Demolition" = my new middle name.



See what I mean about being tiny? This space looks larger already with the parquet gone.


Ugly gold metal trim.....gone!


I also repainted the risers as well as the little "cubby" which holds our boot tray.

We were laying TrafficMaster Allure Resilient flooring in "Tradition" from Home Depot.
It's awesome stuff.
It looks just like wood, has a distinct wood grain feel to it,
but is actually some type of rubbery material.
You measure, cut, line it up, and stick it down.
That's it!


Looks like real wood, no?


The gray strips are where you line up the planks and stick them together.


After a couple hours of work,
a few choice words,
prayers for said choice words,
a few wrong measurements,
prayers for correct measurements,
a bit of a learning curve,
forgetting to take photos of us in contorted poses with planks in our hands,
lots and lots of laughing about "cheek cracks" while both of us squished together in that tiny, little space,

and not a DROP of wine, mind you...

we had the majority of it done.


Boot cubby



However.......

we ran out of flooring.
We were about 6 planks short.
Agh!

Guess someone didn't calculate correctly.
(Yes, that would be me.
But in my own defense, 
the guy at Home Depot said one box would be enough!)

So, I ordered some more online and it arrived three days later,
which is when I completed it ~
all by myself.

 
This past weekend,
Hubby and I finally took some time to install new baseboard trim as well as replaced the old, icky gold metal strip on the top step with a new pewter colored one.

Ta da!






I would definitely lay this flooring again ~ and have already started eyeing my carpeted bathroom...


We couldn't believe how much larger this teeny, tiny space looked.
No more make-your-eyes-go-loopy, crazy, parquet squares filled with years of dirt and yuck.

Now, just easy-to-keep-clean, smooth, wood-like planks
that are water, dirt, and scratch resistant
to scruffy dogs
and scruffy husbands.

Lovely!

Thank you, Lin!!!

Love you, girl!!!

(Hey, wanna build a house next....?) 



Hmmm, 

now....where's that wine....???



[ Blessings ]






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83 comments:

  1. Beautiful job, Laurie and Lin! The space really does look larger. And I love the boot cubby! I want one in my next house :) xo

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  2. BRAVO, laurie. i love it. i could never have tackled a project like that without making things worse! you go!

    michele

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  3. Wow you rock!!! The floor looks fabulous!!!!

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  4. Impressive! You and Lin should come on over...I could spring for the vino. :)
    -Revi

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  5. Laurie- That looks great. I have done some of that work myself and it is always more of tha job than you think it is going to be. What a difference that makes! WOW-Way to go. If you haven't popped by my blog get your butt over there and sign up for my BLOVERLY giveaway! just sayin....xo Diana

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  6. Good for you! Your floor looks great and does look like wood. Great job, you independent lady!

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  7. You girls are very brave and it turned out wonderful...I love it!!!

    xoxo
    Kathleen

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  8. Love this! This is what we were thinking about doing in our living room and hall way. My friend, the flooring guy, said there is now a flooring like this, but in a floating locking style that we are going to be doing this spring. I can't wait!
    We have navy blue carpet in the living room and hall way that was cool in the early 90s, but not so much anymore. Its old and worn and ready to be ripped out of here.
    I need something we can mop. Bebe is 13 years old and doesn't always make it outside, poor guy. The carpet has to go cause that mutt is staying.
    I love that you did this by yourselves! Awesome!
    I hate parquet flooring. I agree- too, too, too busy.
    I am to the point if I can't Mr Clean it, I don't want it. Too darn old to shampoo the carpets every week!
    Good thing you are tiny thing. I would have to open the back door for butt room.

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  9. It turned out great! You guys rock! It really does make the room look larger and yes, it reallly does look like real wood but this will definitely hold up better! Now for that glass of wine in celebration of a job well done!

    ~Sandy

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  10. It looks great! You're brave to tackle doing it on your own.

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  11. My sister put that flooring in the upstairs of her very old house. It's very forgiving on uneven floors and looks like real wood. Just don't stick it down wrong 'cause it's awful to get it back off the floor! Way to go girls! ~ Maureen

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  12. That looks so great! Your husband will be proud. My daughter wants to do hardwood floors in her whole downstairs. I wonder if her and I could do it?

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  13. Laurie,
    You did so good!! I love how it turned out!!! It looks so much like real wood! You must be soooo proud! :)
    xoxo,
    Shellagh

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  14. It looks great. Your braver than I am. My husband did our living room with the wooden lament too. I love it. It looks great and cleans up easy.

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  15. Wow Laurie, that is a wonderful difference.... the house I grew up in had the old parquet flooring in the family room & it always had a large oval braided rug to cover much of it... so that brings back Sweet Memories ~ yet, I love the new flooring!
    Hope things are going well, think of you often & always remember you & your Mom in My Prayers~
    xox
    Cheryl

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  16. What a different. Very nice work I'm impressed.

    Hugs
    Elna

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  17. Hey Laurie,
    you have a wonderful blog.
    regards, Petra

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  18. looks great!! i plan on using the same flooring soon...but there is no way i'm doing without my husband! lol

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  19. WOW you all did a great job. Come over this spring and help with ours in the kitchen. I can't wait, but than you never know what you will be getting into when taking up a floor. HA! HA!

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  20. Very impressive. I love that flooring and it looks pretty easy to install. You both deserved that glass of wine.
    Hugs,
    Laura

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  21. Laurie, I love that flooring! It looks so realistic! I wonder how it would stand up with dogs? My big dog scratches our wood floors terribly. Anyway, it looks wonderful!

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  22. Awesome!! I plan to use this flooring in my mudroom bathroom reno. Thanks for sharing this!!!

    Have a happy week xox

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  23. Wow, Laurie, great job!! That looks so good. Do you keep going in there to admire it? I'd be so happy about it, that's what I would do :)

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  24. Well done! Both of you! It does look so much better. You'll have to let us know how it holds up. I'm not a fan of parquet either. I like tile in an entry way but the wood looks fabulous and it does look like wood. Rubber you say??? That should hold up good to all the weather etc..... Great job!

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  25. Laurie, that looks fantastic! Definitely do the carpeted washroom...I did one in our old house with this stuff...I almost didn't want to move when it was done! Almost. Great job! xo wendy

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  26. I love it, Laurie! You aren't going to believe this but my entry has a little square of the "gross" stuff too! And like you said you just can't keep it clean with all the dirt and wet snow that gets in the cracks of the crazy stuff (I also have it covered with a rug!) I might have to check out Home Depot and do a little project of my own! Thank so much for your inspiration!! :)
    Maria

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  27. It turned out beautiful! I love the color. Not a drop of wine huh? How about later that night? LOL! You did well my dear, now wanna come do mine? :)
    Have a wonderful day!
    Smugs!
    xoxoxo

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  28. you amaze and inspire me!! the floor looks great!
    happy new week to you,
    erin
    xxoo

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  29. It turned out great Laurie...the fact that the floor is scratch and water resistant is a huge plus.

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  30. Your floor turned out awesome! And it does look like real wood!

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  31. Laurie...I'm impressed! You and Lin did a FAB job! I would have needed LOTs of wine to BRAVE that project!
    Looks amazing...xokathee

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  32. What a beautiful job you girls did!!
    Ok, now can you two pencil me in, I will supply the wine?!!

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  33. Great job! It looks terrific, Laurie!

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  34. Laurie,
    WoW! What a transformation! I've put down those peel and stick bathroom floor tiles all by myself before...but this is amazing! Looks as if it is the original wood floors in your home. Like you, I'm NOT a fam of parquet floors, either! Thanks for sharing and inspiring all of us!
    Fondly,
    Pat

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  35. I love it! My hubby & I put almost the same thing on our basement concrete floor and it looks wonderful. I think the maintenance, upkeep and indestructability are fabulous for this product. Again, well done! Linda

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  36. unbelievable! It looks great! You are talented my friend.

    xo
    M

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  37. Wow!! You're brave. I hate measuring stuff because I'm lousy at it. I need one of those new tape measures that have the little marks in between each inch with #'s on it to let you know if its 1/8, 1/4, etc. Math is not my strong suit!. Love your flooring. I'm going to have check that out for my small entrance.

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  38. What a transformation. I bet you are really happy with your new floor. Thanks for stopping by my post and leaving a message.

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  39. Laurie, Love your new flooring. Good job. Bet your husband was proud. Smiles, Susie(She Junks)

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  40. What a wonderful, clean new look. I'm impressed with the job you did! Looks fabulous, and yes larger.
    Mary Alice

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  41. Hi Laurie, I love your new floors they really look very pretty. I too am using the Allure flooring in my kitchen remodel I am in the process of doing. As a matter of fact I am slowly putting it through out my house. It really is durable and very easy to install and the price is great. Thanks so much for sharing & I'm a new follower on LF. Stop by and visit and check out my kitchen redo I'd love to have you. :-)

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  42. Wow- I'm thoroughly impressed! You really went all out and made it look so much better! I can well imagine it's a bit of work to keep up the entry there- I live in Michigan (Traverse City) and we have plenty of snow/salt that drags in too!
    5 star job!

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  43. This is stunning. I have never heard of this stuff but it's genius. I am trying to talk myself into taking the carpet off my steps. You are the inspiration I needed! Have a good week and rest those knees. :o)

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  44. What a difference! And that you and your friend did it yourselves, perfect! I really love how it looks now.

    ~Shanon

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  45. Boy, what a difference! This looks so nice, Laurie! You girls did a great job. I'll bet Rog is pleased. I think it would look great in your bathroom too!
    xxoo

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  46. You and Lin ROCK!!! What a pair of DIY-selfers. It looks so great and it even sounded fun (the way you tell it ;) Laurie)) I love that flooring!
    sending hugs...

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  47. Wow -- amazing difference! Great job Laurie! {HUGS}

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  48. Way to go Laurie and Lin! I am so in awe of this gorgeous transformation, and inspired that you did it yourselves. Can't help but chuckle about the choice words & prayers, but it was worth all that toil. It looks fabulous! When, oh when, is your beautiful farmhouse going to be featured in JDL!! It is so deserving. The editors need to call you asap and set that up. :)

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  49. Wow Laurie you and your girlfriend did an amazing job!!! Love the transformation. Great photos of your talent.

    Blessings to you
    Kate
    xoxo

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  50. You need to pat yourself on the back, and pour yourself a glass of wine, that is an absolutely awesome upgrade. Nice work!!
    Karah @ thespacebetweenblog

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  51. Really so pretty, it really does look like wood. I plan on using Allure in our master bedroom remodel! Thanks for sharing your creative inspiration at Sunday's Best Par.tay!

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  52. Hi Laurie! Wow, what an awesome transformation. It totally looks like real wood and I bet it will be much easier to care for than the real thing. Lovely job!

    BTW I'm stopping over from Primp Your Stuff linky party and am your newest follower! I'd love for you to stop by and check out my blog, if you have time.

    Xoxo,
    Sarah
    www.adventuresofourfamily.com

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  53. You deserve that wine Laurie!!!
    Wow it is beautiful! Love the new floor and the bead board.
    That is one great girlfriend you have. It sounds like you two had a blast!
    Pamela xo

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  54. Wow! You are impressive; I can't believe you and your friend did that yourselves. Awesome job and it looks fantastic. I love the flooring and fresh paint works wonders. I have no doubt you can now build a house. You may have your wine now - Kudos on your accomplishment!

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  55. Very impressive makeover. The change of floors really transformed the space. And the wood planks definitely look real! Love it.

    Looking forward to seeing more of your projects as a new Linky Follower.
    Sharon @ mrs. hines class

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  56. And I'll bet you wish you had done it years ago. Looks wonderful.

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  57. Hi Laurie,
    You did such a fabulous job!! It looks sooo good. I don't think i could ever do that.Great job.

    Kathy

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  58. Your new flooring/steps are beautiful! I have recently done some floor work as well...very time consuming but definitely worth it!

    Have a great day

    Marilyn

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  59. LOL! The story Laurie was hilariously the outcome beautiful! Very well done.
    What amazing results! Now here's the funny part, what kind of wine did you mention? Is it red or white? Sweet or dry? I may see if I can ge that here. 8-;

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  60. Oh how pretty, very nice job!! Thanks for taking us along. Happy leap day dear!!

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  61. What a difference it makes! Just beautiful. And I love love love love love love love love love your new blog banner!!!!! So beautiful for spring and all lined up nicely. Before it there was a huge space of white between your blog name and the banner for me when viewing. I want laminate wood floors so bad. But we just have to wait till our piggy bank is full. Thats alOt of waiting. hmph. but makes a girl appreciate it all the more.

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  62. Laurie you both did such a wonderful job on this! What a differencce it makes!
    Sounds like such a fun time together..girl time..the best!!
    Good for you for doing this!

    Deborah xoxo

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  63. It looks great!! I love the "Tradition". We love our Allure flooring over here! I love seeing it in someone else's house now too. Thanks for sharing!

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  64. AWESOME! I know I wouldn't try this even with the wine! haha! I'm so proud of you! It's gorgeous!

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  65. You ladies did a great job. I always by an extra box, roll or yard I live in fear of running out of anything. Plus I always cut crooked. Maybe I should just hire you girls next time.

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  66. Wow what a great transformation!! Good job!

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  67. You and Lin did such a fantastic job! I love it! I'm your newest Linky Follower too!

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  68. You are brave girls...I am impressed! It looks great...I am loving the wood and the white these days. THANKS for taking a peek at my kitchen and your sweet words:)
    Rene

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  69. I don't know how I missed this post. Your new floor looks totally fantastic!! Looks like wood, doesn't get nasty like wood ... what a win/win. Way better than the parquet.

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  70. That looks really lovely! Nicely done!!

    Thanks for sharing this on the Take it on tuesday blog hop!

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  71. Looks really pretty, Laurie! Nice job! Thank you for sharing your craftiness at Potpourri Friday!

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  72. You are the cutest! And I want you and Lin to come to my house! We could have so much fun tearing stuff up together! And remodeling, of course! :) Thanks so much for sharing at my place! I will be featuring you!
    xoxo!
    Melody
    ChattyChics.com

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  73. Hello Laurie, You had me laughing! Well done! Love the new look! That wood is terrific! I am a great fan of Home Depot especially after hearing the story of the founder and his wife - inspiring! Thank you so much for sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

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  74. You make it look like anybody can just do this. Amazing. Love it.

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  75. Why don't I have any talented friends like you girls living around me?

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  76. Gosh I know you girls had a blast, and there's just something so satisfying about a great before and after like this! You must be so thrilled with that new space. I love it! xoxo ~Lili

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  77. Wow! That is what a fantastic entry way should look like. The wooden strips look easy enough to apply, and they made the entryway look stylish and chic. People who would come through your doorway would gasp in admiration of how fabulous it is. And why not? It is befitting of such a reaction!

    Kathy Carbone

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  78. Holy shmoly you are one talented woman of the 2000's! Your new entry and stairs look beautiful, plus you have some fun memories of installing it yourself. Our last remodel was the first we had someone else do. As hard as the work is, there is just something about doing it yourself which satisfies for a long time. Besides that, you can get it done right! Congratulations, now go tackle that carpeted bedroom.

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  79. Carpet | Vinyl |Property Owners flooring Bymydiscountfloor, Carpeting grounds is less unreasonable than other ground sorts.Vinyl deck has made some amazing progress from the times of the meager designed vinyl, we take up with our grandmas kitchens Apartment Laminates | Hand Scrape Hardwood

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Bless you and thank you for visiting! I read each of your comments and treasure them all. So, please make sure your settings will accept emails, or leave your email address so that I can reply! ♥ Laurie