Family Room Underway (Photos!!!)

If you've been keeping up at all with us, you know that shortly after moving into this home, we discovered that the previous owner's dog had an apparent bladder issue. This little bit of information was masked until we decided to shampoo the family room carpet before our furniture arrived. Basically, we successfully cleaned up whatever the PO had used to hide the smell, and after the "cleaning" the entire downstairs reeked of pet damage. Yuck.



Thankfully, our other house sold really quickly, and we didn't have to wait too terribly long to afford new carpet. That is not a blessing to take lightly, my friends. It took a few weeks to find a good price, the right color, etc. But, before long, we had an installation date - April 20th. That's the day after tomorrow :) YAY!!!





Given the extent of the yucky pee smell, Sam and I arranged to have the old carpet removed two full weeks before the new carpet's arrival. During the last two weeks, we've been cleaning the concrete floor beneath with a solution of 75% water, 25% bleach, and a dash of detergent. I'm normally a chemical-shy gal, but it felt sooooo good to disinfect that room. We aren't putting carpeting in the adjacent backroom (SpareOom), but we are going to put in new flooring later in the year. Because the carpet tiles in that room were also damaged, we're taking those up and treating the concrete beneath right after we do the family room concrete. The photo below is taken from the family room, looking into SpareOom.







After cleaning the floors, Sam set to work priming them to ensure that any remaining odor was sealed away from the soon-to-be new carpeting. The children and I spent all day Friday at the zoo while leaving the upstairs windows open to let the house air out after all that nasty primer. We had the windows open all day today, too, and as I type this there's nary a whiff of primer to be whiffed :)



So, this is the state of things right now. You might be wondering why we're putting carpet in before we do the other work in this room. That would be a sensible thing to wonder. But, the carpet we wanted is currently on **sale**, and we wanted to get the best price possible. We aren't planning on any super messy electric or drywall work in that room, so we're hoping this won't be a decision we'll regret. You may also be wondering why we decided to go with wall-to-wall when the trend is definitely hardwood. That's also a good thing to wonder. Mainly, it's just practical for us at this point. That's the Wrestle Room for our children. The Jump-Off-The-Couch-Onto-A-Pile-Of-Pillows Room... and it's concrete beneath. So, we wanted a nice 8 lb. pad, a low pile wall-to-wall, and we plan on an area rug or two to add extra cush and to help define our spaces design wise. Several years down the road, when the children are older and the carpet has served its purpose, we might take the plunge and replace it with hardwood. Never know.



So that's where we are in our progress :) Did you see the kitchen cabinet doors all spread out on tables to be painted in the backroom (two pics up)? I'm encouraged by all we have gotten done so far, but it definitely stretches me out of my comfort zone to have the house so chaotic. I mean, look at the kitchen table. Sherry, if you're reading this, I had to laugh when I saw this pic and thought of your organization posts. You're welcome to use this photo as incentive for readers ;) It's such a wreck. There's a little sneak peek of the kitchen wall color there, though.

I'll be sure to post some pics after the installation on Monday. The room won't be usable, yet, because we'll still have other areas exposed - safety hazards and all that. But, it will be a definite plus to be able to go downstairs without shoes. It's the little things, you know.

Thanks for taking a look at what we're up to, everyone. And remember, we'd love it if you'd leave a comment!