Friday, September 23, 2011

Room Updates... Finally!

Happy Friday!! I am finally re-emerging from the depths of remodeling hell and thought I'd share the latest and greatest from the living room/dining room/foyer makeover. It just may go down in history as the slowest project on the blogsphere.  If you need a refresher on what the heck we're even doing, you can read about it herehereherehere and here. It's been a long process, but the floors are finally installed on the main floor.



The stairs are a different (and long) story...


As with every project, we hit a bit of a roadblock. The treads were refinished, but there was one piece of wood that almost cost me $7,000. Like I said, it's a long story.


Here's the abbreviated version of what we were dealing with:

Stair treads are red oak.
New floor is maple.
Stair landing was supposed to be finished in the new maple flooring.
Annoying piece of oak wood was 1/4" lower than new maple flooring.
Annoying piece of oak could not be removed.
Landing would look funky with this one annoying piece of wood not matching and not at same height.

Called stair expert.
Stair expert said he couldn't remove the annoying piece of wood without removing the entire handrail, and oh by the way, both staircases are not to code and should be replaced to the tune of $7,000.
Code schmode! I'm not shelling out $7,000.
Lose an entire night's sleep, but come up with a brilliant solution. (Okay, so maybe it's not brilliant, but it saves me $7,000.)

Plan: order new red oak in the same height as annoying piece of wood to use on landing. Have it sanded and stained to match stair treads. Remove spindles from annoying piece of wood so that it can also be sanded and stained to match.

Not sure that was "abbreviated," but it's the best I could do :) 



I want to thank all of you who weighed in on my grasscloth wallpaper dilemma. I so appreciate all the comments and e-mails. I apologize if I didn't respond to everyone. P.Daddy was out of town, there were a gazillion school projects, games and practices... you know the drill... and people in and out working on the floors... blogging had to take a backseat.

I laughed when a few of you wrote to me about this bedroom on House of Turquoise. I had seen that room too, and the first thing I noticed was that the grasscloth had some funky color variation like mine. It's so nice to know I'm not alone!

I'll fill you in on the grasscloth decision later. I think I've bored you enough for now :)

And, in case I haven't said it lately, I so appreciate all of you who take the time to read my little ole blog. I can't believe there are 300 people crazy kind enough to follow my chaos! You're the best!!



15 comments:

  1. I really enjoy reading your blog!! I promise that I'm not just saying that to be nice either. I love your new floors!!! When we had new flooring put in, we left the staircase alone. After seeing what you're going through with yours, I'm glad we did. However, when you get yours done, I'll be jealous. Mine still has carpet on them. Yours are coming along. Who knew staircases could be so expensive? I also LOVE your sofa! I want it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The room looks soooooo good with the new floor and wall color. There is always a glitch in renovating. I don't think it ever goes smoothly. At least your loss of sleep came up with a brilliant idea.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The floors really tuned out beautiful! I bet you're relieved that's done. We just started on our kitchen...it's a long road and the busiest room of the house!

    XO,
    Janie

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your floors are GORGEOUS!! Love your living room! Martina

    ReplyDelete
  5. They turned out beautiful. Glad you came up with an alterative to $7000. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  6. great floors. please refresh my memory, what was your final decision ...brand, stain, etc. THANKS!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks, ladies! M ... the floors are Columbia Chatham Timeworn solid 5" plank in Dockside Maple.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Well, you are just keeping me spellbound and grateful our remodel is finished. Glad you can roll with the punches...it goes with the territory :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Don't ya hate it when a "simple" project turns into a fiasco? Floors look great and I know you're loving them! I hope to get back to blogging soon! Take care!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your living room is so beautiful and elegant. Well done! I can't believe the problems you have had with your stairs! Here's a quote that might help "everything will be OK in the end...if it's not OK, it's not the end!" x Sharon

    ReplyDelete
  11. Your room looks fantastic! Despite all the aggravation, all of your efforts are so worth it! Love it xo

    ReplyDelete
  12. I am soooo in love with those floors! I was just looking at mine and wishing for darker floors. Can't wait to catch up on your blog. It's beautiful here!

    ReplyDelete
  13. It is just gorgeous! I am so sorry about all the headaches and so glad that you didn't have to spend $7000! The stairs turned out beautiful.
    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  14. Always a few bumbs int he road! BUT WOW, it all looks so stunning. Love the new floors.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love your wood flooring; I really enjoy the wide plank design. I am happy you worked around the situation with your stairs and the annoying piece of wood. To be honest I have never faced such problem and I may have just left the staircase alone like Kelly said :)

    ReplyDelete