Crazy Ideas Come to Fruition

12 years ago, we built a house. We were newlyweds, money was kind of tight, we did it on somewhat of a budget. That means when it came time to choose the decorator features pre-build, I tried to stay with the ‘included’ options. After 1 ½ hours of making selections from a sparse few options, I burst into tears. The Hubs looked scared. Why was his new wife bawling? Well, the selections we made weren’t how I wanted our new home to look. This was to be our forever home. We didn’t want to move again. Ever. And I wanted our new home to look pretty. The Hubs, as he often does, took pity on me and suggested that we should choose some upgrades now and decide what we could do on our own, later.  As per the usual, he was the calm, rational one.  So, we started the deco process over again and I upgraded the cabinets and the tile downstairs. He suggested we go up three levels on the builder grade carpet and that we’d replace it in 10 years. Boom. Done. House designed and ready for build-out.

Fast forward 12 years, and the carpet has seen better days. It is very much past it’s prime. Spoiled Dog 1, aka Coal, decided that he needed to mark the carpet at regular intervals, prompting me to threaten to put a chip clip on Mr. Winkie if I caught him doing it again.  When I was pregnant, morning sickness got the better of me right after I’d consumed a fruit punch Gatorade. Red regurgitation and light-colored rug do not a compatible couple make.  There is no stain remover on the market that will take that out of carpet. I know. I’ve tried. There are stains from puppy puke and soda spills. There are stains that I can’t identify, and probably don’t want to. The carpet is worn, it’s nubby, it’s old and it needs to be replaced.

The time has come. The carpet is going. But, as with many home improvement projects, what started out as one small project, quickly snowballed into a much bigger – and more expensive – one.  As usual, when we undertake something, we don’t go half way. We go all the way. And so, every bit of flooring in the house will be changed. I’ll document all the changes and the day to day loss of my sanity. That will probably make it easier for a judge to rule me incompetent to make my own decisions when the time comes.

I have lovingly begun to call this process the “demovation” – a cross between demolition and renovation.  Here begins our journey…