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About the Header Image: Idlebrook Wendy Darling Evensen "Wendy" one of our four Labrador Retrievers.

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Tuesday, August 23, 2011

New Carpet!

Good morning,

Regular readers have already heard that we have had a great deal of painting done inside our home recently.  The living room, dining room, entrance hall, and three stairways were painted.  Now it's time for the new carpet.  We don't usually keep that baby grand in the entrance hall.  ;)
A team of four installers arrived to remove the old carpet.  They cut it into four foot strips and roll it up, and tape it to put out by the curb for trash pick up.

That is an original Rookwood fireplace over there and we use it constantly in the winter.  Right now we have put burnables into it, but won't light it while it is so hot outside and have the air conditioning working inside.  When we moved in 32 years ago, the fireplace tile had been painted over with many layers of paint.  It was a dark gray.  *sigh*  The previous owner thought Rookwood was old fashioned.  *even bigger sigh* It took me two weeks, two jugs of paint remover, and a box of latex gloves to strip the paint off of that Rookwood fireplace.

Rookwood Pottery is a Cincinnati company that has been reopened to again produce quality products.  To find out more about it, check out the link or just put Rookwood Pottery into a search engine to see its value now.  It's old fashioned, all right.  I love it!
You'll notice one of the installers is a young woman who arrived in short shorts and flip flops for shoes.  A friend said, "She's surely there for inspiration."  Wow, I wonder how much these people's Worker's Compensation premium is!
Here comes the new carpet.  Yes, just about the same color.  The house is Greek Revival so we've kept to the blue and white theme since we remodeled when we moved in 32 years ago. 

 The hard wood flooring is very pretty, but would need a great deal of refinishing to be able to use it as a bare floor.  We tried that when we moved in 32 years ago, but it didn't last long.  The whole house echoes, even with rugs in place.  With the dogs, too, it is nice to have the carpet so they don't slip and slide on the hardwood.

 That curio and buffet belong in the dining room.  *sigh*  Talk about feeling all discombobulated!
 They were using the dining room to cut padding and carpet for other areas.
 This is the first floor hallway looking toward the second floor.  When the house was built, this was the access to the servant's quarters directly from the kitchen.  We remodeled the third floor when we first moved here for our two boys to live up there.  There are two large bedrooms and a bath.  Daughter Catherine lives there now.
 That open door at the bottom of the image is our "secret" door.   It is off the hinges now so that the carpet can be put in.  The door is between the main staircase landing and the servant's staircase from the kitchen to the second floor.  Is this house fun or what?  When we first moved in, the kids were six, eight, and sixteen.  They spent the first couple of weeks just running up one stairway and down another. 
 When we moved in the leaded glass was not here.  The lady who sold us the house said she had the original leaded glass removed - it was old fashioned, you know.  *gasp!*  My Honey and I commissioned this window.
 That open door is a very large linen closet.  There's a window in the linen closet.  In the old days, there were windows in some closets so the items in there could be "aired."  The other door is one of the ways to access the master bath.
 This is the servant's stairway between the third and second floors, looking from the top.  The old carpet is gone;  the new carpet hadn't been installed here yet.
 And, this is the view of the stairway to the third floor with old carpet removed, some new padding on the stairs, but no new carpet yet.  I have no clue why the previous owner felt the need to paint the front of the stairs orange, red, yellow....  *another huge sigh*  We have always kept this stairway carpeted.

 And, now we're wrapping up after two days of carpet installation....
 We have some extra pieces that will go into a huge closet on the third floor.  You never know when you might need an extra piece of carpet, you know!
 And, now for the most important part of all:  Lab Testing of the new carpet!

 It's a real pain to do this, but it certainly is lovely when finished!  Now we are waiting for our new furniture to arrive in a few days.

Was it all worth it?  Yes, I think so.  :))

Best,
Lois

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27 comments:

Hootin Anni said...

Oh my gosh...what a job. But oh so worth every effort, stress times, and well...work, even if you're just photographing the progress. I envy you the grand piano!!

Gulf Waters

Hope your week is off to a grand beginning!!

Maude Lynn said...

We had new carpets done recently, and it is such a pain to do. But, it's worth it!

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

That's quite a project. I love the fireplace.

It interests me that so much of redecorating is covering up and then later uncovering.

Looks like the job passed the dog testing very well.

Rick Watson said...

Wow! Your place is beautiful! I know you'll enjoy the newly decorated space.

TexWisGirl said...

your house is BEAUTIFUL! i can only imagine in person! LOVE the lab testing! :) i can certainly see why you've loved living there 32 years!!! congrats on surviving all the mess!

grammie g said...

HI Lois...your home is lovely...(altough I am not a blue carpet person..lol..when my daughter was still at home she had a blue carpet, but we never saw much of it because of the clothes and the junk on it ; })
It seems here people are into hard wood floors(cold as far as I am concerned in winter...don't understand that one)!!
I'll shut up now ...it looks great and I really like the winding stair!!
Grace : }

Angela Häring-Christen said...

The blue carpet looks great.
You have a lot of rooms in your house.
I like your Greek Revival house.

Anonymous said...

Never is fun to have your house torn upside down changing carpets. We need new in the back hall and bedroom. We need a lot of things...Looks good Lois!...debbie

Lois said...

Getting new carpet is such an ordeal! It is definitely worth it though. I absolutely love your house and that fireplace is gorgeous!

Ricki Treleaven said...

Well, if the labs like it, I like it, too! :D Your house is so gorgeous. I know you are happy to have the installation behind you!

I love, love LOVE your new header!!! It made me smile this morning. I have never met a dog i didn't like!

Thanks for the heads-up abut Rookwood Pottery. I want to visit their website sometime today.

xoxoxoxo,
Ricki Jill

Rose said...

Oh, what a project...but yes, worth it.

Montanagirl said...

Gasp - you're home is so beautiful! You'll sure enough enjoy all that new carpeting!

Julie Ferguson said...

Wow, the place looks nice. What a huge job but worth it in the end.

Anonymous said...

you have a nice big house indeed :) well done to the guys and the lady in shorts :)

Wanda..... said...

You have a very lovely home, Lois...all the interesting nooks, closets and stairs make it even more so! I can understand the fascination it held for the children! New carpet may be in my future too.

Martha said...

You have such a beautiful home. I am looking forward to seeing the new furniture.

Jenny said...

Thanks for the peek into your home. :-) I'm happy you have your house back now.

Judy said...

Wow, that's a lot of work...I love the Lab testers. That would be something our Sadie would do.

Tanya said...

Wow, what a beautiful house! I wish I could get a new carpet put in! My hubby says "No, the cats will ruin whatever we put in right away." I too, love that fireplace!

Reena said...

Oh, so much work to installing carpet. But so worth it in the end!
Your home looks lovely!

Quay Po Cooks said...

Lois, You have a LOVELY home! Changing carpets is a tiring project but it is all worth it when it is finished isn't it? I am sure you will enjoy the new look of your home. I am upgrading the finishing of my condo now but the work is nothing compared to yours but I know when it is finished I will be very happy. HUGS

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

We need to have new carpeting here, but the thought of the work moves that project to the back burner. Thanks for sharing your project and providing us with glimpses of your lovely home, Lois.

Elaine said...

The new carpet looks lovely. I'm sure you are eager to get everything put back together after all the work you've had done. What an ordeal that is, but it will be well worth it in the end. Sounds like you'll just get it back together and then it will be time to head back to sea. Wonderful that you were able to bring that lovely fireplace back and the leaded glass window is so beautiful--that spot really cries out for a beautiful window like that.

Bob Bushell said...

That must of cost few dollars?

VP said...

You own a wonderful house, most of mine will fit nicely in your entrnce hall... I like the way you narrated this 'story' and the final picture with the 'lab' test is perfect!

Karen said...

wonderful house!! you could fit my whole house in your entrance hall!!!

Joolz said...

What a beautiful home. I would love a tour when you have everything back in place.