Remember my super red and irritated back from allergy testing? And the sad discovery that I am allergic to dogs 
(I scored a 2 on a scale of 0 – 4). Well in an effort to decrease the amount of allergens in our home, we (and by “we” I totally mean my hubby!) have laid down hardwood flooring in the entire house — with the exception of the kitchen and bathrooms. It was a pricey project, but oh so worth it — especially since my allergies (pollen, grass, weeds, etc….) have gotten so awful over the past couple of years. I’m very fortunate (and thankful!) that my hubby was able to do all the work so we only had to pay for materials. The house smells fresher and cleaner without our carpets. Before we moved into our ranch-style house nearly 8 years ago, hubby did lay down hardwood in the living room. However, over the past year, during three different long weekends, hubby has laid down hardwood flooring down the hallway and in the three bedrooms. However, I still wear googles and a mouth/nose mask when sweeping to help protect myself from Benjamin’s shedded fur and dander. This past weekend hubby did the last bedroom. He has dubbed this room the “purple parlor.” I thought I’d show y’all a peek.
Before: And yes, there are some big spots of Benjamin’s fur on the carpet. It is a bit embarrassing to admit because I do keep a clean house, but I gave up vacuuming the carpeted rooms months ago. We didn’t have a HEPA filter vacuum so whenever I would vacuum all the allergens would just exhaust out the back of the vacuum anyway and really bother me.
After: yay! Benjamin looking a bit concerned…..
All the furniture is this pic was gifted to us from my folks. They retired and moved out-of-state about a year ago. They have had those chairs since the mid-80s but ironically they are in such great condition because barely anyone has ever sat in them! Growing up, we had a “living room” with fancy furniture but I wasn’t allowed in there and my parents rarely entertained guests in there, instead opting for the comfier family room.
Hubby and I are both book nerds and we are running out of space to stash our books! He is going to install a built-in floor to ceiling bookcase on the wall where the closet door opens up to. It’s such a cool way to use this “wasted” space since no one would ever put furniture there since it would prevent the closet door from opening.
Sewing desk (y’all have seen this before) without my chair. I need to buy a very small rug for my rollie chair to sit on. One that is definitely washable.
Yup, Benjamin approves of the room. His bed is in the exact same spot is was before. He definitely was not thrilled with the “chaos” from the weekend project, but really pepped up and got excited as we started putting the house back together!
Filed under: Benjamin & friends, Life
Beautiful floors and how fun to have a whole “new” room to decorate. Had you not been sewing since your machine was in this carpeted room?
I haven’t been around to visit because a lot of times I read blogs in the evening on my non-smart phone and it’s very difficult to comment. My hubby gave me a nook for my birthday and it makes things so much easier!
thanks for the compliment on our purple parlor! and man oh man, i haven’t sewed in such a long time. i started a pair of simple elastic waistband pants probably nearly a year ago and still haven’t finished them up. just got distracted by other creative projects (mostly in the kitchen) and i haven’t done any sewing at all! i just need to make myself finish the pants so i can start a different sewing project that i actually want to do. i bought a couple of charm packs of the new ‘comma’ line by zen chic for moda and i’d like to make some kind of quilt with those. but oh those neglected pants!
p.s. and yes, the carpeting was part of the reason…. it has been too uncomfortable for me to be in that room for long.