Adventures in Carpeting

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

28 Jan 2008 12:51 PM

Last week, we decided to head over to a local flooring store to take a look at our options for kitchen flooring. Here is what happened.

Remember now that we were looking around at ideas, availability and pricing to help us make some decisions for a kitchen redo. We wanted to see what types of flooring might look nice, hold up in the kitchen and be affordable.

At the flooring store, we met a great salesman who was also a closet designer. I mean that he designs rooms as a side business, not that he designs closets. I'll call him Tony, because, well, that is his name. Tony asked us a few questions and showed us some new products. He helped narrow down our likes, dislikes and concerns when it came to flooring for the kitchen. He even put together some samples that would coordinate a cabinet, countertop and floor. We were so excited. We still haven't completely decided on our direction with the kitchen, but the cherry cabinets with a granite countertop that picked up the rich color, worked well with an upscale vinyl tile that would eliminate our need to level the floor on day one and would expand as we needed it. We passed on any purchases, since we haven't confirmed what it is we really want to do, yet.

Next, we took a look at flooring for our family room. As fate would have it, it started to peel up, crack and generally deteriorate recently. Either it was jealous of the kitchen floor (which pulled away from the seam in a bid to keep the attention), or it was under some kind of pain of death from the previous owners of our home who beat it into submission until after escrow. Whichever the case, the flooring in the family room finally gave up the ghost and became a safety hazard.

We picked out a very nice nylon closed loop short carpet that had the look for a berber but the soft feel of a traditional pile carpet. As a bonus, it had a sophisticated pattern in it and a neutral color that we think will grow with us when we upgrade the room but still work well with our existing furniture.

Today, the "measuring guy," came over to measure the room. He is also a real estate agent, doing side work in this down turn market. We had a nice chat.

Oh, and our carpet should be installed in two or three weeks. I'll keep you posted.

Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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Sherry Holetzky (11404) 29 Jan 2008 07:18 AM

If I might offer some friendly, yet unsolicited, advice - it is probably worth your while to have someone come out and see just how badly the floor needs to be leveled. That may be the first place you want to spend your money.

I'll post my experience...

Mary Ann Romans (26886) 29 Jan 2008 08:57 AM

Thanks! I think what we need is a ballasade in the basement to add support to the home overall. Settling has caused some unevenness. I would love to hear about your experiences, though.