Original Wood Floor Reveal: Part One: Lifting Carpet.

Today I lifted the carpet in my living room. Last week I did the hallway....

It went pretty well! I was kinda worried, but hoping for the best since I'd asked the previous owner a month a go what the condition was like, and she said "horrible". I was bummed, and decided to just try to deep clean the carpet, but the pet odor was just too much and I'd had enough. The previous owner had pets, I have pets, the poor carpet just didn't stand a chance. As soon as I lifted the hallway, most of the smell was gone.

I could vacuum every day and 30 minutes later there's a layer of dust on my coffee table. I felt like I could re-hair a bald dog with all the Basset hair I was sucking up. It was time for the living room carpet to say hello to the trash dump.

I started out by my window.

Nothing horrid there, but there was one broken wood slat.

Meh, It's easily hidden by my drapes until I can replace it.

Then I slowly pulled carpet in long strips.

Some not so pretty spots, but for the most part, still nothing horrible. Plus I'm going for a kinda upcycled look, it'll all work out. Right? Hope so! Cuz there is no turning back now!

And still more... I'm getting happier and happier with each section I reveal.

Now I just have one large strip left, and I know this is probably where the patched up floor vent is. I'm expecting it at least, and I'm happy it's against the wall separating my living room from my kitchen.

And here it is! Not pretty to look at, but eventually I can fill it in. For now, I have plans to just cover it up. This is not the horrible I was expecting. Not even a little bit.

So this is the living room without carpet.

Under the tile at the entry way is some old linoleum. I'm gonna pull the exposed edges and leave the tile for now. I'll find some finishing edging so it's not so exposed looking. Still not seeing the horrible condition.

Maybe beauty is just in the eye of the beholder.....

I love love love this floor. My living room looks so much bigger than it used to. Oh! The smell... It's gone. Well, almost gone. My front porch has the last of the carpet sitting out waiting for the trash to be emptied tomorrow. It's stinky out there. 

The next step will be to remove carpet staples and glue. Then I'll sand and re-stain. After that, I want to paint all the trim white and the walls a new color.

I'm starting to love my house again!