Thursday, November 15, 2018

Before, During and After


This is possibly the least attractive photo I've ever published on my blog. It shows our old dining room carpet, complete with its odd discolorations and its random mysterious spots. You can see why we've been working almost since we moved in to get it replaced. (It also had some threadbare patches that don't show in this photo -- they're the reason the landlord was so convinced we had moths, but I think they were just the result of age.)

As I said, the handymen came Tuesday and ripped it out, leaving...


...the bare floor. As you can see, it's a very strange floor. One of my commenters asked why the dining room is carpeted at all, given that it could be the site of spills. Well, this is why. The floor around the edge of the room is beautiful old wood in a herringbone pattern, but for some reason in the center there's just particleboard -- and beneath that, the unfinished subfloor.

We entertained the idea of trying to refinish the wooden perimeter and carpeting just the center, which is the way our bedroom is carpeted. But it would take some work, and besides, in front of the non-functioning fireplace there's a concrete patch where the hearth used to be. I'm not sure how we'd fix that. And, you know, it's not our house.


Here's another view. The little trash can is there because I was pulling all the old staples out of the floor, from the old carpet padding -- which was some very weird ancient fibrous stuff like coir or sisal. God only knows how long it had been there.

Yesterday, on schedule, the new carpet arrived along with a single guy to install it. (For some reason I thought it would take more people to put in the carpet than remove the old one, but in fact, it was the opposite.)


And...ta-da! The finished result. Dave and I are both convinced it's not the color we chose, but we're fine with that. It looks so much better than the old one -- and feels so much better, even to Olga.

Last night we put all the furniture back where it belongs -- having driven out the Bolsheviks -- and our flat is intact once again. At least on the inside -- we still have scaffolding around the exterior, and who knows what's going on with that roofing project.

13 comments:

  1. The new carpet looks great! I so love seeing Olga in your photos --

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  2. I disagree that the top photo is "the least attractive photo" you have ever published. In fact I think it it is one of your best. That old carpet was so beautiful and if not "lived in" then "lived upon". How could you be so heartless to allow its removal? In contrast, the new carpet seems characterless.

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  3. I had always wanted a cream carpet but with three kids it was not practical. 4 years ago I got my wish and had a lovely cream carpet installed in the lounge. What a mistake, fur balls, dirty feet, spilt coffee etc and today it looks messy. we clear up spills and carpet clean odd bits but it really needs replacing. Also the cats just love to claw it.
    The colour you have chosen looks more like what we should have had, I like it.
    Bet it smells lovely.
    Briony
    x

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  4. I so want a new carpet
    I have mega carpet envy right now

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  5. It looks heavenly! I can tell you from experience that that colour is excellent for hiding minor stains, so -- good choice. I like how Olga's tail is a blur in the photo! She is clearly pleased.

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  6. Lovely! And the best part? The job is finished! The work is done. And you have reclaimed your home from the Bolsheviks! I wonder what in the world happened to that floor? Some accident that ruined part of it? Dry rot? Termites? Who knows?

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  7. That color shows off Olga to lovely effect, which is of course the most important factor. And good thing Tonya et al are back where they should be - otherwise the next stage would be that ice-encrusted Russian winter scene.

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  8. Nice to see the new carpet! It looks lovely.

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  9. Interesting history with this floor.If you knew the age of the place you might get some idea of what happened. Looks great .

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  10. Very nice! That new carpet looks very nice indeed. Speaking of Bolsheviks, do you have Amazon Prime by any chance? Have you seen the new show called "The Romanoffs"? It's very good.

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  11. The new carpeting looks to be the same color as the previous one, though not stained and spotted. I certainly hope Olga doesn't use it as a scratching pad.

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  12. You colour-coded Olga to match the new carpet or vice versa, whatever. Well done.

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  13. The new carpet makes the room look brand new! Love seeing Olga doing downward dog!

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