I just wasn't busy enough.
So, the Pants and I recently decided that we needed to replace the gross carpet in our den. Old carpet is the nastiest of nasties. Those of you with old carpet - you know what I'm talking about. GROSS. Also, we have a white carpet and a black doggy inside whose favorite pasttime is the wormy worm. (That's when she army crawls all over the floor, dragging her black little legs behind her. Very low quality video can be seen here.)
We've been looking for some affordable floors for a while, and we came across a deal we couldn't pass up, and so we bought 'em. And, in a fit of insanity, decided, let's just go ahead and install the damn things. NEVER MIND that our wedding is a month away. That's OKAY. We can do it! And hey, let's paint the room, too, while we're at it. NO WORRIES.
And we did. But, I say to you: do not embark on major home improvement a month before your wedding. It may cause you to become overly stressed about other things. Like the cake. Or maybe the centerpieces. Or the availability of hotels on your wedding weekend. Or...
Ahem.
I'll just show you what we did.
Before.
After.
Oh how I love it. I am really glad we were able to do this before the wedding, because we've got folks staying with us, but it was a lot of work. And these are floating floors - no nailing or gluing - so pretty much the easiest floors to install. But really, not so easy. Jacob and his dad did the hard stuff and I helped align boards and ran around a lot. I used the miter saw *once*. Note: I did not like using the miter saw.
We still need to finish the kitchen, which we'll work on this week. Hopefully we'll have the entire downstairs done before the wedding. This is the goal.
In other news? Juliet, she is super fun to knit. And she is nearly done...
sorry for the crappy quality, but bathroom light is the best I can do right now.
The garter stitch at the top did hurt my hands a bit, but I think it's because I'm using a cotton yarn. This yarn (Gedifra Softig) is very soft, but the cotton is hard to knit since it's so bulky. Once I got past the garter stitch, it's been smooth sailing. I'm so excited about this sweater. I'm already imagining a long sleeved version in a different yarn...
I'm also coveting this sweater knit by FlintKnits Pam. Awesome. I think I might have some yarny goodness in the stash that wants to become that sweater...
But, I'm thinking I might pick my Kim Hargreaves Maggie back up and finish that baby up...it's starting to get a little chilly round here. OH BOY TIME FOR FALL!
She is so pretty. and ready to be finished.
Lord, I have so much to tell you. Like all the sewing I want to do. And the quilt pattern I bought. and the Emmys! did you watch them? And also, I think I might do a teeny bit of wedding knitting. I have 30 days to do it!
But, I have to go. Next time!
Comments (38)
Your floor and Juliet are both gorgeous! I started her and frogged her because I looked like a linebacker even though I'm an average-sized person. I'd love to make her long sleeved though. Hmmmm.
Posted by Paige | September 23, 2007 6:51 PM
The living room looks AMAZING.
And, take on as much as you want before the wedding, it'll all get done! We moved two months before the wedding, and my fiancee went away to work for the whole two months, and everything still got done. It always miraculously gets done.
Posted by Jess | September 23, 2007 9:52 AM
Wow. I am so impressed by your living room makeover. My husband and I are soooo not handy.
And I can't wait to see your Juliet. I just broke down and bought yarn for this today...
Posted by Elizabeth | September 22, 2007 1:21 AM
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful floors! So cool.
Posted by Monica | September 21, 2007 6:02 PM
The den looks AMAZING!!!! I love the flooring & the paint colors. Yes, it might've been a little crazy to do a month before the wedding, but I also think that the ability to do home improvement projects together is a sign of eternal love. Seriously. Ask me sometime about me trying to put together a piece of furniture one time with someone...
Dare I ask: What are you doing in the kitchen?
Posted by Hannah | September 21, 2007 4:53 PM
dude - that was a fantastic project!!! you guys did a wonderful job!!! I can totally relate to the stress level though - GOOD LUCK!!!!! remember to sit down and breathe once in a while ;)
Posted by Meg | September 21, 2007 3:00 PM
That room LOOKS. GREAT. Wow. Good color/floor choices, you guys.
Your sweaters make me jealous. Must. knit. faster.
Posted by HibiscuitsGirl | September 21, 2007 10:31 AM
That room looks fantastic. Love the color and the floor! Thanks for the link the FlintKnits version of the Drops sweater. I pooh poohed that sweater earlier, but her version made me shiver. Can't wait to see yours!
Posted by tarilynt | September 20, 2007 11:20 PM
Wow! I am so impressed. And, isn't Juliet so cute? I can't wait to make one.
Posted by Angela | September 20, 2007 11:19 PM
Oh you crazy girl you! However, what a huge improvement, now that gorgeous fireplace just *pops*, great colour walls.
Posted by schrodinger | September 20, 2007 9:58 PM
Oh the Emmys. THE EMMYS!
One Month! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Posted by biglug | September 20, 2007 9:56 PM
Beautiful floors! Great job!!!
I love the Juliet, I have it in my queue and your's is inspiring me!
Posted by Cindy | September 20, 2007 4:33 PM
Giant fish! Giant fish!
Also, I have just decided. I want a Juliet. And new floors.
Posted by Ashley | September 20, 2007 4:03 PM
Wow! Your new den looks beautiful! The wood floors and the brown walls look so crisp and clean and sophisticated :) You've got a lot of energy all of a sudden! Just one more month and then you can completely relax...
Posted by Veronique | September 20, 2007 1:57 PM
Congrats on the projects! I would HIGHLY recommend not biting off too much more before your wedding....but then again, leaving little stupid projects to do may well help you keep your sanity....I think all I was mentally capable of before my wedding was peeling wallpaper anyway!
Enjoy the next few weeks when you can!
Posted by meg | September 20, 2007 1:06 PM
the floor looks pretty amazing. you guys must have done an excellent job. hang in there with the wedding stuff. i can imagine how stressful that can be.
Posted by karen | September 20, 2007 11:58 AM
The floor looks amazing, and I love that color for the walls. It looks like a finished, redesigned room on one of those decorating shows on Fine Living or whatever. Which means it looks very refined and sophisticated. It also means you need to get that fish back up on the wall post haste!
Posted by Liana | September 20, 2007 11:42 AM
Oh how I feel your pain about remodeling projects right before the wedding. My husband-to-be decided to install a shower stall in a half bath about a month before the festivities. I was stressed out anyway and then he adds this? I about killed him, but I now think that he was stressed too, and this is the way that he showed it.
Way to go on the miter saw! Whoohoo! :)K
Posted by KarenK | September 20, 2007 11:10 AM
wow. you two are the king & queen of renovations. very impressive!!!! and i am LOVING LOVING LOVING juliet. deep breaths, no stress! :)
Posted by carolyn | September 20, 2007 10:46 AM
That new floor looks pretty nice!
Posted by Charles Nicolosi | September 20, 2007 10:34 AM
Beautiful job - I love the colors! But take a little piece of advice from me - unless you can take the time off and work only on the kitchen, wait to do it until you can move into a hotel for the remodel. The kitchen is the MOST annoying room to have torn up - DH and I redid ours, and in our whole lives together it was the only time we seriously considered breaking up. Too stressful.
Posted by Carrie | September 20, 2007 10:24 AM
I'm totally floored- the changes look great!
Posted by Elspeth | September 20, 2007 10:23 AM
The floor looks great! It's funny how even when you're super-busy, you can always just cram in one more thing. I can't wait to see Juliet! I finished mine up this morning, and it's at home blocking on the floor.
Posted by Heather | September 20, 2007 10:12 AM
Your floor is gorgeous! Congrats on a job well done (and I don't blame you one bit for wanting to dodge the miter saw).
Posted by danielle | September 20, 2007 10:10 AM
Wow did this post give me a total dejavu! My fiancee and I remodeled our house before we moved in. We changed all the floors, painted all the walls and ceiling, and totally gutted the kitchen and moved in all two months before we got married. And the best part was, we still got married after two months of working together. We put down floating floors all over our house and I used the miter saw once, totally scary and I'm pretty sure I closed my eyes, not a good idea.
Like the blog bunches! Good luck with the wedding and the sweaters
Posted by Kara | September 20, 2007 10:06 AM
What is it about weddings that make us want to do these things? The week before our wedding, no, days before the wedding, my husband and father put in a new floor in our kitchen.
Your den looks beautiful! I love the warmth of the wall color and the floor.
Posted by Wendie | September 20, 2007 9:58 AM
Hey! Are your cap sleeves on Juliet looking a little less than cappy? Because mine are. I looked at the picture again and those sleeves on the first page of the pattern are decidedly cap. Hm. I strongly suspect my Juliet might be too large, but I can't tell because this gol-dang belly is in the way. Angsty!
Posted by JulieFrick | September 20, 2007 9:50 AM
The den is gorgeous. You guys are good home improvers.
You have been way more motivated to knit than I would be with all the stress you have going on in your life. How do you focus?
Posted by Marnie | September 20, 2007 9:41 AM
Your den is stunning! I love the colour you painted it, and I LOVE LOVE your new flooring. I gotta ask- what has become of the giant fish on the wall? ;)
Posted by Julie | September 20, 2007 9:37 AM
Wow - the room looks fabulous! You guys ROCK.
My only question: Does the fish get to come back?
I think it would look fabulous with this colour. Seriously. The fish cracks me up for some reason. I don't know why, since we Canucks decorate with moose heads and deer antlers... well, not in my house, but in my dad's camp, fer sure, eh?
Posted by Steph VW | September 20, 2007 9:31 AM
LOVE the floors! Just gorgeous! Can't wait to see a finished Juliet! I got married this year, and trust me, even with 13 months to prepare, I didn't even attempt wedding knitting. (However, I was on the lookout for honeymoon LYS!)
Posted by kelly | September 20, 2007 9:17 AM
cool! they look great! i know what you mean about old carpet...they've got stains, embedded hair and other weird things you don't really want to think about. hardwood is the way to go!
Posted by mai | September 20, 2007 8:54 AM
Good god, woman! That looks like an insane amount of work! It really does look fantastic though... great job!
Posted by jessica~ | September 20, 2007 8:52 AM
i followed your progress on the remodel on flickr. totally awesome! it's projects like those that make you happy to be a homeowner :) the sweater is looking great. i'm sure it'll turn out just perfect. what are you thinking for wedding knitting?
Posted by gleek | September 20, 2007 8:40 AM
Yep, it's official, you've gone off the deep end. BUT! At least your brand of crazy includes HOME IMPROVEMENT! That's what I'm talking 'bout.
I think the floors look spectacular, and maybe it was just the thing you needed to keep your mind off wedding stuff that you couldn't really do anything about anyway. The stuff you could do something about? Well, what's a wedding without running around at the last minute like a crazy person? Someone else's wedding, that's what!
We did our hardwoods before our wedding, too, but we paid someone to put them in (and finish them). It was very nice to come home to after the honeymoon and before we started accumulating an insane amount of stuff like married people do.
Posted by Rachel | September 20, 2007 8:28 AM
Your den looks awesome! I love the colors! I wish I had some handy people in my family. I don't. We had to hire people. Can we say "expensive" and it's taking forever!! Anyway, happy knitting :)
Posted by Michelle | September 20, 2007 7:57 AM
The room redo looks spectacular! (And I'm amazed that you're tackling such large projects a month before the wedding. A month before my wedding? Yeah, I was breaking out in hives.)
Posted by Sarah | September 20, 2007 7:52 AM
Hello, Carrie? You are my hero and your livingroom looks AMAZING. So sophisticated! Well done - all of you - totally worth it!
Posted by Mary-Heather | September 20, 2007 12:21 AM