[renos: Decision Making]

I must be INSANE to show you what my cream carpet looks like after surviving 12 years in this home (we've only been here for 5). And this just does NOT do the "ick" justice. It's really, really gross. And the stains are everywhere.

And, oh the decisions!!

But I have made most of them ... flooring, carpeting, paint (yes, paint - it seems that when you change the floor colour, you need to change the wall colouring too *grin*). It seems to me that I'm not as "urban" as I thought ... I guess having a family of 5 makes you reevaluate what's hip and what's workable. I love white walls, chocolate floors, sleek lines ... but that'll have to be for another span of life. Right now, I want to have a cozy home. I would say that "modern country" is more my thing ... textures, warm colours, clear glass, greenery, individual furniture pieces. I'm more "Pottery Barn", than I am "Restoration Hardware". Although - love that place too ... just not for where I am.

My FIL is in the building industry, and connected us to a great guy at Town & Country. LOVED the store - and were able to get really, really great prices. We opted to go a bit higher-end because of the deal we were able to get, durability, resale, and the fact we never want to do this again *GRIN*.

We chose "engineered hardwood", as suggested by one of my readers. It just happened that the one we loved, was engineered. It's dark hickory, distressed with nicks and veins ... it's warm, but not cherry - nor is it chocolate. It's perfect.

Then we chose SHAG, as suggested again from one of my readers, for the front room and for the family room. We LOVE it ... and imagine throwing our couches away to lay on the floor. It's that yummy. It has browns, taupes and creams in it. Perfect for our kids, perfect for us grownups. LOVE it.

Finally, we chose a Berber carpet for the stairs and upstairs, including bedrooms. It's a dark neutral with a slight pattern, and a friend said she has something very similar and LOVES it's durability. We've also chosen the best underlay to prolong the life of our carpet.

Today I spent some time and Benjamin Moore, just to get some samples ... and have chosen 3 colours, but can't decide the neutral. Maybe you could help me, oh wise readers!! I love "warm" but don't want "yellow." I know that neutrals either are yellow, green, or red based - which is a pain. Because I see "pink" in some neutrals, and some are too cold and "green". The ones I've chosen all seem to work well with the flooring we've chosen, but when I whittle it down to 2 or 3 choices, I'll be sure to make LARGE samples of them and check them in different lighting around the house. The ones I'm debating between are "wheeling neutral", "sandy brown", "bennington grey" and "bleeker beige". They are too close to tell with a photo ... *sigh*.

Here is what the "before" kitchen laminate beside the family room carpet, and above what it will be changed to "after".

Part 2 of the post next time ... paint colours, and hopefully the beginning of tearing out the old stuff and in with the new!