When we first saw our house, we both looked at each other, eyes wide, after seeing the … less-than-flattering carpeting covering the entire living space. It wasn’t just that we hated carpet (which we mostly do) but the bright emerald and cranberry colors really got us. I mean, I love Christmas as much as the next guy, but I can do without it on my floors every day.
So we knew the FIRST thing we had to do once we got the keys was to get it out.
When you move into your own house for the first time, there’s really nothing like tearing, ripping and prying years of filth away. So within minutes of opening the door for the first time, that’s exactly what we did.
It took some time to get through every last tack strip and annoying, misplaced staple in the floor, but then we ended up with this:
Now the DC bulk trash collection date can’t come soon enough.
But, of course, in the spirit of being over-zealous homeowners, we couldn’t stop there.
With a goal of being able to get all of our floors re-sanded and finished before we move in full-time, we figured, why live with the pink and black kitchen tile? After all, we had no idea what was under it, but how could it be any worse? And well, it wasn’t. In fact, it ended up being more of the original hardwood floors that we found throughout the rest of the house.
How to Destroy a Kitchen Floor
1. Survey distasteful tile and sigh in disapproval.
2. Remove appliances to make way for the mess(ier) room.
3. Safety first.
4. Hack and pry into the tiles and be lucky enough to find just one layer of cement board underneath.
5. Have a big pile of mess and determine a way to dispose of it (while breaking your back to move it.)
6. Shop vac (your new best friend!) everything up.
7. Have an original hardwood floor ready for minor repair and refinishing.
One weekend and a couple of projects down, many more to come.
Two Boys & A House 
Lookin’ good guys. Burn those curtains. 🙂
I’m so excited for the two of you! First home is a special event in your lives. Can’t wait to see the changes unfold.
Why would anyone have carpet in that color scheme? Who could have lived like that? Seriously though, wow already.
It will all be worth it!
It’s really cool to see the work as it’s being done! A friend of mine and her husband have completely renovated 2 DC homes on their own in the past 10 years! Both turned out beautiful and they just sold their first fixer upper. It was their constant weekend project for a few years on each. It will be worth it 🙂 Continued blessings on making your new house a home!
Wow…those are nice floors under that mess. A little buffing and gloss and they’ll look amazing!!! Congratulations again guys!!!
Sweat equity will be worth it! Love that wood door–is in an interior??
Momma loves the floors!!
One more thing guys….gotta love that chandelier/light fixture, huh? LOL!
Wow! You guys are going to town! I can’t wait to see it when everything’s done.
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OMG! You boys should have been on the Trinidad renovators house tour last Saturday. You must be on the next one. Welcome to the neighborhood!
Hey! Absolutely, we’ll be on the lookout for the next one. Thanks, glad to be here!
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