Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

DIY

When The Maroon Carpet Goes...

May 1, 2012
A lot of you have been wondering what in the world we are going to do with that maroon carpet in the studio.  Yikes--us, too! We knew it needed to go and the grave was officially dug when we took no care in covering it when we sprayed the room crisp white.  So, it is gone-zo and we're all smiles about it.
We have been narrowing our flooring options down for the studio over the past few days.  Eventually, this room will probably be carpeted like Greta's if we are blessed with another little one down the road.  But until that happens--and who knows when that will be--wall to wall carpet in my art studio just isn't my style.  So we scratched wall-to-wall off the list.  Which left a hardwood laminate floor and an area rug (who doesn't love that combination) as the shining front runner.  In trying to decide what flooring to lay under the area rug, we had a semi-big break yesterday.  Let me take you on the little treasure hunt.  You see, on the side of our house, beyond the overgrown bushes and in the carport...

There's our little shed.

That we hardly ever use and is relatively empty--which is comical, because our garage is packed!

And in that shed, we found 5 boxes of laminate flooring.  The same flooring that is used throughout the first floor of our home--which seemed like a probable solution for the studio.

The only issue is, there is just under 80 sq feet of the flooring and we need about 100 sq feet.  Oh, AND the flooring is discontinued.  Also, we don't really like the laminate.  Eventually we want to replace the flooring in our house, but we're not in a position to do that now.  So, after a long discussion about what to do--get flooring we really like and hope it's still available when we replace the rest of our flooring down the road, or spend a little bit of money to get just one more box of hopefully a good matching laminate--we decided to see if we can find a good match first. Of course we'll keep you posted on our hunt. What would you do?

In the meantime, we'll be back tomorrow with photos of our new painted ceiling.  Chris will be picking up the paint after work, so whichever paint color is ahead at 5pm MST will be our winner (cast your vote here if you haven't already--it's close!).  And, we will have area rug choices for you tomorrow to vote on--who's excited?!


P.S.  While you're in the voting mood, don't forget to vote for our Exterior Melodrama right here.

filed under: 
— Hide Comments
+ ShowComments
What do you think?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. It seems like a small enough room that buying new laminate that you really like wouldn't be hugely expensive? I love being thrifty, but my husband sometimes points out that when you look at something down the road, you want to think "yes I LIKE that" rather than "oh yah I saved $100 there". Of course we are super thrifty haha so this doesn't always apply. I think I'm biased because I wouldn't choose carpet with a little one, just a big soft rug - easier to clean (in my opinion) and more replaceable if liquids come out of them onto it ;)

    Also if you picked a hue of faux-wood-laminate that you really like, even if the exact stuff isn't still available when you redo the rest of the house, you'd probably be able to match it pretty closely for a subtle layered look.

    But I'm sure you could make this laminate look great too! Maybe look at inspiration photos to help see how you feel about it?

  2. Maybe varnished plywood or hardwood laminate ply? It's quite urban feeling but pretty cool and super cheap. Hardwood ply is more expensive than regular plywood though. http://hindsvikathome.com/?p=1839 I used hardwood laminate ply behind our tv. Think of your shed floor with a super shiny finish. I know your tastes aren't traditional so you might like it but maybe it's not your cup o' tea.

  3. If it's only temporary and you are planning on having an area rug, I'd try to match as close as possible. Possibly hiding the mismatch pieces under where the area rug will be or placed randomly throughout like you do when the wood tones vary slightly in different boxes of hardwood.

  4. I am not sure how hard it will be to find a good match. We'll see. As for the carport--we were so against it, and were anxious to sell it. But now, our garage is out-of-control packed so Chris actually parks in the carport. It is a little backward and we hope to get in organized this summer.

  5. Anything to save a few bucks! How hard is it to find a matching color?? Cute shed! This may be a stupid question, but why do you need a carport if you have a garage? Just curious!!

  6. That was going to be my suggestion too. We were in the same situation, had some leftover, but not enough. It has worked out really well just to try to match as best we could, but put it under the rug... Nobody even knows!

  7. If you're set on redoing the whole house's floors I'd buy a box of closely matching "filler" and plop it down where the area rug will be. When the time comes to redo the floors you won't have to worry about finding a match, and who knows, by then your tastes may have changed anyways.

    Use the saved money to buy a kick-butt area rug!

What We're

Loving

Right Now

What We're

Loving

Right Now

Looking for our favorite things? A place to shop our home room by room, or just catch up on what Julia's wearing / loving right now? Browse the CLJ shop
Shop All

Love Stories

Love Where You Live

In an industry that often feels designed to make you discontent, we want this to be place you come for inspiration, ideas, and encouragement to make the space you're already in feel like home.
Read All Posts
let's break this thing up

BROWSE BY CATEGORY

01

Portfolio

Befores, afters, mood boards, plans, failures, wins. We’ve done a lot of projects, and they’re all here.
read more
02

Projects

We have a long-standing relationship with DIY, and love rolling our sleeves up and making it happen.
read more
03

Design

Even when you don’t want to rip down a wall, you can make that space in your home better. Right now.
read more
hello world!

looking for inspiration?

The Marcum family dressed as characters from the classic edition of Clue: The Game.
Entertaining

Our Halloween Family Costumes 2024: I'll Give You One Clue

It was Professor Plum, with the knife, in the Conservatory. Happy Halloween from Clue characters: 1986 edition! Shop Costume Inspiration Over the years, we've dressed as everything from dolls and monsters to Peter Pan, E.T. characters, and The Wizard of Oz. But in the last several years, one of our kids has usually chosen our costumes. If you look back, you […]
Wayfair Holiday Christmas collage round up
Decor

The Best Holiday Finds at Wayfair

This post is sponsored by Wayfair We bought this gorgeous, extremely realistic tree from Wayfair in 2019. It may be my best Christmas find ever because it has moved across the country with us, and it's the first thing we decorate every year (and that last thing we put away when the season is over). […]
product lines

Meet the New Chris Loves Julia x Loloi Pillows for Fall 2024

With the Chris Loves Julia x Loloi Rugs launch this season, we just had to add some new pillows too! For this collection, like all of our lines, we designed the pillows colorwise and pattern-wise to all work together. But there are some fun surprises too (including new floor pillows and a brand-new ruffle pillow […]
Outdoor dining table scene in front of ivy brick wall with a beautiful beige geometric outdoor rug
product lines

The Chris Loves Julia x Loloi Rugs Fall 2024 Collection

I can't believe this is our fourth year working with Loloi! For this season's rugs, we are bringing in new styles that haven’t been seen before, which is really fun. It's also exciting to be able to expand popular collections like the Jules rug, which offers beautiful vintage-style rug patterns at an affordable price. For […]
Learn With Us
Want to do what we do? Get the tools, mentorship, and training to be a Good Influencer professionally.
Learn More
Looking for Something?

SEARCH THE BLOG

We've been doing this since 2009 and we've posted a whopping 24145+ blog posts and counting. You might need a little help searching, huh?

Can We Send You Our Love Letter?

Another way for us to stay in touch! Joining our weekly newsletter gives you access to exclusive content, never-before-seen photos, your questions answered, and our favorite DIYs. Sign up below!

hello world!
Follow Along on Instagram
Welcome to our online community where we've posted home, DIY, style, renovations, and family since '09. Renovating our #cljmoderncottage in Idaho and headed for new adventures in Raleigh, NC. #cljfam #cljtransformations
© 2024 Chris Loves Julia, LLC
PRIVACY POLICYTERMS & CONDITIONSAFFILIATE DISCLAIMERSITE CREDITCOMMUNITY GUIDELINES