Flooring Flummox

And the basement planning continues. Last we left it, we were still tweaking the layout plan. Now we're stuck thinking about the floors. You see, HandyMan wants the basement to be warm and comfy, a place to escape to, maybe relax and watch a movie, and to him that means carpet underfoot. Normally, I'd agree with him... if I didn't also want the basement to be a place where Chloe and I can create and make crafts and do some sewing and draw and paint and throw glitter around, so to me that means laminate underfoot.

Which leaves us here:

We're at an impasse. We briefly considered doing a portion of the room in carpet and a portion in laminate, but the basement is not that big to begin with so different flooring would make it look too choppy and small. Part of the dilemma is the stairs leading to the basement. They are currently covered in vinyl and beneath that we know there is only construction grade plywood. There is no refinishing and painting those babies; they would either have to be completely covered in some material or refaced (and that seems an expensive option, but I admit we haven't really looked into the cost of refacing).

If we were to do it entirely in laminate (or vinyl flooring like the Traffic Allure product which I've heard great things about from my friends Arren and Lisa), what do we do on the stairs? We've read that laminate on stairs is super slippery (and how do you deal with the nosing?).

If we were to do it entirely in carpet, then lost sewing pins or paint spills would be a hazard. Decisions, decisions. Weigh in folks - carpet or laminate? What do you have in your basement??

Happy Rugs

I so love Amy Butler. I have a Baby Hawk carrier, a nursing cover, and a stroller blanket with some of her whimsical designs. And now they feature her designs on rugs! How beautiful are these...



They would look perfect in a nursery or a tween girl's bedroom. I would love this one below in my master bedroom. The colours are so serene. It would provide the perfect hit of colour in an all-white room.



Found via Ohdeedoh.

Floored!

HandyMan and I spent the weekend zipping around town in search of bathroom materials.  Tiles, toilets, tubs, vanities... you name it, we saw it.  Mind boggling, it was.  It was worthwhile though.  We got a few things figured out... like, there are only 3 options for a 54" bathtub in all of Toronto.  And that the beautiful chrome deco style vanity I posted a picture of probably won't work for our bathroom.  (Yes, it's lovely but it still leaves us with no storage or counterspace).

In the tile department, we were a little more lucky.  We've decided to do a tile carpet to add some interest.  We found a great basketweave tile from Saltillo in carrera marble and moonstone.  We'll border it with moonstone pieces and then larger marble tiles.  I've always loved tile carpets.  They add texture and have big impact especially in a small space.  The tile will look great peeking out from under the vanity.  Here's some inspiration pics:

Now finding wall tile to go with the schmancy floor tile... that was a bit more difficult.  We found a good option and HandyMan put together a sample board.  More on that in another post!

Episode 6: Keeping It Level

We've had a slow start on the flooring. I blame it on Mother Nature... the sun was shining and HandyMan and I were content to run some errands, do some gardening, enjoy some bbq, and mow the lawn. That meant though that we didn't get as much progress on the floor as hoped.

We picked up the tiles from Saltillo. Love that store (and so does Sarah; she almost always uses them for every episode). Love HandyMan's architect discount. Love RONA too. They were having a 15% off sale so we got a deal on the thinset. Not loving the dips in the subfloor. Turns out that the kitchen floor slopes near the threshhold to the dining room. If we left that as is, eventually any tile laid over top would crack. So we had to fix it with some levelling cement... notice I didn't say "self-levelling". Nooo, HandyMan and I figured we were handy enough to level it ourslves and save the $20 bucks. Were we successful? Ask me tomorrow when the cement dries :o\


We managed to figure out the floor pattern though. Initial thoughts were lay it in a 1/3 offset but that just ended up looking weird. We settled on 1/2 offset. Sounds easy right? But then we spent a good hour figuring where to start - center it on the dining room door? Hallway door? Middle of the room? Centered between the cabinets? Yes, that's how we'll do it. Here's a peek.


Tomorrow, two layers of thinset, the Ditra, and the tiles are going down. Wish us luck.