New Floors This Week -- Before Photos

In January, we marked the 7 year point for owning our two condos.  We bought these places brand new, but they were each finished for someone else.  We managed to snatch them up when other deals had fallen through.  What that meant, in practical terms, was that we took them just as they were -- and some of the choices that had been made weren't what we would have preferred.  Seven years later, the cheap grade carpet and linoleum flooring are showing their age, and it is not pretty.  There are stains that will not come up from the carpets, and places where "he who shall remain nameless" tore the linoleum when moving appliances, and other spots where one or the other of the cats have shredded the carpet for reasons that only they understand...  All over our homes, there are signs of wear that have passed the point where we are able to clean enough to hide it anymore. 

We have wanted to replace all that worn carpeting and ugly vinyl flooring with hardwood or laminate floors -- for a very long time.  Next week, thanks to some money that has come to us from Master's father's estate, the work will begin to install new laminate floors.  We are excited about having this done -- even though it has meant that we've had to work like crazy people to get all the various breakables and what not moved out of the way.  Both of our garages are stacked with the odds and ends of our lives, and our homes look like a bomb went off.  We'll survive a week of chaos, and try to keep the kitty cats calmed down.  Hopefully by next weekend, we'll be able to start bringing things back inside and settle into enjoying our wonderful new floors. 

For now, here's the way life looks for us...

and in our garages ...

swan