If you are fairly new to Vintage Revivals you might be a little lost when it comes to this post. Here is a prologue with the Readers Digest version of what you have missed: My Mother in Law is one of the most wonderful people in all the world. Last March I showed you the gut job that we did on her kitchen/living room. It is to date one of my favorite spaces. You can see the reveals here. Now that you are caught up, lets get on with the update!
If you have ever lived in a complete gut job renovation that lasts months you know how exhausting it is. I mean, it really really sucks.
Which is why when Alicia’s Kitchen and Living Room were done and livable it was super easy to overlook the portion that remained in reno mode.
We have talked over and over about how renovating is like giving birth. The pain, oh the pain. But then you are left with a beautiful space that is everything you’ve ever dreamed of, and you forget that you wanted to hurt someone very deeply in the process.
Now that we have found our sea legs again we are finishing the last leg of the remodel. The staircase.
DUN DUN DUUUUUUN!
The staircase that has old carpet, an unfinished banister, and texture spray on the walls. Luckily for Alicia, the rest of the house is SO AMAZING that you really dont even notice.
The plan is to stain the wood the same color as the open shelving in the kitchen. Paint the walls and recarpet the stairs.
You may be scratching your head wondering why carpet? Especially when the trend now is wood or painted or a combo and NO carpet.
For that answer we will turn to my wonderful MIL. And I quote “Right now it’s for the grandkids, but Clare and I aren’t getting any younger. If I have to fall down the stairs, I at least want them to be padded.”
Seems reasonable.
The original plan for the carpeting (if you will please notice the square of sample on the bottom step)
was Martha Stewart Lynngate Magnetite. It has sat on that bottom step for 8 months. Gestation time is OVER. Lets do this.
This week we headed off to Home Depot to finally order it. Of course we had to check out the other options again. Because we love this kind of stuff.
There are SO many options when it comes to choosing carpeting. From the pile (the height of the carpet) to the texture, to the colors, it is very easy to get overwhelmed and just order beige.
Please reconsider.
Simple changes in the style of the carpet can make a space feel intentionally designed, instead of just builder grade.
Before you commit to a simple twist fiber, check out the patterns, they are my favorite. We loved this diamond pattern, but the gray was a little too cool.
I loved both of these colors, but the pattern wasnt prevelant enough.
You can change the entire mood of your space with a different carpet option. If you want your space to feel really urban and super cutting edge, try going with an industrial carpet. I love this gray stripe, it totally reminds me of a funky loft.
Ok back to the story. So like I said before, we knew what we wanted. That is until we were walking to the desk and glanced through one more section of samples.
Alicia and I are telepathic design ninjas. When we saw this sample we both knew without saying a word, that it was all over for miss Martha. (Old winner on the left, new winner Boost: Dark Shadow on the right!)
The color was better (it was a little bit warmer gray and not pulling as blue as the Martha sample.) And the texture was just better.
If you look really closely you can see that the color is called Dark Shadow, which is CLEARLY a sign that this is the carpet for us, seeing as how it is Alicia’s favorite show of all time. I love it when fate steps in.
We then met with Katherine. She was such a gem.
Especially when Dylan was doing this: (fair warning…taking a picture of your child mid-meltdown will only make them cry harder.)
There are a few questions that you should ALWAYS ask when you are buying carpet.
1. How quickly do you need your new carpet? Special order carpet like our take up to 2 weeks to arrive.
2. Where is the carpet going to be installed? High traffic areas need carpet that is ultra durable.
3. Do you need carpet with high stain resistance? Make sure that you know all about the stain resistance for the carpet that you like. Technology is really amazing and good stain resistant carpet has come a long way.
4. Figure out what you like and dislike about your old carpet.
We spent about 20 minutes at the pro desk getting estimates, scheduling measurements, and placing our order.
Because our carpet is a special order we are planning to have it installed by Thanksgiving. Also can I just say that I love free installation? Alicia decided to carpet 2 of the bedrooms in the basement so we totally qualified for the 3 Rooms = Free Install promo.
The one thing that I was a little bummed about is that in order to keep the warranty that is on new carpet, you have to replace the pad. I get why (because if you have something funky in your padding it can seep up through the carpet and ruin it). The reason for the bummedness is that the padding in the basement bedrooms is in excellent condition. That left us with a choice. Saving a few bucks, or voiding the warranty, it really is a no brainer. I just wish that there was a way around that.
Not willing to void the warranty on the new carpet, this is the pad that we chose. You can buy the plushest carpet in the kingdom but without good pad, its going to disappoint. The Scotchgard pad that we chose is 1/2” thick and has an insulating quality that helps slow energy loss. It also has a moisture barrier and is anti microbial.
We cant wait to get it put in! There is lots of work to be done before the carpet arrives, and of course you guys will have a front row seat for all of it!
But the REAL reason you should get your carpet at Home Depot isn’t because their staff is super friendly, or because they do everything they can to get your order to you ASAP or because their selection is out of this world…
…It is because they have their Christmas toys out. That my friends is the best babysitter a girl can ask for.
Ha! Dont you love the orange bucket as a stool? Ivie was over the moon to show me how fantastic Cups sounds on it. Maybe that is what I should get her for Christmas?
If you want more tips for carpet buying, Home Depot’s Carpet Buying Guide is full of useful information.
Time to spill! Do you have a favorite type of carpet? What do you think of the one that we chose?
This post is sponsored by Home Depot and their #letsdothis campaign. All project ideas, opinions, and mid-meltdown children are my own.
My sister and I are working on her house. We had fun picking carpet and stuff.
https://thedomesticlady.com/2013/09/26/home-improvement-my-sisters-home-overhaul-the-game-plan/
Rene I cant wait to see it all finished! Your sister is so adorable! xo
Thanks. It’s going to be really fun working on it all.:)
I love waffle(?) patterned carpet! So cool to see that you guys love it too! The color you chose and beautiful and I definitely understand about the tones of gray. We’re trying to find the perfect shade of Gray to paint our living room and kitchen/ dining areas. Can’t wait to see the staircase all done! As always love your posts Mandi! 🙂
I have been looking at that waffle pattern carpet for years, the only reason I haven’t purchased it, is that I have accumulated so much stuff after living in my house for 22 years! Now I know why people don’t replace there old carpet, they don’t know where to put all there stuff so the new carpet can get installed! lol If you know of a magic genie that can make my stuff gravitate, or disappear and reappear so that it could get installed, let me know. lol Your lucky not to have anything in your way. The living room looks great!!
Hello, room makeovers are the best. But please be careful with what you are being told. My husband and I own 3 flooring stores. Most manufactures (Shaw and Mohawk)clearly state in their warranty information that a pad thicker than 7/16″ will void your warranty.
Oh Mandi,
I wish I had read all of this last year. I made a big expensive mistake on berberish nylon carpet that is already so trashy looking I can’t stand it. And it is in the bedroom so doesn’t get that much wear or dirt. SOOO very disappointing.
Thanks for all of your research. I know it will look FAB.
F
I recommended that carpet to my parents for their master bedroom and they absolutely love it! Now I am wishing I had it instead of all this frieze carpet that is all worn down!
We bought new carpet a year ago from Home Depot and we loooove it. It’s from their Soft Collection. It’s called Modesto II in Butter Pecan. It is a polyester twist with a medium pile and is so luscious. It is HARD narrowing down a choice!
Thank you so much for all of the helpful carpet tips. We are just in the process of finishing a bonus room and needing carpet next!!
i love these pics of your girls! this was SO us two weeks ago. we ended up with a patterned carpet called corner office in skyline steel, it went in Monday, and I LOVE it!
Where can I find that couch???????????????????????
She found it at Homegoods a few years ago!
How do you like the carpet choice? We have narrowed it down to the same color for our basement and would love to hear if you’re happy with it?
Is there an after picture anywhere of the stairs with this carpet? I haven’t been able to find one anywhere. We are thinking of something similar for our stairs and would love to see your after shot! Thanks!