3 Ways to Love the Floor You Have

This post sponsored by Stainmaster®. All opinions are my own. 

Some affiliate links have been used within this post.

Is YOUR floor your favorite thing EVER?? Most of us would say NO. If you didn’t get to choose your own flooring, chances are you’re forced to “make do.” Well, gosh, that doesn’t sound great, does it? MAKE DO??? There must be a better way. Oh good, I’m glad you said that because that’s exactly what I’m proposing today.

Before we dive in, let’s start with the optimal choice: replacement of undesirable flooring. If you’re building, renovating, or planning for a future remodel, you’ll want to start researching the best options out there. As we all know, it’s important to make an informed decision in this area, as floors can take a beating! When we purchased our 1890 farmhouse, it was apparant that replacement of the current carpet was our best bet. Do you remember this? (below)

Beside the fact that the entire house would be undergoing a dramatic and complete renovation, you can see why the carpet MIGHT NOT have been my favorite. 😉 (Neutral-loving girl here!) We definitely wanted to stick with carpet in the bedrooms, for warmth and coziness, but we had a different vision for this space. Here’s a look at the same room (below), AFTER our beautiful new Stainmaster® PetProtect® carpet was installed (it hadn’t even been vacuumed yet, oops!).  Oh how we love it! We chose this fun patterned carpet (find it here Color: Cast), and almost a year later, it’s holding up BEAUTIFULLY!!!!! And I’ll tell you what, our pup gave it a good ‘ol test too!

The laundry room in our old beauty was carpeted when we bought the place (ya, probably not optimal!). Here’s how it looked on the day we signed papers:

We were thinking of something slightly less “in-your-face.” 😉 Since this room doubles as our mud room/dog room, we wanted something durable, waterproof, pretty, and also patterned in some subtle way to hide dirt. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK? I didn’t think so either! 🙂 We fell in love with this Stainmaster® PetProtect™ Luxury Vinyl, and it has lived up to every single expectation.

After looking at endless options for flooring, pinning plenty of inspiration pics (follow us on Pinterest here!), and considering how each room of our new (old) home would function, our choice was easy. Easy-care, durable floors for the win!

THAT BEING SAID, sometimes replacement is not an option, yet.

Maybe your place is on the “older” side. Maybe you’re renting. Maybe you actually chose your own floors years ago, but 2 dogs, 4 kids, and 62 spills later, those floors are due for an update. OR maybe there’s a way to love (or at least LIKE) the floors you already have!

Stick with me. It’s gonna take a little out-of-the-box thinking, and some ingenuity, but YOU CAN DO IT! Ready? Let’s tackle those floors!

FIRST WAY TO LOVE YOUR CURRENT FLOOR: IGNORE IT.

Ok, don’t be mad. But maybe it’s not that bad? Worn carpet, showing its age with some stains and wear? Easy. Make the rest of the room so attention-grabbing, no one will be looking at the floor. Sure, it’s not optimal, but does the rest of your room look like you care? Like you had a plan? Follow our easy recipe to creating a pulled-together room here: 7 Steps to Cozy. 

 

SECOND WAY TO LOVE YOUR CURRENT FLOOR: CAMOUFLAGE THAT PUPPY.

In other words, COVER IT UP!! I decided to challenge myself on this one. When we purchased our 128-year-old home, the rooms were, *ahem*, “colorful.” All of those old surfaces were stripped away during the renovation, but I’m pretending like they weren’t. Let me refresh your memory on this eyeful below:

Could that carpet BEEEEEE any brighter? Yowza. But, sometimes you gotta MAKE IT WORK! Using “Way #2”, my solution here would be a big ‘ol cover-up. A pretty rug, OVER the carpet. First, I’d neutralize the rest of the room by removing the wallpaper, or painting over it, if possible. There are just too many things fighting for our attention here. Agreed? The curtains would come down as well, as they’re blocking too much light (not to mention MORE BLUE). Just for fun, I put together a little design board for inspiration and to demonstrate the new direction. Wanna see? (below)

Pretend the “blue room” is in your house, and as your designer, here’s how I’m making a case for the new look:

The pretty rust tones in the rug will instantly warm up this cold-feeling room. You could layer the jute rug underneath for even more texture. Or, if the rust rug is too much color, the jute rug can stand on its own! (I recommend ordering the biggest one that will fit in the room…leaving only a small border of the current blue carpet.) The walls will be painted your favorite white, Sherwin Williams “Alabaster.” The wood bed, clean-lined nightstand, and faux olive tree (placed in one of the baskets shown) will be a breath of fresh air in this forgotten space! For bonus points, I’d suggest hanging these pretty curtains on the OUTSIDE of the window niche, all the way up at the ceiling. This way we don’t block the beautiful sunshine that’s struggling to stream into the room.

So? Would you go for that idea if you were the client? Do I still have a job? 😉 If you’re curious, you can find links to all the items shown here:

Nathanson Terracotta Area Rug. • Deziree Hand Braided Natural Area Rug. • Curtains. • Jaiden Panel Bed. • Faux Olive Tree. • Baskets. • Nightstand. • Lamp.

THIRD WAY TO LOVE YOUR CURRENT FLOOR: TRY A DIY PROJECT.

Recently my sister, Julie (you can find her on Instagram @signsofserendipity), tackled an amazing DIY in her kid’s bathroom. Here’s what it looked like before:

She was looking for budget-friendly options for bringing an updated farmhouse feel to the room. And then, she happened upon the most fun way to transform her dated vinyl floors…a stencil! I’m not saying it was easy, because I know she worked like crazy to get in every nook & cranny. But OH BOY did her hard work pay off! She’s kicking herself for not documenting the process, but there are plenty of tutorials out there if you’re up for the challenge! Here’s how Julie’s project turned out:

Way to go Julie!!! Those floors are a show-stopper! And wanna know a secret? The walls are peel & stick wallpaper, made to look like subway tile. Genius.

So we’ve looked at replacement, ignoring the ugly, camouflaging the undesirable, and DIY-ing the heck out of a less-than-pretty spot. Wherever you are on your flooring journey (does that sound glamorous or what?), don’t forget to consider…how are your floors working for YOU? Love the one you’re with, or start dreaming about the next one! 🙂