From the bottom up...

Before we start looking at my floor, let's talk style. 

-crickets--chirp--chirp--chirping---

Well I HAVE style, it's just really hard to define.  The house is 110 years old.  We have to respect that.  You just can't put skinny jeans on Grandmother and have it be ok.  So we have to have some Victorian influence.  Then there has to be the whole country aspect.  I really like the romantic country look, so we'll throw some of that in too.  Shabby chic, just a pinch.  Oh, oh and Rustic French Country--with distressed black paint and fleur de lis, toile and damask patterns?  Yup, need that too.  And lastly I just think the new retro patterns are great.  Big bold prints in bright contemporary colors.  How the heck will I make that work?  Oh, ye of little faith.  Keep watching. 

So on to Step 3.  The floor.  Ick.  In the pictures it looks like hardwood.  It is not.  It is...it is LINOLEUM.  I KNOW!  It is linoleum made to look like wood.  Really.  Wow.  It was probably installed between 1956 when the last owners moved in and 1970.  It is cracked and horrible and no there is not hardwood beneath it.  There is plain old pine rough cut floor boards covered with something black and sticky and then a layer or gross plywood and then the linoleum. 

So, what to do?  In additon to the heinous floor's appearance, it is wonky.  Post and beam construction over 110 years tends to go wonky.  You can place a marble at one end of the room and it will quickly roll to the other in a roller coastery kind of way.   So we COULD rip up the floor, but we're not going to.  We are going to lay a plywood sub-sub-sub floor to even out the speed bumps and go from there.  I know all you purists out there are gagging on your Craftsman levels.  But really I'm looking for pretty, not function.  Don't judge me. 

So here is the new sub floor all put down.  And oh look Fred Flintsone brought Frankentube back into the room. It started to rain and good gracious we don't want our prehistoric television to get wet. 

Then I went shopping.  Husband bought the plywood, so I don't have to take that out of my budget.  I found laminate flooring at Lumber Liquidators for $.49 a square foot.  So for the entire room with the padding it was $180.00.  Awesome.  I know, I know I would rather have real wood too, but remember the budget people.  So to sum it up, I replaced the fake wood flooring with ummmm, fake wood flooring.  But just look at it!  So shiny and new and somewhat level, what more could a girl ask for! 

Frankentube is helping cut. 

So tommorow I will work on the ceilings and the trim.  I probably won't be back here until Monday, but there should be some major progress to see then!

Oh and our tally so far is:

• 
  
  Walls, $100.00
• 
  
  Flooring, $180.00
• 
  
  Snapple, $4.99

Which means I have $715.01 left.  Ok Pat, I'll take the ceramic dalmation for $40.00. 

Smiles,

Lisa