Overwhelmed by Floors

We had our flooring appointment and it was quite the process.  I can't say enough nice things about our Flooring Consultant - she was great.  I can't say anything nice, however, about Ryan's idea of acceptable flooring that's "included."  We knew we were going to upgrade since J hates carpeting but the estimate from our sales rep was off.  Way off.  Like by half.  We weren't really extravagant with our choices, either. 2.5 hours later, we had all of our selections made.  We started with the stuff we didn't really care too much about but still were overwhelmed inside of 10 minutes.  Here goes!

1.  Basement...we stuck with the included carpet.  I have no issue with replacing it in 5 years when it wears out & we didn't see the point in paying the inflated price of upgrading.  The debate was between which shade of light tan to pick.  It appears we went with what's called "Thornwood."  The upgrade to the moisture barrier/antimicrobial/stain resistant 8 lb Commander padding was reasonable so we did take that option.  Hey, this is our basement and there will be a wet bar...things will get spilled!

2.  Bathrooms that are NOT the master...we did upgrade the tile to a level C.  At least I think it was a C.  Levels A & B were not attractive at all.  And tile upgrades are actually pretty reasonable so that was an easy decision.  We've got a gray-ish tile in a bricklay pattern in the basement bathroom, the powder room on the main floor and in the upstairs hall bathroom.  The grout is "Chateau" and honestly grout continues to be an incredibly difficult decision.

3.  Upstairs...we continued the Thornwood carpeting.  We did upgrade to the 8 lb pad but mainly because one can get away with low rent carpet with a decent pad.  Otherwise it's almost like sitting on a bare floor and that's fun for no one.

4.  Laundry Room...choosing the vinyl was difficult because neither of us really cared.  It's a laundry room.  If someone's judging my design decisions in a room where the focal point is a washer/dryer set, they've got issues.  For the record, we went with the Initiator included vinyl in some sort of fake stone pattern.

5.  Master Bath...we had fun in here!  We upgraded to Level E to find something that complemented our granite/cabinet combination and wasn't dark.  We chose Garden White (looks kinda like it has some veining but it's not the black/white marble) on a bricklay pattern on both the 12 x 12 floor tiles & 10 x 14 shower wall tiles/bath surround.  Since we upgraded our shower pan to poured (vs fiberglass) we went with a 2" x 4" matching tile on the floor.  We also went with the Tiger Eye Listello that's 3" wide.  I can't wait to see it all put together!

6.  The Main Floor...everything else was where J & I had one of our Come to Jesus talks.  We had agreed on laminate due to my existing townhome & past experiences with Big Dogs vs. hardwood.  One can get about 15 years out of hardwood but animal claws take their toll, especially at the base of steps and at doorways.  After talking with the consultant, we tossed hand-scraped selections because they can't be refinished.  Then I saw a gorgeous hardwood.  This was not in the plan.  We also spotted a fabulous laminate that had a bit of a reclaimed look.  After much back and forth negotiating I saw the light and we chose the laminate.  It wasn't a cheap option, to be sure, but less than the hardwood.  In my negotiations with J I got him to agree that since the laminate was significantly less that I could get a backsplash in the kitchen.  I've installed 2 of them in the past 3 years and have no desire to EVER repeat that.  So our kitchen/morning room/dining room/great room/office/mudroom/foyer are all Armstrong's Premier Classics in Brindled Oak.    I don't remember what my backsplash is called but it's glass mosaic tiles that are 5/8" x 3" long in a brick joint.

The Whole House...not too shabby!

Le Master Bath