Next July, we will have been in our home for 10 years.
Our home was supposed to be a “starter home”. The first real estate purchase as an entry point into the market; a tidy semi-detached house in the suburbs that would be a stepping stone to a more expansive property down the road.
Except, while we were unpacking boxes and re-stocking kitchen cabinets, I was running to the bathroom with bouts of sickness.
Folks, I am a statistic. We conceived a honeymoon baby.
Suddenly, the dark hardwood we had selected for our main floor was doomed to show scratches from children’s toys. The expensive, hand-woven berber carpet on the second floor would no doubt be victim to spills and stains. The money we had spent on builder upgrades – oh, all the upgrades! – should have been spent on strollers and diapers. However, we had no choice but to plough ahead, effectively turning our starter home into our “TBD” home.
It didn’t make sense to move. The boys were growing and the house grew old with them. As predicted, the hardwood floors became scuffed and the carpet bore stains. But, we also put a lot of love into the home, finishing the basement, landscaping the front and updating the back with a stamped concrete patio.
And every so often, we got the itch to move.
Our first Love it or List it moment came before we finished the basement. Our second, just before we updated our backyard. And just like clockwork, we’re back to that feeling of “should we or shouldn’t we move”… which means it’s time for a home renovation.
Replacing the berber carpet with hardwood flooring has long been on our to do list, but we’ve always had one thing or another holding us back. First, we decided it would be good to let the boys crawl around on soft carpet vs. hard flooring. Then, when they became so curious and clumsy, we thought it was best to ride out the toddler years. Finally, we wanted the boys to be mature enough not to scratch (read: destroy) the flooring.
And just like that… in the fall of 2016… it was the perfect time to make the change. With the help of The Home Depot Canada, we made it happen.
Settling on the perfect hardwood flooring – even when you’re simply matching one floor to the next – is not a quick and simple process. There are many variables that can influence the colour, type and price of the flooring you choose. Once we decided to go full speed ahead, we immediately realized that there were several factors that needed to be considered. Stay tuned, as I’ll be back to share my Top Five Factors When Selecting Hardwood Flooring.
Has renovating your house postponed your decision to move? Have you ever been on the brink of listing your home… but just couldn’t pull the trigger? Let me know in the comments.
This post is sponsored by The Home Depot Canada. All expressed opinions and experiences are my own words.
Good luck with the flooring,we have hardwood right through our home except the Bathrooms and laundry room and we just redone them all over the summer a big job but well worth the time.
I am still in my first place, we have thought about moving a few times but life always throws a curve ball and we end up staying. Have done several renovations over the years.
I get the idea of renovating to move but I plan to stay in a house and hopefully pass it down to my children and grandchildren, although it doesn’t work like this always
our last house we only lived there for 2 years before we put it up for sale. we bought the house when there was only one baby and as soon as the second one came it just made sense. we were living in the country and although we were in a 4 bedroom home, 2 were upstairs and 2 in the basement…and they were small rooms…no renovating would have done it. Now in our current home there is lots of space and we love it here but definitely cant wait to do some updating
I am still in my first home and we did have it up for sale once, but couldn’t find anything we liked, so down came the sign and we are still here
I wish that I could start Flipping houses, great job!
I have been in this home for 20 years now, and finally all that’s left is the cosmetics of the interior. Thank goodness. It’s like a new house as the outside is completely different, so no need to move now lol
The old farm house where I now live was renovated by my parents before I moved in. :)
The housing market is outrageously expensive right now, so I’d Love it if I was you and especially since you’ve done so many things to customize it for your taste
Always so many finds and curve balls thrown during renos.. I love it though
I love flooring better than carpet. The only place we have carpet is in the basement. If you are happy with and in your home and can make some changes or upgrades to better suit yourselves than I think you should stay.
We have been wanting to put in hardwood for a long time. Our nasty carpet could tell you some tales – it is over 18 years old! I can’t want to see what your new floors look like Lena. I bet they gorgeous!
Doing renos is a case of both love and hate in my house.
I’m renting now so I don’t have to worry about renovating.
how does one go about finding a designer to help
Hardwood floors are definitely a reno. that is worth the money. I’m a renter but I always look for hardwood when I choose a place to rent.
It’s definitely hard to move when you become attached to your memories. Sometimes renovations make it feel new.
When my house sold we were really lucky only thing new was a shed, and I painted a bedroom. We moved so much I can stage like a pro. If things weren’t diff I would have liked hardwood in bedrooms,
there’s nothing like a nice hardwood floor to make a room pop
In the process of moving right now Lena!
Oh the horrors of preparingand staging for listing and now the endless wait until closing . We have 4 full storage units and the house is still packed to the rafters .
So looking forward to getting creative in the new home though , I’m going to go Moulding and wallpaper crazy .
Can’t wait to get back to connecting with you and all the lovely Tweethearts on social media @MushypeaJane and sharing pics and fun .
Moving has taken over every waking hour for about 3 months !
I’m sure I spotted a tweet saying you had bought a new home Lena or was I dreaming? Xxx
We’ve lived in 4 different houses over 17 years and I never know whether we should be moving or renovating, we’ve done plenty of both, lol.
We installed hardwood floors in our home and they looked awesome. Enjoy Lena!
I love the finally look of renovations but i sure hate the mess it makes right through the home !
Our house has had a few upgrades in the last few years but we will decide to move on to something with a bigger kitchen when the time is right.
I am still in my first home , we have redone all the floors downstairs and did renos in the kitchen bathroom and a bedroom upstairs , still needs a lot of updates through out , but one day we will get it the way we want it :)
We are still in our first home and plan to stay till we retire to a nursing home/cottage we built it ourselves and it serves us perfect a little big now since the kids have moved on!
Hardwood is beautiful and so much easier to clean.
We have listed our home after living here for years but could never find anything to replace it so we stayed.We keep doing renovations along the way.
I am still living in the first place I purchases. I would like to move one day and I need to do renovations on this home as well.
I would love to put hardwood flooring into my condo. Hopefully I’ll be able to make that dream come true one day soon.