Remodeling the upstairs with new carpet, paint + trim

At long last, we have new carpet, trim and paint on the second and third floors.

This was a big project we were hoping to do before we moved in last fall … but you know how things go … sometimes plans change.

Our closing kept getting pushed back and we were so anxious to just move in. On night one, we accidentally started a mini-makeover on the kitchen. Then we built a bedroom and playroom on the third floor. At the same time, we worked on finishing out the studio. Somewhere in there was Christmas and four out of six of our birthdays, gymnastics class and flag football, new schools, bible study, creating new classes, designing paper works … you get the idea.

Finally, in January, we decided to start the carpet/trim/paint project.

Here’s something you should know about me and Ryan: we are not fast decision makers. Choosing carpet was no exception.

We knew we wanted a loop carpet with a slight texture in a light-to-midtone warm gray. Durability was important, as was quality. At least we agreed on those criteria.

We went into a local wholesale flooring showroom we work with to pull options. There were a handful of carpets we liked but we really needed to seem them in the house to decide, so we ordered small samples of each of them. Once they arrived, nothing felt quite right.

So back to the showroom we went in search of new options.

This time we fell in love with the one on the right – a wool loop. I love a wool carpet and while most of the wools were out of our budget, this one was not. It was much darker than we originally wanted, but the idea grew on us.

When our carpet installer came by to check out the house and give us a bid and he urged us to not pick the wool. Mainly because there were a few necessary seams running in obvious places in a few rooms and he was not confident that they would look great with this tight of a loop.

We found ourselves back at the showroom yet again to pick another option. This time, we were pretty sure about what we needed, picked a textured loop in a nice color and placed the order.

Our final pick was Shaw Detailed Statement Loop in Textured Canvas. Whew. It felt great to finally make a decision.

Before we had the carpet installed, we wanted to repaint all of the ceilings and walls on the second floor (the third floor was already painted by yours truly). And since we were going to the trouble to have everything painted, we figured it was a great time to also replace all of the original oak trim.

So basically we had to move all of our stuff out of the second and third floors and pile it all up on the main floor for two weeks while the remodel was underway. We’re pretty used to chaos, so we didn’t think much about it.

Um … our house was a complete DISASTER.

Mattresses in the kitchen, temporary bunks set up in the family room.

Piles of furniture and beds and toys all stacked in the living and dining rooms.

Funny story: one night during all of this some girlfriends asked me to go out for dinner and I had to decline. My stress level was particularly high that night and one of my sweet friends suggested that I pour a glass of wine and relax in a bubble bath. Which sounded lovely except for the fact that our bathtub looked like this:

There’s nothing like a bathtub filled with clothes and deconstructed closet organizers littering the bathroom to put you at ease :)

It’s a little crazy to live in a house while it is being remodeled. Lots of patience and the ability to see past the mess is required. I was so looking forward to lightening up the walls, having fresh carpet and updated trim, that all the mess felt worth it. Short-lived pain for a big gain (or something like that).

We started by pulling off all of the trim around the doors, windows and baseboards. They just popped off with little effort.

Next came the paint.

To make things easy, we repeated the same white we used downstairs and in the studio – Shoji White by Sherwin Williams. It is a slightly creamy white with subtle gray undertones. All of the walls got an eggshell finish; ceilings in flat.

Next, the trim went up and old carpet came out.

The baseboards are 5.5″ and doors and windows 3.5″. I wanted a really simple framing around the doors and windows with just mitered corners. This is how we did the trim in the studio and I love how clean and modern it looks.

If we had more time, we would have had the trim and doors caulked and painted before the carpet went in, but alas, we did not. So a day later, the carpet installers came and worked their magic.

When you pick carpet in a showroom and don’t bring home a sample before ordering, you get a little nervous. Thankfully, it was just right and we were very happy with the choice.

The carpet is cushy, low-pile and a good light warm-gray. Per our carpet installers suggestion, we went with a good quality carpet pad with moisture barrier and because of the pattern in the carpet the seams we were worried about are nearly invisible.

Now that the walls, trim and carpet are in, the rooms feel so much brighter. And also cleaner.

We’re just waiting on having the trim and doors caulked and painted which will really finish up the rooms.

This very early 90’s window is not staying. It’s a shame to cover up natural light, but it must be done. Also, we sold our bed frame this weekend and now I’m on the hunt for a new one. Can’t wait to put our bedroom together!

Just for fun, here is a gif of each step:

It made a complete mess of the house, but we’re so happy with this clean slate!