When we bought this house, the flooring wasn’t good. The carpet was all original from when the house was built in 2002 (and had seen better days), and the hardwood was oak with a pinkish tinge. We had it replaced as part of moving in.

This is part of our 100 Things in 2017 challenge. Click on the photos for a closer look!

However, we quickly discovered some problems with the dark-brown bamboo flooring we had chosen. First, it shows pug hair like nobody’s business. If you have a dog that sheds, don’t get dark-colored floors. Seems obvious, right?

The second problem was the material itself. Our back windows face west, so afternoon light floods in there, and warms up the floors. Some of the planks were shrinking, leaving gaps between them, and the surface finish was warping and wrinkling. We were not happy.

So we decided to replace them. Again. Part of the floor got covered by a really tough vinyl product, that still has the texture and look of grey barnwood, which is really beautiful. Other parts we covered in a nice, light, neutral carpet, pleasing to the toes.

We’re pretty happy with the result, even if it took a journey to get here.