Djourney Unchained

When I approached Loi with the idea of documenting my unexpected remodel she was so enthusiastic that she asked me if I would be a guest blogger on her site to share our project with her readers .  So here I am and thank you Loi for having me!

Wonderful Atmosphere!

Our unintentional remodel came about because of a big water leak from our dishwasher that ended up ruining all our hardwood floors and the bottom of the kitchen cabinets.  Loi had graciously photographed my home a while back and it looked like this and now after the flood it looks like this:

the unexpected

My challenge now will be to do as much as I can with the insurance allowance and not go over budget.  What that will entail will be a lot of hopefully creative ways to make stuff look good without spending a lot of money. You know the saying, “champagne taste with a coca cola budget”, well mine is “champagne taste with a tap water budget!!”

Where to Start?

First on the list and the biggest expense is the floor.  My original floor was real red oak hardwood on a plywood base that looked like this:

Floors just before they ripped up the whole thing

For those of you in older homes, you may have similar flooring, as opposed to the newer engineered hardwoods on the market today.  I decided I didn’t want to go back to real hardwood for a few reasons:

• It was really expensive
• I didn’t want to go through this fiasco again of a flood that was undetected until the floor popped up
• I think I‘ve gotten over my obsession of being a real hardwood snob, lol

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Next time I will unveil my flooring research and tips!  Until then, “Decorate your home with the things you love, that inspire, enrich, and calm you.  Decorate your life with the same thing.”

        -Mari