Project Numero Uno

Those gorgeous pine floors - and the lovely red oak woodwoork, ten-foot-high ceilings, and unbeatable location - are the reason we bought Our House. But like all things in the universe, there must be balance:

(Sorry about the blurriness - camera glitchiness.)
So for three months, we've been itching to get under those awful carpet and see what's there. We've been praying to St. Agneta, matroness of house restoration, that we would find hardwood. There was one spot where the carpets weren't nailed down that gave us hope:



Even as we dreamed of the beautiful warmth of pine planking in our bedrooms, we decided that we probably couldn't do the refinishing ourselves. It's hard, dirty, sweaty work that can be easily ruined.

But we consulted the internet and decided we could take out the carpets ourselves. And, as other house restorers know, there is nothing more satisfying than ripping out the awful muddling of previous owners.

With the help of Al at Lowe's, we gathered our tools: pry bars, needle nose pliers, hammers, the very important carpet knife, and of course our safety gear (goggles, masks, and gloves.) So our very first morning in the house was also our very first day as DIYers.