I had no idea how much you, my dear readers, were going to dig (ha! see what I did there?:)) my Garden Transformation post. I myself absolutely love looking at before and after photos of…. pretty much anything!!  So I thought I’d post about our new floors: the before, the during, and the after! I LOVE my new floors!!

GOODBYE, OLD CARPET!

As we were moving into our new house in Oxnard (California) I knew that the upstairs carpet had to go! You see, the previous owners had a dog that seemed to have had a few accidents on said carpet. No good! Gross! And especially with my keen sense of smell (and with pregnancy it’s so much more keen!) we had to get rid of this 11 year old carpet at once.

WHY LAMINATE?

While our downstairs came with beautiful hardwood floors, we didn’t have the budget for hardwood upstairs. In our previous house in Castaic we had replaced the old bedroom carpet with laminate floors (from Home Depot) which worked out well, so I was thinking along those lines. But the new laminate floors in the Oxnard house are much, much nicer than our Castaic laminate floors. The technology has gotten significantly better in the last 9 years and also I had help from a wonderful flooring company, Rudio Designz.

I love laminate because
– it’s extremely easy to clean
– it looks fantastic! You won’t even know it’s not hardwood
– it’s water-resistant (and won’t bulge or expand like real wood if water is spilled)
– it’s not much more expensive (yet is generally considered to be healthier) than carpet
– is much cheaper than hardwood

WHY DID I CHOOSE RUDIO DESIGNZ?

I consulted with 3 flooring businesses which gave me more or less similar estimates. But  I chose Dawn Rudio (of Rudio Designz in Valencia, California) because Dawn is also a designer. She helped us figure out the best, most sensible (budget-wise) yet beautiful solution for my house. Dawn came over, measured and went over color schemes and choices with us. She suggested things other companies didn’t – like having carpeted stairs but with a laminate landing instead of carpet.

So….. here are a few photos!! I love how without carpet the place looks more spacious as it reflects light instead of absorbing it.

MASTER BEDROOM

Before:

During:

After:

HALLWAY

Before:

After:

STAIRS

Before, during, and after:

MUSIC ROOM

Before and after

And here I am with the lovely Dawn Rudio herself.
Please note that I’m barefoot & pregnant! :))) Just not in the kitchen 🙂

And if you’re curious…

… about my decorating skills… Here are a few more photos!

Master bedroom (previous owners) and after. Nick & I took the oak photo (the one hanging above the bed) in Santa Ynez and had it printed on canvas.

Music room/guest bedroom, before (before we moved in, that is) and after:

And this is my favorite part of the house to take selfies. You might have noticed that my pregnancy photos on social media are usually by this mirror. Here I am 28 weeks pregnant (6 months) in February 2019:

And here is one with hubby 🙂

And here is a shot where you can see the floors closely.
I took this photo for Kavallerie Kreations who sent me this beautiful sheepskin rug (thank you, Kelly!).

You can check out Kavallerie Kreations at www.kavalleriekreations.com. I have to mention that each sheepskin is unique and is ethically obtained. These sheepskins would have been thrown away otherwise (the hides are a byproduct that would have been discarded if not cleaned, tanned and turned into rugs). You can read all about it under FAQs on their website. Tell Kelly Marina V says hi!!

Do you have any questions about floors?
Contact Dawn Rudio of Rudio Designz at http://www.rudiodesignz.com/ or at (661) 799-5868. She is in Valencia, California, but travels/works all around SoCal!
Please tell her Marina V sent you! 🙂 I don’t get commission or anything like this, but she’d like to hear you came recommended by me!

 

File under: home improvement, flooring, home decor, before and after, best flooring company in SoCal, sheepskin rugs, Rudio Designz