Floor.....Fail.

The carpet is being ripped up, so it's time (don't you think?) to get some new flooring in here.  The problem is the match up: trying to match floors in a very open floor to some that are 19 years old and and another space that is 9 years old.  My ex-boss used to say there are no problems, only challenges. 

Well, people, this is a challenge.  No one makes the exact type of floor we are trying to match.  I splurged for a $75 design consult (very, very much worth it!**) and got the go ahead to just get close, and don't sweat the minor differences. 

But this isn't close:

The flooring underneath is the dining room and living room original hardwood floor.  The floor in the bottom right area is what we added to the kitchen when we moved in (9 years ago), which was a pretty good match, even though it was not a solid wood product.  The rest you can see is the sample box we bought hoping it would match....and it doesn't. 

 Not

 ....from.....

....any angle.

 

I tried it at night, I tried it at day, I tried it in front and I tried it in back.  No go.

 

But the good news in all of this is that we've found someone that is really working hard with us to figure this out!   Ed from the local Carpet Plus store is all in, and I feel confident we will find an answer with his help.

 

So for now we live with a bit of plastic on the floor and part carpet-part padding, and yes, it is driving me crazy.  But we're getting there.  I have high hopes!

**  The designer I am working with is Ami at Embellish Interiors: check out her blog for some wonderful photos of her work!  She and I brainstormed for an hour and I'm so excited to see how things turn out!  Her reasonable fees are well worth the peace of mind when you're working on an expensive project, as these floors are turning out to be.  I can rip up carpet and tack strips, and the money I'll save there is well spend on professional input!