I don’t know when the original hardwood flooring was covered with carpet. Times change. Tastes change. A beautiful, gleaming oak floor in the mid-fifties came – over time – to be seen as an outdated, cold, hard to maintain surface. Carpets – with so many shades and textures to choose from, so warm to the feet on cold mornings, so… modern! – were slapped down right over the top of the oak floors. Adding insult to injury, no one even bothered to use drop cloths when they spray-textured and painted the walls before laying the carpet.
Times change. Tastes change. When I discovered the oak floor beneath the tacky, cheap, outdated carpet, I was delighted! Scratches, minor water stains, tack and staple holes give it charm and character to my eye. I will not revive it to its pristine 1955 condition. I will clean it up and let it blend in with the industrial chic vibe of other rooms in the house.
Times change. Tastes change. A new homeowner will come along some day. They won’t see the hardwood floors as the treasure that I do. They’ll likely wonder why I exposed the cold, outdated eyesore of distressed wood flooring. They’ll cover it with god-only-knows what. Hopefully, as the transition from trend to trend and back again continues, the stalwart wood will at least be given the courtesy of a drop cloth. Is that too much to ask?
autumn turns to fall
transitioning to itself
changed yet unchanging
What Rhymes with Stanza? 
Thankfully the trend of carpeting never got a strong foothold here in Sweden… we love our hardwood floors
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I bet they’re beautiful.
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Ohh, so good to see this. I was missing your posts. And now here it is! With your bestia and beautiful floor. Yay!
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It’s nice to be missed <3. My bestia and I have been putting our efforts into the yard lately to beat the upcoming rainy season. Hopefully I can get back into writing — and reading — more posts!
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Tastes and trends change, but idiots never do. Sad really. Keep on stripping 🙂
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LOL. I will! Thanks for the encouragement!
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My pleasure 🙂
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Oh, the different flooring tells a story of time’s passing. Trends are rather fickle and keep on changing, but the wood underneath stays stable, “changed yet unchanging”. The autumn haiku compliments it well.
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Thank you. I’m a big fan of stability.
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Many an old house has had beautiful floors discovered and polished anew! I loved your telling of the story.
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Thank you.
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Oh, I love the transitions of the house. I like your haiku–autumn transitioning to itself.
When we moved into this house, every single room was covered with ugly carpet–even the kitchen!
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The kitchen here had been covered over three times with different styles of linoleum. Took a good inch and a half off the height of the floor when I pulled it up. I’m glad you liked the haiku. 🙂
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🙂
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Obviously Chules prefers the beautiful chic vibe created by your efforts! Smart boy!! 🙂
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A dog of excellent taste and distinction. 🙂
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After 20 years we replaced the carpet, which had even been in the dining room–ugh, eating on a rug. There was hardwood beneath, so the dining room and kitchen regained the wood floors.
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Some discoveries about older houses are better than others. Hardwood floors are a treasure. I’m glad you found yours!
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Those wooden floors can speak of so many spills and stories. I prefer wood over carpets, and they show such a character after many years.
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They really do, and I’m sure my wood floors will gain much more character at the hands — er, feet — of my household.
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so true – each generation values something different.
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And later generations will value things we never even gave a second glance. It’s interesting to watch.
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You are right!
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Great take on the prompt! We spent hours “cleaning up” the hard wood floors we found in my daughter’s first home. Didn’t “refinish them” but managed to get much of that paint spatter your’e talking about out. I love hardwood floors. That’s all we have in our place. In my mind, so much cleaner than carpeting! 🙂 Loved the idea of transitioning happening with trends….good one!
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Thank you! I won’t refinish mine, either. I’m sure my dog will just add more “character” with his claws over the years to come.
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amazing what you discover when stripping floors and walls. love the idea of keeping the industrial feel throughout, this was a brilliant take on the prompt, transition through many lives beneath the layers
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Thank you. I say my style is “industrial chic,” but I think it’s more like industrial shabby. Still, it’s fun.
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i love both!
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That’s a beautiful oak floor.
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Yes, it’s so much fun to see what is revealed once the crud is scraped off.
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I have lived in many places where floors were carpeted, painted, ignored. Even in apartments I was renting, I always had the floors done back to wood. No carpet can compare with a oak floor.
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I agree!
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I remember taking plywood panels off traditional Victorian panelled doors – they’d been made smoothand bland in the 50s. And uncovering slate slabs in the kitchen. It’s interesting how things come around and around. Your haiku is a meditative gem.
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Oh, wow! At least they were covered and not destroyed! Maybe the next generation will cringe at the notion that we ripped up perfectly good carpet and trendy linoleum. I doubt it though. I’m glad you liked the haiku.
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