Canterbury Homes: From Good to Great – Our Flooring Story
Do you ever get that feeling when you have a goal in mind, however at every turn you hit a dead end or a constant fork in the road?
I am a bit of a gypsy, or so my family tells me. I like change. Not little changes, large ones. We moved 8 times in the first 10 years of marriage, and over the next number of years, I redecorated my home often. My boys call our painter “Uncle” because they see him so often! I feel a sense of freedom being able to express my creativity in our home. Fortunately, my husband is so used to the phone call “I have an idea…” that he rarely blinks an eye when I am in the changing mood. We are home builders, so changing interiors is what we do.
Keeping up with the Joneses?
It’s no different for a mechanic or car dealer. How often do they change cars? Often, I would think. Depending on the industry you are in, you are exposed to constant change with new, exciting products. It’s not a matter of keeping up with the Joneses, it’s about getting bored easily.
I had decided to change our hardwood floor. It was only five years old and beautiful. My friends thought I was crazy. Why are you changing a perfectly good floor? It’s like asking a skydiver, why are you jumping out of a perfectly good airplane? It is exciting to try something new! Although our floor was beautiful, it was dark and very high maintenance. Originally when we were building our house, I had chosen a medium brown, hand-scraped hardwood floor.
When it was time to install it, the hardwood was faulty from the factory. To keep on schedule, I was told I had three days to choose another floor. That’s how we ended up with a dark, hand-scraped hardwood. I had limited choices with such a short lead time.
“I have an idea…”
After five years of my floor looking clean only for five minutes after I cleaned it or when the lighting was forgiving, I said to my very patient husband “I have an idea… Let’s change the hardwood to something requiring much less maintenance.” He agreed and then I was off to Action Flooring to choose my new floor. I found the floor I wanted, they ordered it and then the long process of removing the existing hardwood began…
- Remove all the furniture, drapery, appliances, cabinet toe kicks, and baseboards
- Then the laborious job of removing the hardwood, which took several days
- Lastly, lay a new subfloor
Dead end… A delivery issue with the hardwood!
We were now ready for the new hardwood, which was expected to arrive the following day. Everything was on schedule. Remember when I said when you have a goal in mind and you seem to hit a dead end? This was our dead end. We received a phone call that there had been an issue with the new hardwood and it would not arrive for months! Our house was a complete mess; it was like we were camping. What do we do?
Solution from our friends at Action Flooring…
Our long-time flooring supplier and friend Dave Reid from Action Flooring and his knowledgeable Assistant Karoline jumped in with some solutions. It’s wonderful working with people who take the time to get to know you. Dave said to me, “Monique, I don’t think your original hardwood choice was meant to be.” I couldn’t agree with him more. In fact, that was exactly what I was thinking.
Sometimes the little voice in your head telling you that perhaps the direction you were headed was the wrong one is something to listen to. Granted, we are talking about flooring, but the same rules apply. When a decision is not going your way and you have tried several attempts to continue down that same path, it may be time to re-assess and try a different approach.
For me, it was a blessing. The team at Action Flooring gave me some great options. Looking back, my final choice was the best one, but I didn’t see it until I changed my direction. That dead end or fork in the road doesn’t need to be a deal breaker. I surrounded myself with knowledgeable people and was flexible to change my vision. I ended up with a choice that was the best for me and an added a life lesson to seal up the deal.
When you’re building a custom home and things lead you down a different path, are you surrounding yourself with knowledgeable and supportive partners?
This blog was written by the lovely people at Canterbury Homes.