Whole new living room!

An unfortunate hobby that Matt and Sharon adopted when they were first married was to go to new construction open houses and walk around and dream about the big, beautiful new home they might want to buy. The problem with this, of course, is that too much looking means eventually you'll find one you actually want. Fortunately Matt and Sharon would always drive home (perhaps discussing just how much house payment they could manage in order to buy whatever home they'd just fallen in love with) pull into their own driveway and be reminded that their current home was actually just what they needed. So instead of going to open houses they decided it would be a good idea to just focus on making their current home everything they want and need.

One of the big "to dos" in the Gosney home re-model was to replace the carpet in the living room and front hall with a wood floor. Penny and Auggie have a lot of good qualities, but sweet-smelling is not one of them. Matt was forever shampooing carpets and sofa cushions in an attempt to keep up with the shedding, stinky, drooling machines. It was decided that wood floors and leather furniture would alleviate a lot of that concern, and also count as home improvement. So Matt and Sharon began planning and saving for the living room overhaul.

It began by selling the current furniture on craigs list (a highly recommended site, by the way.) Matt thought it would take a week or two to sell the furniture. Instead, it sold in a matter of 15 minutes. So Matt and Sharon picked the wood for the floor (with much help from Matt's Cub Scout committee, who each shared their opinion) and a date was picked to rip up the old carpet. Matt asked good friends Jace and Jason to come over for a Saturday morning full of entertainment. There are few things in this world that are more disturbing than pulling up old carpet to see just exactly how nasty it is underneath. Jace and Jason were rewarded for their efforts with a lunch catered by Sonic, and Matt and Sharon then went "rustic" as they sat on the concrete slab and awaited the floor guys to arrive.

While waiting, Sharon and Matt made a run to Tulsa to shop for furniture at Mathis Brothers. (Tip for Arkansans: Mathis Brothers has a better selection than anything in town, and since it is out of state you don't have to pay sales tax. Plus you can get a Jamba Juice while you're in town. Everybody wins.) Matt and Sharon had been looking for the right leather furniture set for months, but with the carpet up and the floor going down it became imparative that some decision be made. The Mathis Brothers sales person, weary from our multiple visits and indecisive natures, finally showed us "the one" and we drove back home the proud owners of new leather furniture.

The floor folks arrived on Monday and began a two day job of putting in the new floor. As you can see, they did outstanding work. By Thursday the new furniture had been delivered and, just like that, the Gosneys have a new living room that is easier to maintain and certainly smells less like a kennel. All are welcome to come test-drive! We won't be moving any time soon.