Find the reveal post here!
One of the things we loved about this house when we first saw it was the bright, light-filled finished basement. In our price range in Seattle, many homes felt small, dark, or had low ceilings that didn’t feel like real rooms. Even though this is a modest house, the lower level’s natural light made the whole home feel more spacious and functional.
When I last updated the space late last summer, contractors were building a wall to create an office inside the large room. The open area downstairs was generous, but we realized it was almost too big to be practical. Open floor plans can be wonderful, but sometimes they aren’t the most useful layout. Because we needed an additional room, we chose to divide the large open area into two distinct spaces.
I’ll share more about each of these rooms in future posts, but already the change has made a big difference. Dividing the space improved the functionality of the entire lower level and it even feels larger than before.
After the walls were painted — a fresh, neutral coat to tidy things up while we figure out long-term color plans — we turned our attention to the flooring. The existing carpet had seen better days and was covering old asbestos linoleum tiles. Our inspector advised that the original flooring must remain undisturbed; it could be safely covered but not removed or exposed.
In the past I partnered with Mohawk to install pre-finished Hickory wood floors in our previous home, and we loved the results. So when the opportunity came to work with them again, we were excited to explore options for this house.
We wanted a durable, dog-friendly floor for this room — with four dogs in and out of the space, resilience was essential. The new floor also needed to be suitable for installation over the existing linoleum. After reviewing samples and considering tone and texture, we felt a quality laminate would meet our needs best. We tested samples throughout the house to make sure the color and character would coordinate well with the rest of our home.
None of the new flooring would be installed directly next to other wood floors, aside from tile in the hallway and hearth, but we still wanted a cohesive look. We tried several options and eventually chose the Concertina line in the Smokey Chestnut finish. The matte finish, subtle texture, and realistic coloring gave it a natural, authentic appearance.
About a week before Christmas, the installers removed the old carpet and completed the laminate installation the next day — all in one day. The installers were accommodating with our furniture since we couldn’t move everything out beforehand. Pre-finished laminate creates less mess and disruption than flooring that requires on-site finishing, which made the process much easier for us.
The new floor transformed the downstairs. The space feels cleaner, warmer, and more updated, and the whole house seems larger and more cohesive as a result.
Click to see the full reveal of our new flooring here (and stay tuned for the upcoming reveal of our office flooring)!
I wrote this post while participating in the Mohawk Flooring Blogger Campaign and received flooring for my family room to facilitate my review.