I feel like the theme of today is “Just Kidding!” The week hasn’t really ended the way I thought it was going to, and I’m okay with that!
First, I thought that I would have a chair and ottoman ordered for our bedroom by now. I shared the options I was considering in my post on Monday, and by midday on Monday, I was pretty sure I wanted the Caitlyn Petite Chair from Interior Define (affiliate link).
I had those in my shopping cart all day long, and I started the checkout process about 15 times throughout the day, but I just couldn’t bring myself to finalize the order. I thought the sale was going to end that night, so I sat in bed right up until I decided to go to sleep with my laptop in my lap trying to decide if I was going to buy those or not. I just couldn’t do it.
As much as I love the look of that chair, it just looks very small. The seat on the chair is only 17 inches high, which is perfect for a short person like me, but they don’t have an ottoman that’s 17 inches high. The Winslow is 18 inches high. I don’t like an ottoman being higher than the chair, even by one inch. And with the chair looking so small, I’m afraid it’ll kind of get lost in that corner of our room. Plus, I just couldn’t shake the idea that I really want a recliner instead of a chair and ottoman. But I really don’t like how boxy their small recliner looks.
Wednesday, I went to lunch with my mom and brother, as I do every Wednesday, and our weather was really cold that day. So right after we ate, my brother went back to work and my mom and I went back to her house to enjoy her amazing new gas logs she had installed in her former woodburning fireplace. And I sat there all afternoon in her cozy recliner right by the fire. That confirmed to me that I want a recliner instead of a chair and ottoman.
So I’ve been looking for other recliners. Yesterday on my Facebook page, I asked people to tell me which online stores allow you to choose the upholstery. I got a list of online stores and started searching for the perfect recliner with great fabric options, but the recliner I like the most is the big one (which didn’t make my original list on Monday) from Interior Define, which is this Jude Recliner (affiliate link).
I really like the gentle curves on that chair. It’s not too curvy, but it also doesn’t have that boxy look that the smaller recliner has. This one didn’t make my original list because I thought it was too big for the room. But if I have space for a chair plus an ottoman, I have room for this. I measured and marked it out on the floor of the bedroom last night to confirm that I have room for it, keeping in mind that it does have to have room to lean back.
So I’m about 90% sure that this is the recliner I’ll be buying for our bedroom. I still haven’t made the purchase because in the meantime, something else came up.
Yesterday, I got a phone call from the flooring man who came to my house on Tuesday to do the measurements and give me an estimate for installing the hardwood flooring for me. When his name popped up on my phone, I thought, “Well, it’s too late. You should have contacted me on Tuesday!” I answered the phone, and he said, “I was just checking to see what you thought of the estimate I sent on Tuesday.”
Ummm…what? What estimate? I told him I didn’t get it, and even as I sat there talking to him, I scrolled through my text messages twice and still didn’t couldn’t find it. So he sent it again, and the new message popped up immediately. When I opened it, I saw the new message along with the original message before it. And sure enough, they had sent the original estimate when they said they would on Tuesday afternoon. I have no idea why I didn’t see it, or why I couldn’t even find it when I went searching for it.
Long story short, I’m going to let them install the flooring for me. I had set a price in my mind and told myself that if the estimate comes in at that price or lower, I’d have them do it. If it’s higher, I’ll do it myself. That price I set in my mind was $2500 for installing just under 500 square feet of flooring. Their estimate was $2574. I’m not going to quibble about $74. 😀
And even better, they’ll be here this morning at 9:00am to start! They had an outdoor project scheduled, and that had to be rescheduled because of the weather (we’ve had a few really cold days), so they had an immediate opening. I’m so excited that I don’t have to spend the next week installing all of this flooring!!!
I can focus on other things (maybe knock a few more items off of my 2025 home projects list) while they’re doing that. Our weather is supposed to be gorgeous this weekend, so maybe I can get a few things done outside. I’ll have to look at my list and see which projects I want to tackle.
In addition, he gave me the name of the one and only person he recommends for sanding and finishing hardwood floors in this area. So I called him for an estimate, and he said he’d do all of the sanding for just under 500 square feet for $2000. SOLD!
I’m so excited I can barely sit still this morning. I’m like a giddy little child on Christmas morning waiting for the slow adults to wake up so that we can start opening presents. 😀 I mean, when he called yesterday, I was just finishing up with getting the area all cleared out and gathering and organizing my tools to start installing the flooring. I had just kicked Cooper and Felicity out of the area, closed the French doors so they couldn’t get in and get in the way, and was literally about to start rolling out felt paper on the floor when the phone rang.
I can’t help but feel a little twinge of guilt that I’m not doing all of it myself. I mean, I’m a DIYer, so I kind of feel like I’m betraying some sort of DIYer’s code by hiring it out. But I have installed, sanded, and refinished many floors over the last decade, so I keep telling myself I don’t have anything to prove to myself or anyone else. I know I could do it myself, and I was about to do just that. But having the option to hire it out feels really exciting right now. I’m just anxious to get to the building projects. I want to build my closet ASAP, and now I’ll be able to get to that project much sooner.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
