Step by Step

We've been in our retirement condo at Applegate for six years now (hard to believe!) and for all that time, I've put off addressing the elephant in the room - our staircase.  It's the first thing you see when you enter our home and, until now, was covered with aqua wall-to-wall carpeting.

When I was blog-hopping one day I came upon this post, from Sherri at To Simply Inspire.



Sherrie removed all of the wall-to-wall carpeting from her stairs by herself . . . in an afternoon! "Well", I said to myself, "If Sherri can do it, so can I!"

My husband, who isn't always sure he likes change, was away helping a friend so it was the perfect time for me to sneak this project in before he got home. Sherri's directions were clear and she seemed so happy doing her stairs! How hard could this be???

I hadn't give a thought to the weather:  Maine was having an August heat wave on the day I decided to rip up 40 years worth of wool carpet. And the day after . . .

Removing thousands of sharp little staples was a special kind of h*ll, as was prying up the nailer strips while trying to avoid shedding any more blood than absolutely necessary.

Four days later, I was completely miserable, feeling sorry for myself . . but almost done!

The stairs really do look beautiful . . .  

and Sherri'e directions were perfect. But . . . 

But this was one of those projects I don't think I ever want to ever attempt again. 

As much as I love DIY, some things are probably just worth paying for!

Yours in dust mites,

This post is linked to:

Amaze Me Monday #283 at Dwellings