Spring Redecorating at the Farm
Not along ago, I discovered that the carpeting in my home had been installed improperly. The installation was done when I was away traveling. Not long ago, I was trying to rotate one of the rugs when I found out that it had adhered to the beautiful fir flooring beneath. No padding had been used by the previous installer! I soon decided to get all new carpeting and redecorate for spring. What is shown in this blog is the clearing of the rooms and the installation of the new carpet using what is called custom wood margin carpet installation. This “fitted” type of installation takes a little bit longer, but looks very, very nice. Even curves and floor registers can be figured into the installation cleverly and nicely. A big thank you to New York Carpet in Westport, CT for a terrific job. And, we have wonderful rug offerings at the Home Depot in many new colors and textures at great prices. Look in your local store.
1 The parlor was first cleared of furniture - Fernando and Chhiring lifted the marble tabletop from an antique Scandinavian table base.
2 Without having a carpet pad to protect it, the floor beneath the carpeting was basically getting ruined by the rough bottom side of the old carpet.
3 Next, the two loveseats were moved. The trick was finding a place for all of the furniture since the carpet throughout the ground floor was being replaced.
4 With most of the furniture gone, the old rug was given a good vacuuming.
5 The carpet was rolled up and taken to the basement. The plan is to have all the old carpets cleaned before cutting them to fit in the smaller bedrooms at Skylands, my home in Maine.
6 The wood floor was given a thorough cleaning to remove as much of the rug damage as possible.
7 This is what was missing from the old carpeting - the recommended padding for beneath the new carpet.
8 The padding was unrolled onto the parlor floor before the new carpeting was positioned on top of it.
9 The carpet wasn't wide enough for the width of the room, so it had to be seamed with another section. I wanted a fitted rug, leaving a wood margin around the walls, so we hired an outside contractor to 'fit' the carpeting.
10 With a heavy pad beneath to protect the floor, he carefully measured for accuracy before trimming.
11 For a really clean edge, the contractor used a tool designed specifically for this purpose. This cutter uses double blades that cut either side of the row close and clean, producing better seams.
12 The long slender front guide of the cutter is beveled at the bottom, making it easy to stay in a row. The blades are changed frequently.
13 A very clean cut!
14 Meanwhile, latex glue was applied onto the seam sealing tape, which was positioned beneath the carpet at the seam.
15 The adhesive on the tape was heated with a carpet seam iron, joining it to the carpet.
16 The other section of carpet was laid down.
17 Using the teeth of a knee kicker to position just so, the two sections were joined together over the seam sealing tape.
18 For large-size rugs, the padded end is kicked with the knee to get the carpet into position. The dial adjusts the depth of the teeth.
19 You simply can't tell that the carpet has a seam.
20 And I like how the carpet now curves around the parlor stairs.
21 I'm very happy with the fresh, lighter color of this new carpet. It's far less brown than what was here before.
22 Next, the brown room was emptied of most furniture and moved to the newly carpeted parlor so that the brown room could be readied for new carpet.
23 But first, the bird room came next.
24 The new padding and carpet was laid up to the canary cage.
25 The cage and its stand was moved onto the new carpeting and was wheeled back into position when the installation was complete.
26 To bind the edges of the carpet, a wheeled carpet binding machine is used.
27 The spools of binding tape are attached to the machine.
28 The binding tape is fed through the machine, folded over the edge of the carpet, and sewn in place while the operator pulls the machine along.
29 All the edges are finished in this manner - nice and neat.
30 In the brown room, the old carpet was rolled up.
31 As in the other rooms, the floor beneath was a mess! it is very important to install rugs correctly in the first place
32 In this very large room, both the padding and the carpet were seamed together.
33 And the edges cut and bound to specifications.
34 And lastly, the front entrance and stairway were readied.
35 The newly carpeted parlor. What a wonderful, refreshed look the room now has!
36 The front entrance and stairway. I rearranged a lot of furniture and I think it looks so much better.
37 The birdroom is more edited, more open and airier. I am very pleased.
38 And the brown room looks like an entirely new room - so much roomier, with a new floor plan.
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I loved everything Martha, but I believe that besides of taking care our home it's a good thing to take a good care of our soul,too.
Posted by: Chris | March 14th, 2012 at 3:03 am
Fifty years+ is the age of carpet in my home, the very thought of replacing it causes anxiety; however, these pictures make me realize that the padding underneath is important. There is no tongue and groove hardwood under my carpet but it is real plywood and think will just try for another fifty or at least until I no longer live here. Your wood floor is beautiful and thanks for photos of this project. Great accomnplishment
Posted by: ann | March 14th, 2012 at 5:50 am
The new sisal carpets look lovely Martha. I bet you were not happy when you saw the condition of your wood floors when the old carpet was removed. Your house is beautiful and looks not only elegant but comfortable as well!
Posted by: Cindy F | March 14th, 2012 at 7:14 am
Interesting. I should put padding under my rug. It is wool with an ocelot pattern. I wonder if when the lifted that marble did they think the whole table would come with it.
I have an entrance table I use in my kitchen as a chopping area and I am going to add marble to it. I think I can get a random cut from the local marble place for it.
I learn quite a bit from following Martha. I suspect the new carpet and padding is for the Grand Children.
How very thoughtful.
Posted by: Rachel | March 14th, 2012 at 9:12 am
if the company who installed the original carpets did it incorrectly and my floors were left like that I'd be suing them for floor refinishing and new carpet!
Posted by: darrell white | March 14th, 2012 at 9:17 am
Hi Martha,
I like - it looks purdy! Trish
Posted by: Trish | March 14th, 2012 at 9:36 am
Hi Martha, How great to see new carpets installed in all 4 areas of your beautiful home at your wonderful Bedford farm! I loved viewing the July 20, 2011 carpeting installations in the tenant house again and that blog was terrific, also! Those guys from the New York Carpet in Westport, CN absolutely do a perfect job installing the carpets! I always love to see how projects are done and the tools these guys have are fabulous! Sure was nice to get new proper rug pads installed and they may last longer and protect the wood floors much better! Everyone of those rooms looked so awesome when they finished!!!! I'm sure Alexis will enjoy the new carpets when she brings your wonderful grandchildren to visit!!! Sure hope you have another great day, Martha and you too, Laura!! Off to see The Daily Wag where F&S are the Spokedogs at PetSmart!
Posted by: Jan Erickson | March 14th, 2012 at 9:41 am
How exciting! First, little Master Truman, congratulations to Alexis & of course, yourself. Secondly, new carpets! I love new carpets. Such a nice fresh look. We are re-flooring our kitchen, family room & entryway with hardwood. I do like something under my feet in the family room. We are certainly going to look for this carpet.
Like Jan, I enjoyed the Tenant House blog.
Thanks, Martha!
Enjoy the day.........Sharon
Posted by: Sharon & Rebel | March 14th, 2012 at 10:30 am
Martha,
Everythings looking good. Thanks for sharing this blog.
Posted by: KLBrown | March 14th, 2012 at 11:50 am
I think we saw this post before. Is it meant as a reminder to us to be sure to use the padding? Good to know!
Posted by: Jayne | April 9th, 2012 at 7:37 am
Finally the changes are done, now it looks more beautiful and arranged.
Posted by: austin bakery | April 9th, 2012 at 7:45 am
I do believe we have seen this post before....it's a good one!
Posted by: Peace for All | April 9th, 2012 at 8:13 am
Hi Martha, Thanks so much for reposting this great blog from March 14th! I thoroughly enjoyed seeing these photos again and love seeing all kinds of projects that occur at your beautiful Bedford farm! Sure hope you had a delightful Easter day yesterday and would love to see photos of Alexis, Jude, and Truman and the Easter Egg Hunt!!!! Sure hope you have another great day! Thank you Laura for saving and reposting our comments and be sure to wish your handsome, young son, Charlie a Happy Birthday today! Off to see The Daily Wag about truffle hunting! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | April 9th, 2012 at 9:56 am
Hi Martha,
The carpet looks great and I know how satisfying it is to move furniture around to give a room more room or just make it cozier. One day I put a vintage sewing machine table in the entranceway at the front door and added a chair and a plant and I thought, “Why didn’t I think of this before.” That table had been all over the house except at the front door. I read the Daily Wag where Franny, Sharkey and G.K. talked about their road trip to Skylands with Carlos to take some furniture and rugs up and I assumed they were talking about the rugs you replaced here. I hope you know of a good carpet installer up there too! Trish
Posted by: Trish | April 9th, 2012 at 10:05 am
I'm doing a high school research paper on you comparing you to the goddess, Hestia, goddess of hearth and home!
Posted by: Mallory | April 9th, 2012 at 1:12 pm
Great job, your rooms look like brand new now.
Posted by: Maria Lúcia | April 9th, 2012 at 1:13 pm
I love the colors in the parlor...
Gee, I kind of like the hardwood floors. Especially once they were cleaned up.
I'm wondering if the furry critters (aka) cats will start using the new carpet as a scratching post!
gail
Posted by: gail pierson | April 9th, 2012 at 3:08 pm
Hi Martha,
I'm so sorry about the damage to your floors. In the 70's, when my parents had their home built, they were told never to use pads under the rugs on their hardwood floors. They always rotated the rugs and never had a problem, although the backing was a jute-like material. I do remember my Aunt had felt pads under her wool rugs, but I thought that was to protect the carpets from the floor, as these were reversible and very expensive.
Posted by: Lee | April 9th, 2012 at 3:45 pm
As your blogs always are--very informative. What I do know but I already knew, I am not cut out to be a carpet installer or destaller. I must commend people with such skills. I have skills but carpet installer will not be on my resume.
All is bright and cheery with you finished rooms.
Posted by: margie | April 9th, 2012 at 7:13 pm
Martha,
I love your beautiful canary cage in your bird room. I live in Arizona and have a very spacious "Arizona room" with 13 windows! I plan to have an aviary and would love to know who built your bird cage.
Thank you for your help:)
Posted by: Jeannette | April 10th, 2012 at 11:03 pm
Martha: I enjoy your shows and tape them daily and our Easter egg hunt at church Saturday was a Martha Stewart moment. We had banquet size tables w/ different colors arranged in color order for cupcakes. We had over 6k eggs dropped fm a Biplane for our children. The cupcakes reminded me of a cover for your next years magazine cover. I admireyou and staff and learn so much. Lana fm Baker Fl
Posted by: Lana Spears | April 11th, 2012 at 9:38 pm
Hi there Martha, In PHOTO 36, I think the waterfall and mirror should be flipped. The natural directed action of the waterfall, directs your eye right into the right corner of the room. If it were switched, the waterfall would direct your eye toward the archway.
Posted by: Fred Gonsowski | April 11th, 2012 at 9:47 pm
Beautiful. However, I am wondering why you covered such beautiful flooring. Not having carpets is much healthier also.
Posted by: Patty Cuoco Schoen-Jones | April 16th, 2012 at 9:12 am
Hi Martha! I really enjoyed looking at all these photos and loved the idea of "floating" a carpet over the wood floors. The fact that it's not a permanent installation is wonderful. You did a lovely job portraying the craftsmanship in this installation too!
Posted by: Sophia Stone | April 16th, 2012 at 12:36 pm
Martha,
Back in 2001 my mother and I built your canary cage for my ever growing Zebra finch population. It has lasted 11 years outdoors but it is time to repair or most likely rebuild it. My husband and I moved two years ago to our new house and in the process I've missplaced the construction plans. I have the time right now to do the work. Would you tell me where to get another copy of the plans? I'm desperately seeking a copy. Thanks!
Posted by: April B | September 17th, 2012 at 6:38 pm