Basement Update: The Carpet

Nothing terribly exciting to report folks, but I DID make my way up to Highway 400 and Langstaff to pick my carpet for the basement.  Our sample piece that we had kept to show the insurance people and contractors had been thrown away - a fact I discovered as I rushed downstairs to get it on my way out the door.  Oops.  No biggie, I grabbed some heavy duty scissors, pliers and screwdrivers (leverage) and yanked and slashed a piece from the stairs.  I guess we're doing the stairs.

The designer I met with pulled this one (above) out almost before I had shown her the old one.  I liked that it was a bit darker (the old one shown spots super easily) and had a tighter weave.  I am hoping the tighter weave conducts the heat from the in-floor heating a little better than the plusher one did.  I looked through a handful of other samples, but this one worked for me.  I was also distracted by grilling her about her background and how she got into interior design (she had a background in marketing and no formal schooling).  Sadly, there were no extra samples to bring with me, but I left feeling pleased.

Of course about 11:30 pm last night I couldn't sleep worrying that it was too dark, too grey, too muddy.  I only had my iPhone photos, and around midnight I got out of bed, went down and interrupted the DVD Chris was watching to check the photos against the pictures of the former finished basement.  He was less than impressed.  Then today I sent my mom the iPhone photos and she reassured me that it would look fine and reminded me to trust in myself.

Jeepers, how long will it take before I get to be confident in my own decisions, and not always second guess them?  Or is that simply my nature?  The bigger the commitment, the more I stress (just ask my husband). Anyway, I put together a bit of a moodboard on Olioboard with the new carpet and a new paint colour, plus a few new accessories to go with the 'warm, cozy' vibe I was hoping the new carpet would bring.

The carpet here is a screen grab from the manufacturer website, which (incorrectly I hope) shows the colour I picked as being much darker than I had in my photos.  But maybe if I add lots of textures (anyone want to get me some Mongolian fur pillows for Christmas?  Or maybe I'll try the fake ones from Amazon...and yowza, that throw from Anthro!) and a beautiful warm kilim carpet it will make the place more of a cozy den.  I have my darker David Hannan painting (similar to the one pictured here) and the sepia photos of Prague from an old calendar that I framed.  And Dad made me a gorgeous full length mahogany-framed mirror (or rather made it for himself and I stole it) ... But... I just liked how the light carpet reflected the light from the pot lights and made it feel less like a basement.  SIGH.  Stupid tree.

Amazing how I have no problem making other people's decor and design decisions, but am completely stymied by my own.  Never-the-less, there are supposedly people coming tomorrow to start fixing the drywall, so maybe it will be done in time for the in-laws after all!  The sooner the damn carpet is in, the less time I will have to stress about it.