Floor Planning

Now that I'm finally finished with the Laundry Room, I've focused my attention back on the Playroom.  As you might remember, the Playroom is a sort of awkward layout that was created after the previous home owners added an addition to the house.

Originally the Guest Room and the Playroom were the only two bedrooms on this floor, but when the previous owners converted what was formerly a hot tub and sauna room into two additional bedrooms, the Playroom became a "walk through" room to get to the new bedrooms.  (Yep, you heard right.  This 1980's house formerly hosted a massive hot tub and sauna room.  So totally 80's.  I wish I had pictures.)  

On our first walk through of the house I was really deterred by this strange layout, but once we settled on the idea of making this space a Playroom for the "Kids Wing," I was sold.  I love that I can close the door to the Playroom and hide our little monster's mess by day, or provide lots of quiet for the  munchkin by night.  As the little one gets bigger this room can become a study or den, with a "cloffice" in the closet and perhaps a TV and comfy couch for when Ry and his future brother/sister are too cool to watch TV with us.   

One problem we've been trying to figure out though, is what to do with the mismatched flooring.

The Hallway, Guest Room and Playroom all sport a really dirty carpet, while Ryder's Room and the future Nursery have a wood-like laminate.  To be clear, when I say "really dirty", I mean "sick and wrong."  After some intense scrubbing and cleaning, here's what I was left with:

I try not to think too hard about what those stains are from. Stop thinking... Stop thinking... 

Ideally we'd love to replace the hallway and all 4 rooms with hardwood floors like we installed in the Living Room, Dining Room, Foyer and Kitchen, for a more cohesive look throughout the house.  We're talking about another almost 600 square feet though, and that's going to take a lot more saving.  So in the mean time, I've been looking for a very low pile rug that I could place over the carpet in the Playroom to cover the stains and protect my little monkey from the grossness.

While I've searched nearly everywhere, (including Overstock, Land of Nod, Target, Pier 1, Pottery Barn, and a bunch of outlets), everything thing was either too thick, too expensive, or the wrong size.  The room is almost perfectly square, and after laying out a long rectangular rug it just didn't seem to fit the space well.  No matter what I tried, all signs lead me back to Flor.

If you've never shopped Flor before, they sell large, square carpet tiles that get laid together to make one big rug or full room carpet.  The benefit is that you can mix and match colors, textures and patterns, and layout the squares in the shape and size you desire, to make a custom rug perfect for your room.  Plus, they are incredibly easy to clean (you can literally pick a square up and wash it out in the sink), which is perfect for a playroom.  The problem is that they can be a bit pricey, with cost per 20" x 20" tile ranging anywhere from $10-$70 each. With 16 tiles needed to make a 7'x7' square, that could add up pretty quick.  So I've been stalking Flor for months now waiting for the perfect sale, and about a week ago, magic happened.

A few of my favorite color combinations and designs from Flor's Nursery Collection.

Like winning the lottery- Flor had a closeout on their Fez style- a very low pile, high traffic, soft felt square.  Not only did they come in the perfect combination of colors for the Playroom (dark blue, orange, grass green and yellow), but they were clearance priced at $6.49 a tile!  Top that off with a 50% off shipping coupon code, and I paid just $115 total for my custom carpet solution.  I'd love to show them to you, but apparently I bought the last of them, because when I went back online the next day to get a screen shot, they were no longer available.  You'll just have to wait until tomorrow, because the box will be delivered this afternoon and I can't wait to get home tonight and put it together.