WHY RAINTREE FLOORS?

It was an easy choice. This is truly epic flooring. After installing it in the den during the One Room Challenge last spring, I was very excited to use it in the rest of the house, including our front bath. When I initially began my search, I knew I wanted real wood, yet it had to be waterproof with a house full of animals and kids. When I went to Raintree’s website, I was immediately drawn to Castle Creek because of it’s light and modern-looking finish. After receiving a sample in the mail, I knew it was the one.

We’d already lived with it in the den for six months before we began prepping the rest of the house for installation. The bedrooms had the original hardwood floors, which I’d painted several years ago because I didn’t like the look of the dark original wood butting up against the light laminate flooring we had throughout the rest of the house. I also really disliked the tile in the front bathroom and knew I wanted to replace it, but didn’t really want more tile. I’ve never had luck with keeping grout clean, regardless of what I do! So it was a no-brainer to install Castle Creek all throughout the house, bathroom included!

We started with the bedrooms first, prepping and then laying the flooring one room at a time in an attempt to keep the construction mess to a minimum. Prepping actually didn't involve that much work, since we laid the flooring on top of the existing floors.

We started in my daughter’s room by removing the baseboard trim, door casings, and closet doors. Her room was to get not only the new floors, but a whole remodel with wall paper, new lighting, and built-in bunk beds.

After completing my daughter's room, we laid the flooring in the other two bedrooms next. All three bedrooms went pretty quickly because we didn't have to remove the old flooring beforehand and we were able to empty the rooms first; which meant we didn't have to shuffle the furniture around as we worked - a major plus!

Once all the bedrooms were done, we moved down the hallway to the rest of the house, working from the living room into the dining room and kitchen. It probably wasn't the best way to do it, but it was our only option because I had another project due that was part of my daughter's bedroom remodel, so her room had to be finished before anything else.

It was a bit tricky getting everything square for that reason, but we pulled it off! The main issue we ran into wasn't with the flooring, but the baseboards. We replaced them with new ones to match the baseboards we'd installed in the den last spring and they were just a bit shorter than the old ones.

I ended up having to mud and paint just above the new baseboards all throughout the house. It was pretty time consuming and definitely made things take much longer. However, the fact that the flooring was so easy to install really helped!

All in all, the project was definitely doable even while living in the middle of it. Sure, it wasn't fun having the house torn up, but it turned out to be SO WORTH IT in the end! Having waterproof flooring is a must with an active household like ours. With Castle Creek being not only that, but also real, beautiful hardwood - there’s nothing better! I can't wait to show you the finished product very soon!

This post was sponsored by Raintree Floors, but all opinions are my own!