Our 88 pound Bernese Mountain dog, Elliott is the reason we made the best decision on our basement renovation.

We were on the tail end of our kitchen renovation and budget when we realized we had an issue in the basement.

Apparently, our little Berner rescue decided not to inconvenience our kitchen contractors to open the back door when he had to do his business.

He is so thoughtful. He knew how much mom wanted to move her coffee pot back to the kitchen that he did not want to slow their workday.

So to keep the contractors on schedule he just did his business in our basement.

On the carpet.

At least on the days, the contractors were at our house. So most days except Saturday and Sundays.

And over the course of six weeks, a large section of the carpet was destroyed.

Vinegar and dog carpet cleaner can only do so much.

It was hard to fault him with his smooshy face and after all, it was loud and we had Zoom calls that he patiently sat through.. waiting.

Until he could wait no longer.

We confirmed our suspicion, that it was beyond an industrial cleanup when we pulled up a section of the carpet.

The second my husband and I agreed we needed to replace it I tore out the section of carpet and hauled it to the garage while my husband went to check on flooring options.

Tip: I found that sometimes it helps if I start the teardown to minimize the chance to move the project to a later date.

CARPET TO LUXURY VINYL FLOORING

Over the past ten years, we updated our basement as our needs changed for the lower level multi-purpose space. Ipulled this photo out of the archives.

This was when we began our basement remodel plans. Probably after uploading this photo.

INITIAL BASEMENT RENOVATION INCLUDED

• replaced the windows facing the front of the house
• add wrought iron spindles
• replaced the granite tile countertop and honey oak cabinets (to match our kitchen cabinets).
• updated the bathroom + built this Pottery Barn knockoff vanity.

So we put our ensuite bathroom remodel on hold and tackled the basement flooring.

This is the area on the adjoining wall of the room above.

Those window treatments likely were a reflection of my mental state with three kids, two dogs, a husband who recently quit his job “to own his own business” and my new venture into real estate.

But now, all I see is the hockey goalie and I just smile at the memories.

Our basement is ground level with an egress (entry door) exit to the garage.

Our dogs and family are in and out of the entry garage door all day long.

And since my husband moved his office to the basement he basically created a WeWorks space with refreshment and a big-screen television on the lower level.

THE BEST DECISION

We had two carpet estimates and were leaning towards carpet because the basement is chilly. And, with a wood subfloor underneath we wanted padding and carpet.

BUT, our neighbor and friend who is a custom home builder suggested we look at luxury vinyl flooring for the lower level. When Bob the Builder offers free advice we listen.

KEEP IT UNIFORM

We have hardwood floors on our main level and carpet on the upper level and four flights of stairs. Unsure of the costs to add hardwood to four flights of stairs, we opted to add the luxury vinyl flooring to only the lower level and the two steps to the garage entry door.

We left the carpet on the four flights of stairs.

Realtor tip: As a homeowner, try to minimize the number of flooring options on one level or open floorplan. It breaks up the space and can look choppy when a home has carpet, wood floors and tile on the same floor.

Of course, in this market, you could sell your house with plywood floors and a missing garage door, but in a balanced market try to minimize the number of flooring options on a level. #realtorlife

I added this rug for my husband’s office.

Do you know why it is called luxury vinyl?

Because it is pricey! Now we did have some hardwood flooring to remove around the bar, but it was more expensive than we anticipated.

So it is a good thing we absolutely, positively love, love love the decision to add vinyl flooring to our basement renovation.

LUXURY VINYL FLOOR IS THE BEST DECISION

You guys of all the updates we made in our basement this is our favorite. I wish we had done it years ago. It is dog-friendly, kid-friendly, husband friendly, weather friendly and paint friendly.

BENEFITS OF LUXURY VINYL FLOORING

• Makes our basement look larger
• Basement feels ten times brighter
• Scratch resistant
• Easy cleanup

We love it!

We added a dog bed (from Costco) in my husband’s office (the dogs love to listen to his conference calls). and a 2nd dog bed near the garage entry so they always here when someone comes home (or the UPS driver).

You may have seen this on my stories after we installed a Ring doorbell.

We recently purchased a pool table here and had three generations of our family playing pool over the holidays.

We love it! If you have any questions please contact me here.