Pretty dull, carpets? I’m not so sure. Recently we had the hall, stairs and landing carpets replaced and I found myself breaking off from the keyboard to watch Lewis at work. Cutting stuff into shape with his Stanley knife, positioning the awkward lengths with his knee-activated stretcher, folding the edges over neatly with a bolster worn smooth by his hands. A stapler also played a part. You don’t need many tools to lay carpets, just experience. It took Lewis a year to learn how to keep unwanted bubbles at bay.Carpets grow old under your feet and you’re unaware of the process. We made the replacement decision when Mrs BB spotted a worn patch on the bottom stair. But it seemed such a small patch. Couldn’t I just colour the visible warp/woof? Mrs BB said no and I went along with her. After all we’re as rich as Croesus. It was only when I rolled up the discarded material in daylight, out on the driveway, that I realised how faded it was, and how the fading differed from area to area. A heck of a load for the dump.
It was Mrs BB who decided on stripes instead of a solid colour (see before and after). A marvellous decision. Hall and stairs are not only lighter; that part of the house has grown in volume.
I was reminded of March 1998 when we first moved into the then new house. We had furniture and beds, etc, but it felt like a cave. Only when the carpets were laid did it turn into a home. Yes carpets are boring but they frame our existence. And think what frames do for paintings.
6 comments:
Mrs. BB is to be commended on her choice of carpeting. It does, indeed, look better than the rosy-red stuff, plus it will wear better, too. I'm not much of a carpet fan, but I sure like this.
Very nice job Lewis did, BB.
Same can be said for this post.
Oh! It brings out the woodwork. Very nice. And I like the texture. Prost to Lewis for keeping those pesky bubbles at bay!
Wel I suppose you knew you would get a response from me.
At the height of my Munro* bagging campaign I installed TARTAN carpet in my living room, and since then in the dining room. I reckon that's about as exciting as carpeting can get.
*The 284 mountains in Scotland over 3000ft.
A really good place for old carpets is the compost heap. They seem to concentrate the process of fermentation.
Carpets are a great comfort in cold climates. The light color adds a note of cheer, too.
The Crow: You bring back US memories. How lots of people used to talk about "rugs" when I would have said "carpets" and a seemingly countrywide antipathy towards "fitted carpets" (ie, wall to wall) although that phrase was never used. Also a strange desire to be able to see the floor round the edges because this somehow was linked to quality and/or old-fashioned quaintness.
RW (zS): No bubbles at all; I checked again this morning. I'd have hated to have laid the stair carpet.
Sir Hugh: Once laid the carpet ceases to be a carpet and becomes merely the environment. For me "fitted" equals warmth and comfort - not so in the US (see above). I hope the Munro footnote was for others, not me.
Plutarch: I would have needed a disfiguring amount of compost to have used up that huge pile of waste carpet. I have never really understood how compost heaps are reconciled with moderate/smallish gardens, as I have.
Hattie: Carpets are nothing less than transformation. Even when it's warm I prefer them to bare boards beneath my unsocked feet.
Post a Comment