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Mine -- All Mine!
House Hunt 2006 just came to a rather unexpected -- and unexpectedly happy -- conclusion after much struggle and turmoil. Ironically enough, we're actually winding up in the "Dupont Circle" house whose actual location is 14th and Florida. The good news is that I actually much prefer that location -- 14th and Florida is pretty ideal for me. The house is also quite large and very affordable considering its size and location. The bad news is that it has really ugly floors. I'm probably in the bottom five percentile of the population in terms of inclination to care about floor aesthetics, but these are truly ugly floors. But the situation is otherwise ideal and I'm not opposed to spending much of September shopping for rugs (or am I? never actually shopped for a rug before).
August 16, 2006 | Permalink
Comments
i'm so glad you and kriston are not breaking up. i don't know what i would do!
Posted by: catherine | Aug 16, 2006 3:26:10 PM
Me too! And by that I mean it would have no effect on me at all.
Posted by: crack | Aug 16, 2006 3:38:12 PM
And Wreck renews his lease on life for at least another year.
Posted by: Kriston | Aug 16, 2006 3:40:39 PM
Hooray! What's so ugly about these floors though? I'm intrigued. Also, consider that if you buy rugs they will just become covered with Wreck's hair and you'll have to vacuum constantly.
Posted by: Sommer | Aug 16, 2006 3:53:56 PM
I'm so glad everything worked out for you guys. And ugly floors have their advantages! You can do whatever you want without worrying about ruining them. Wild parties! Roller skating! Indoor basketball! The possibilities are endless.
Posted by: Becks | Aug 16, 2006 3:56:56 PM
Kriston Capps, professional art critic, tries to describe the floors. Like the Matrix, though, you really need to see it for yourself.
Posted by: Matthew Yglesias | Aug 16, 2006 4:03:40 PM
I recommend Flor carpet tiles. They are cheap, stylish, and environmentally friendly:
http://www.interfaceflor.com/
My friends and I all use and love them. And no, I don't work for Flor.
Incidentally, Ray Anderson, the CEO of Interface (maker of Flor), is one of the most environmentally progressive business leaders in the country. Read about him -- it's remarkable.
Posted by: Realish | Aug 16, 2006 4:26:17 PM
I recommend West Elm. They have the chunky jute-style rugs that C&B always sells, but for much-much-much cheaper, and they're constantly on sale.
Although Roller-skating is a good suggestion, in lieu of rugs I recommend setting up an American Gladiators-style "Assault" course.
Posted by: DJ Ninja | Aug 16, 2006 4:34:34 PM
...you really need to see it for yourself.
Did either of you geniuses think of taking a digital photo of the floors?
Posted by: Dan | Aug 16, 2006 4:46:20 PM
Floors... eh. But, man, isn't that far from Metro?
Posted by: Frequent Comment Troll Al | Aug 16, 2006 4:59:12 PM
It's approximately three blocks from the Metro, so I'd say no, not far at all. And we'll get you your photo evidence.
Posted by: Armsmasher | Aug 16, 2006 5:14:01 PM
Rugs for an entire large rental house? Unless you plant on getting some pretty crappy rugs, they must pay you junior progressive rag reporters better than I'd thought.
Posted by: ostap | Aug 16, 2006 5:52:47 PM
Well, the first apartment I had in DC didn't exactly have floors. Well, obviously, it had floors, but they were just this sort of wierd cork stuff that's supposed to go under some kind of other flooring, such as linoleum or pergo or something--there was clearly supposed to be a floor thing there that was missing. They were also wierdly superabsorbent and stank all the time. And there was a serious bug problem and gigantic holes in the walls, which were made out of some bizarre poured concrete you couldn't actually hand anything on that produced tons of dust. God, I wish I'd bought that place when it got sold out from under us, I would be so rich now....
But, seriously, congratulations on finding a place.
Posted by: flippantangel | Aug 16, 2006 5:59:13 PM
"Kriston Capps, professional art critic, tries to describe the floors."
I'd recommend just painting the walls and ceilings seafoam green too, and embracing the aquarium look.
Posted by: Petey | Aug 16, 2006 8:34:07 PM
Nice location. Put down gravel.
Posted by: BroD | Aug 16, 2006 10:27:55 PM
Rug-buying has its own weird rituals. You stand next to a stack of carpets while a sales person 'leafs' through them one by one so that you can see each one and try to decide which one you like best. It helps to know ahead of time the area and shape you want to cover. And also some idea of desired color and pattern helps. Also, if you have a cat-- there could be a problem with the cat clawing at the rug, particularly for a loose weave or high pile...
Posted by: MattF | Aug 17, 2006 11:53:34 AM
As for Wreck, my brother and his wife just picked up two new kittens, one of which has claws like holy hell. My brother puts a cheap cardboardish scratching post in each heavily-"pussified" room and the cats love it. They keep clawing other stuff at a minimum and save their best whacks for this horizontal floor post. I don't think it matters how old or set in his ways Wreck is, he should delight in this thing. The downside is it's ugly and trashy looking, so stow it where cats go (and little else follows). I don't know the name now. http://www.felinedesign.net/images/swflatsh.jpg
Posted by: Greg | Aug 17, 2006 1:23:21 PM
"three blocks from Metro"
Aaaah, since it's not actually in Dupont Circle, you wouldn't be going to the Dupont Circle metro stop. I'm a little slow.
Posted by: Al | Aug 17, 2006 1:32:30 PM
Fortunately, Wreck is not a cat.
Posted by: Armsmasher | Aug 17, 2006 2:11:49 PM
Fortunately, Wreck is not a cat.
But my cat could kick his ass, and she would!
And, yes, cats beat the shit out of rugs.
Posted by: flippantangel | Aug 17, 2006 2:34:03 PM
there's a guy who used to sell persian rugs (actually, from pakistan) at the georgetown flea market (across from the safeway) for surprisingly little money (you have to haggle, but well worth it). this info is a bit dated, but if he's still there, you should seriously check it out.
Posted by: dj superflat | Aug 17, 2006 6:28:43 PM
The suspense is killing me. Wolverine-ferret hybrid? Feral child from the Alsace-Lorraine? Large domesticated rat? Street bunny? Grandma from the Ukraine? New Wreck 'blog entry requested por favor!
Posted by: Greg | Aug 18, 2006 1:09:00 PM
Wreck, in the proverbial flesh.
Posted by: Kriston | Aug 18, 2006 5:19:23 PM
Hmmmm...suprisingly teutonic....
Posted by: Greg | Aug 22, 2006 12:56:35 AM
Get the dimensons of the rooms and hallway and staircases and whatever, decide what colors and types you want, go in and see what they've got, you should be out in less than 20 minutes. After the carpeting is laid, you decide whether throwing down a couple of rugs makes sense. Took me no time at all to wall-to-wall the whole house. (Man, they treat wood like crap in this country, you have no choice.)
Posted by: Avedon | Aug 22, 2006 9:53:08 PM
