When we chose this house we loved its history. It was built around 1917, so at over 100 years old we were drawn to the unknown secrets which could lie in the walls, attic and under the floor. And the floor is exactly where we started….
I prayed since the day we put the offer in that under those dirty cream carpets lay a treasure chest of knotted pine… or even better parquet. After much researching of the local area, it became clear parquet was out of the question. Handbridge was built to house the local workers and their families in what was known as the poorer area of town. To keep costs down they skipped on the parquet in favour of a durable and hard-wearing floorboard. Who knew what would be underneath? Dead bodies (I joke), rotten wood, a garish paint job or just plain concrete.
One dark and miserable evening in December we decided to take the plunge. What’s the worst case. Well, the worst case would be no floorboards and all my dreams and inspirations for those rooms gone is a puff of smoke or dust more likely. The plan was to showcase this original flooring in the living room, dining room and master bedroom. Dark rich brown hues to contrast against pure white walls was my vision.
As the fabric was peeled away we saw them…. The beauties! And they seemed to be in pretty good nick. It looked like the centre of the room has never ever been touched not a drop of varnish or paint in sight and only small edges looked to have a dark stain. So it was here we thought we had hit the jackpot! I believe I actually did a little jig of excitement We couldn’t wait to get to work on bringing these beauties back to life and building the foundations of our first home.
