While everyone knows that the true certainties in life are death and taxes, there are others that are very well known by some homeowners, yet sometimes hard to accept! Above is a great example of one!
Not long ago, we helped a lovely young couple refinish all of the hardwood in a beautiful historic home they had recently purchased. We carefully selected the stain color for the floor, knowing that with all the different species of hardwood throughout the house that we would see varying degrees of the stain color (that’s something else to talk about, but we can save that for a future blog) and they turned out beautifully! During a walk-through with the husband, he stated that his wife was in LOVE with the floors and, therefore, everyone was happy! (You know what he meant…because “if mama ain’t happy…”). His wife wasn’t home at the time this conversation occurred, but I left thrilled with the results and her resounding happiness in how they turned out. Transformation COMPLETE!
Fast forward, oh, I’d say about 1 hour or so and I received a tearful phone call. A tragedy had struck the household…while moving a heavy piece of furniture, the beautiful floors had been marred with a hideous SCRATCH! And this poor, poor husband who literally an hour earlier stated his wife’s supreme love for the floors…was the guilty party!
Boy, was I glad NOT to be in HIS shoes that night! Well, really for the next several days because I’m not sure she’s completely over it yet! But unfortunately, they had to learn a tough lesson. HARDWOOD SCRATCHES! Just because it’s called “hard” doesn’t mean it’s impervious to damage! And while this first scratch might seem more like a battle wound that the result of being “lovingly lived-in”, you need to think of it that way to accept the “hard” truth! Whether it is sanded and stained on site, pre-finished solid hardwood or engineered wood, eventually it will scratch.
As you may have guessed, a few more hardwood scratches occurred throughout their move in process. And more are have come as they’ve continued to make this house their cherished home over the last couple of years and have continued to grow their family. And while she will probably never forget those few glorious minutes with the hardwood floors were in their most supreme, pristine condition, each new scratch will represent a new memory that was made in their home…another story to tell over a glass of wine with friends…
So while certainties in life may not all be pleasant, like the approaching tax season deadline, remember to keep them in perspective and enjoy the memories that you are making along the way!