One night recently I decided to surprise my daughter by removing the old rug from her bedroom and replacing it with a softer, nicer rug. Seemed like a simple project. But in the course of removing the very large, very heavy rug, I had to move all of the furniture in the room. After lifting the bed to slide a corner of the rug closer to me, one of the casters fell off the bed frame. (I was starting not to like this project very much!) And, I discovered that underneath the very heavy, very large rug was something I had completely forgotten about, a very large, very old linoleum carpet. So, after successfully removing the rug from the room, I now had to contend with the vintage linoleum carpet, which wasn’t inclined to cooperate with me. While initially I tried to save this vintage piece, it soon became apparent this wasn’t meant to be, as the linoleum carpet was so brittle that it started to tear itself into shreds as I tugged at it. Finally it, too, was successfully removed from the room and now I could vacuum and mop the floor before putting down the new rug. Of course this being a very old house, I discovered that the floor underneath the carpet had never been refinished. The wide old boards sported various colors of paint, none of which really matched my daughter’s bedroom.

So, what started out as a simple project had now turned into a “challenge.” But with challenges come a variety of options. I could either have the floor sanded and stained, or I could have the floor painted to match the décor of the room. Luckily my husband is a painting contractor, so I knew exactly who to ask for professional advice!

If you’ve ever started out working on a “simple” home improvement project only to find that it has morphed into something you’d really rather not tackle on your own, perhaps it’s time to contact a professional. If you’re like me, you’ll probably find it reassuring to leave the decisions to the people who have the knowledge and expertise to complete the project you’ve envisioned. And you still get the satisfaction of knowing it was your vision that started the project in the first place.