That new carpet smell

It seems that home projects always take at least twice as long as we expect them to, but I'm so happy that we've finally gotten around to replacing the carpets. I can't believe what a difference it makes!

I wanted to post some before and after pics so you could see. These are the before (although I grabbed the downstairs den shot after Derek had ripped up the old carpet, so it's a nice shot of the ancient linoleum we found underneath).

And then here are the after photos. Granted the color isn't that different, so I have to say that the pictures don't portray the true impact of the change, but trust me - it is an amazing difference.

Something we hadn't considered when scheduling this (we had the carpets replaced one week before Christmas), was that we needed to paint the walls before the new carpets went in. And since it was mandatory on my list that we paint - I really hate the creamy-avocado-beige that the walls were, we added a lot of painting to our to-do list at the last minute.
Thanks to some nap time and late night painting sessions, we got it done. And now the living room is a cape-cod blue, and our foyer and hallway are a nice sage green. And the carpets are beautiful!!

Yes, I realize that the joy I get out of new carpet secures my position in adulthood and potentially is pushing me towards middle age quickly, but I don't care. The carpets are just that nice; especially after living with stained, dog pee covered ancient carpets for over a year. Merry Christmas to us!