Yes, we still have authentic green shag carpeting in our house. It is a fascinating story ;-) and I will share it with you right now.
We are living in the house my husband grew up in, built in the early 70's. It is a one-level ranch style home, pretty standard in this area. The house was a modern marvel at the time as his parents were doing well with their building business and had saved up a tidy sum. It had an alarm system, vacuum system, intercom system, fire alarm system, antique glass in many of the windows and cabinets, expensive dark wood paneling in the den, double-ovens, built-ins galore, 2.5 baths, solid interior doors, huge rooms and the list goes on. They were builders and had the best of the best in this house. And did I mention they paid for it with cash? They were of the generation that pinched every penny, saved, and paid things off in full.
Along with all of the amazing details I mentioned above, they also had the finest interior designer that suggested putting in that amazing soft and lush green shag carpeting and flocked wallpaper. Ironically both of these iconic 70's design elements are back in style, but not necessarily in green. Oh, our oven is the original oven and is green also. It matches the harvest gold laminate in the kitchen. ;-)
My husband's aunt had shag carpeting all over her house including the kitchen, and I have been entertained with stories of how she had this special rake that she used to keep it in fine form. I am getting grossed out just thinking about this...
Now, shag carpeting is soft, lush, and apparently lasts forever. Back in the early 90's my parent's-in-law decided to upgrade their carpets to the best light beige ones, but my father-in-law said the two front rooms (living and dining) were never used so the carpet was pristine and should be left as is. My mother-in-law bit her tongue to keep quiet, happy that she had convinced him to make any changes at all. My father-in-law was one of the nicest men I had ever met, but he was not fond of changes in his home. He had things built to last, so why change them out on a whim? They had their 1970's lavalamp out until it was back in style... And no, that is not a joke!
The reason no one used those front shagalicious rooms? Have you ever entertained guests for dinner on a deep shag carpet? I won't go into any details, but things get lost there, never to be found. Once I found a large dried-up tree frog deep in the shag in the dining room. It thought it was lost in the forest...
So we moved here a few years ago and didn't have the money to do any real renovations on the inside. So day after day I have had to stare at that shag carpeting, worrying about what toy or wild animal was lost in its deep lush depths. I almost lost Imp one day. OK, that was a joke. Needless to say we have not hosted any dinner parties in our dining room.
Flash forward to a few weeks ago. We decided to have Thanksgiving for the first time at our house for both of our families. Yes, I am crazy. I went into the front rooms, pictured turkey and dressing hiding in the deep depths of green, and realized I had finally had enough. We ran to Lowe's and picked out a nice laminate flooring which my dear husband is installing, frantically before Thanksgiving. No shag or new camera? Yes, it was a hard decision...
Here is a photo of my hero and highschool sweetheart/husband. He can do anything, not because he is necessarily talented (well, he is that too!), but because he is the most stubborn man I have ever met. There is no project that will beat him, and he is also a perfectionist. Unlike me. I will be working away at a project and see something shiny and get distracted...
Luckily he has his two little workers to help. Oh, did I mention we also have some really cool vintage lamps? Any takers?
The last days I could barely breathe due to the haze of sawdust in the air. And the noise.
So you might wonder where I fall in to the picture. The rooms have not been painted since the carpeting was installed (my mother-in-law is the cleanest person I have ever met, and the walls were still pristine if a bit dried out), so that is my job. Yes, I am the painter of the family. Lucky me.
I will continue my Retro 70's Rescue in my next post. Stay tuned if you want to hear my flocked wallpaper dilemma. To paint, pull down, or savor for its authenticity?
